Advice needed - struggling to get greyhound into car

[kateb]

Hi there,

My beautiful greyhound boy is extremely resistant to getting in the car and I wondered if anybody else had experienced this and if so, so you were able to overcome it (if you did!). 

Despite being described as a good traveller by the rescue (not GG), he refused to get in the car when he left the kennels to come home for the first time, 9 months ago. After he'd settled in, I tried all sorts of different ways to help him overcome his fear - feeding him dinner in the car (he grabbed the bowl out the car and took it back onto the lawn!); treats (not bothered). Gradually he improved to the point where he was jumping in and out by himself. But then I took him on a longish journey (1.5 hours there and back) and since then it's been a massive problem. If he could have kissed the ground outside the house when he got home, he would have!

He doesn't seem to have any issues (sickness etc) when he's in the car and I've taken great care to give him positive experiences - at the end of a car journey is a lovely walk etc and he has a great time.  

He used to be ok if I lifted him in, but now he barges his way out again before I can shut the boot, and he's way too big and strong for me to prevent him from jumping out again. I can't even get him near the car if he thinks I'm going to try to get him in it. He's a big lad and weighs 38kg so I couldn't really manhandle him even if I wanted to! (which I don't). 

I think he must be scared and fearful of not knowing where the car might take him, but I do need to be able to get him out and about in the car and I'm not prepared to give up on it just yet. There are lovely walks and fun to be had! 

Any help or advice would be very welcome! Thank you! 

[Flaperoo]

Hi Kateb and welcome,

I can't help much with advice all my greys would jump into ANY car with a boot open

I do know there have been a few people on here who have had a similar problem (although not with greys to my knowledge) so hopefully one of them will come along and offer some advice.

Good Luck

Mary

[kateb]

Hi Mary,

Many thanks!

Aaaaah I wish Jacob had the same attitude! I do know that someone adopted him for a week and then took him back before I had him. It must have been really stressful for him to have gone through the process of going to live in a house for the first time and then being taken back again, so I'm not sure if that upset him.

He's such a lovely, well behaved chap otherwise. I guess we all need our vices!

Kate

[mtbbuxton]

What sort of car do you have and what does he have to lie on?  Just wondering if it may be a simple matter of comfort.  Does he for example have plenty of room to stand up and turn around?  We have a Focus Estate and TBH there's only just room in that for my 26" lurcher to stand up properly.  My boy prefers to lie flat out in the back, which means our whippet now travels on the back seat to give him the space he needs.  Would it be possible to try Jacob on the back seat with a harness?

Another thought is that he may be distressed by the movement through the windows.  If he's an ex-racer he may not be used to it.  My neighbour is a retired Police dog handler who kept his last dog.  When they went away they had to block out the windows in the car as the dog hated moving scenery!  If he couldn't see out, he'd quite happily spend all day in the back

Hope you find a solution for you both

Moira x

[kateb]

Hi Moira,

Thanks so much for your reply. He has two duvets and a lovely fluffy blanket in the back so I think he's ok comfort wise. I actually bought a huge new estate car (Golf)to accommodate his size (my old hatchback just didn't cut it!). Hmmmm!

Good idea about blocking out the windows - I'll try that! He is an ex racer and used to travelling in a van I guess, so perhaps that might help...although I'd have to get him near the car to see the difference!

Thanks again - hopefully I can work this out!

Kate

[vickyb]

Sarah, sassbu had trouble with Tabsi I think and no doubt she'll be along soon.
When Sapphy joined us she was reluctant to get in the car for a while but we think it was because she was afraid she wasn't coming back home.

Gracie travels fine, is taken out for walks in the car every day and has never been sick or appeared to feel ill. She is always more than happy to get in the car but after a short while she pants constantly even when the air con is set for penguins and we are shivering or the windows are open so it seems to be a stress thing. We do wonder if it's a last throwback to her racing days and being driven to the track  Our vet did say it was fine for Gracie to have childs travel sickness tablets if she got worse as they might help calm her but we've never tried them.

I hope someone can help

[Letty's Mum]

No advice from me I'm afraid, but I hope you get to the bottom of what's troubling Jacob
My first Greyhound Tilly, hated jumping into the boot of the car and I assumed it was because she was scared of the boot closing on her so I removed one of the back seats and posted her in the back door instead. She was quite happy with that and eventually had no trouble jumping into the boot.
It's also easier to close the door on a dog without it jumping out again, but of course you have to get it into the car first

[andywillow]

I agree with Helen (Letty's mum) I have a big estate car and have the back seats permanently down due to having 8 dogs. I also have a barjo dog guard at the back and my big lad Joe catches his back when he jumps in so I let him in the back door and don't bother with the boot. It is also easier to shut the door rather than pull the boot down, you can also have your arm in holding him back until the last second!
All mine love the car and travel well and we have never had a greyhound who doesn't like it, good luck and let us know how you get on.

[ailsa]

Hello Kate.

Welcome to Gap. Jacob sounds like a sweetheart, and I'm sorry you're having difficulties getting him in the car.

My lovely boy Archie, who has sadly gone to the bridge, was a very anxious greyhound and went through a long phase of refusing to get into the car. We learned that he thrived on routine, and that's when things improved. He didn't like new experiences, so once he knew that almost every time he got in the car it was either to go to the woods for a walk, or to my in-laws' house, he settled down. Obviously, there were occasional exceptions - like going to the vet - and we just had to learn to deal with those and re-establish his routine afterwards. He never came to love car journeys, I'm afraid.

We used brown paper to block the side windows, and they stayed in place permanently. On the rare occasions when he went on a long journey, we would partially block out the rear window, too.

You might be in for the long haul, but it's worth it in the end. Don't rush things, and stick to a routine for a few months so that he learns to trust the car, then gradually and gently start to extend his boundaries.

I wish you lots of luck. He sounds as if he's in the right sort of caring home, so that's most of the battle won. Let us know how you get on.

[sassbu]

Never had a problem getting a greyhound in a car, it was as Mary said, trying to keep them out, we'd pass someone with their boot open and it was a case of steering them away from it

However I had enormous problems with our Tabsi, a crossbreed from Romania. Similarly to lots of greys she had never really been in a car before. She is a very stubborn strong-willed character, who does not like to do anything she doesn't want to do and having had trust issues understandably from her previous life, she trusted her own instincts above anyone elses and truly thought she was going to die if she got in that car.

Like you I tried treats, trying to feed her bowl of dinner there, praise and lots of patience - infact three months of considerable patience. If i tried to manhandle her in she would wriggle and twist and pull and she was like an eel in that department, it was getting to the point where she would nearly end up in the road. I'm afraid that in the end owing to the potential seriousness of needing to get somewhere in an emergency, I purchased a ruffwear harness that there was no way she could get out of and with a handle top and I strapped her in, put my other dog in first as I had tried many times before unsuccessfully and basically picked her up by the handle and flung her in! I only took her to Macdonalds, bought her a cheeseburger and then brought her home. As soon as she realised she wasn't dead, the next time was much simpler, still not quite her own choice but easier. The third time happened to be to attend the Gap show and after Alex came over and trimmed her nails, a practice she deemed even more dastardly than the car, she practically fled back to the car and jumped straight in We haven't looked back since and she loves the car now. 

I'm certainly not advocating this as the most suitable method for every character and personality of dog, it isn't, but it was what was required in her case and she never held any grudges over it, there are no mental scars left. It is just another perspective to consider knowing your own dog as you do.

Its possible that he may never enjoy the car, but you do need for practical sakes be able to get him from a to b if an emergency occurred and you either needed to get to the vets or to get some distance to relatives. A ruffwear harness will allow you more control getting him in, despite his size, although I appreciate with his size there would be no flinging!! Is there something really high value you can put in for him or maybe kongs filled with peanut butter or mashed potato to take his mind off the fact the car is moving

[kateb]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for your advice and thoughts. It's good to know I'm not alone with this!

I think the Ruffwear harness is a good idea - there are times when I will just need to get him in the car and anything that can make that as quick and painfree as possible will be a big help I think. The less fuss it involves will hopefully help to reduce the stress (for us both!)

I think routine is his thing - new experiences definitely aren't on his wishlist. Although, if he was honest with himself, he would grudgingly admit he had an AWESOME time pretending to be a mountain goat in the Peak District!

I've arranged a session with a behaviourist to see if they think there's anything else we can do to improve the situation. I suspect it's a case of patience and persistence but it's all worth a go. Thanks again for all your support and I'll keep you posted!

Kate

[LindsayA]

Unfortunately, I'm with everyone else in that Ted absolutely LOVES the car. In fact he looks disappointed if we walk past it on the drive without getting in. We have been very lucky in that he loves looking out of the window at the world going by, will stick his head out even at 40mph when it's freezing, and will travel the 2.5hrs in one go down to visit my parents. Normally after about 30mins he just curls up and goes to sleep and that's it until we arrive.

I saw someone said about dogs being transported to track, so maybe that's what's worrying him; strangely Ted seems to have a very real fear of vans (possibly through being caught by a dog warden when he was a stray / or we suspect before he was homeless he was used to course animals, and therefore would have probably gone in a van then too).

You probably have, but have you tried desensitising him to the car? Maybe sitting in it with the door open, holding his lead to see if he gets curious? Or trying really high value treats in little pieces round the car like cheese or hotdog slices. It might just make the whole thing a bit less scary? If he's just frightened of being in the boot, maybe you have him on the backseat with a dog seatbelt? Ted is too big to go in the boot with the parcel shelf on, and without it, he just hops onto the back seat and sprawls out anyway.

Either way, I hope you get it sorted, there is nothing nicer than being able to take them to new and mysterious places for them to smell all the new smells and wee up new objects!  

[julies]

The only other thing I can offer is to check he's not hurting something jumping 'out' of the car .. so if he has an old injury and he jumps out and hurts himself that could be a reason why he doesn't want to get in. I always lift mine out or use a ramp so you could try that for a while and see if that improves him

Good luck

Julie