Dog barking in the car

[thebritt]

Our rescue dog, Buddy, has taken up BARKING REALLY LOUD while in the car. Maybe because he was muzzled for 2 years with a nylon muzzle, and could never voice his emotions

. In any event, it's driving me NUTS! He used to just whine really loud. I keep treats handy in the cup holder for when he's quiet. If he isn't barking, I immediately say, "Good boy being quiet" and give him a treat. He's leashed to the seat belt in the back seat so he can't bounce around. Yelling at him "NO BARKING!" certainly doesn't work (though I must say, that is the first impulse)- I gave that up - he just thinks I'm barking with him! Any suggestions?

 

[cmjust0]

Gotta figure out why he's doing it first.. Gonna be hard to correct until you can figure out what's causing it.

Does he only do it when the car's moving? Does he bark if he's not belted in? Does he seem to be barking at things outside the car, or does he just seem to be barking to feel his b-hole wiggle? Does he seem happy while he's barking, or is does he seem agitated?

Whittle it down... See if you can isolate exactly what it is, and either try to eliminate that problem or condition him to do something else in response to that particular stimuli.

 

[Godsgrl]

I so feel your pain, but have no suggestions. Sigh. My dog barks in the car as well, if cars get too close, drive by me, if he sees another dog, or a person, or the wind blows the wrong way. Heaven forbid I LEAVE him in the car, then he barks his fool head off as long as he can see me, if a dog walks by, someone drives by, the wind blows...

I actually consider the barking an improvement...he used to lay on the horn.

After I had a couple of temper tantrums while he was doing this, he quit. I don't necessarily recommend this method, but when you take your kids to a church event, and the dog won't quit with the horn, you do what you gotta do.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

My suggestion:

First, teach the SPEAK and QUIET commands, so the dog knows the difference. You can teach the speak command by capturing it, in otherwords, saying "SPEAK!!" when he barks, and reward him for it. As SOON as he is finished eating the reward, and he's quiet, say QUIET, and give another good reward. While he is eating the second reward, after you have said "QUIET", repeat as he is eating his reward, goooood quiet, gooooood quiet.

Work this in places other than the car as often as possible until he knows SPEAK and QUIET. During this training, work to get more reward history with QUIET than with speak. You should have a goal of rewarding quiet twice as much and twice as often as SPEAK.

Once the dog can be quieted when he is barking, not in the car, go for a short ride. Have your treats. When he starts barking, STOP, get out the treats, ask for quiet, and reward it REALLY REALLY strongly, with extreme high value rewards, and numerous rewards, one right after the other.

Good luck!

 

[thebritt]

Good questions...
He barks mostly while the car's moving. Rarely when parked.
If he's not attatched to the seat belt, he tries to come up front. But I've always had him belted in since I got him, and before he started barking. He's got about 3 feet of leash. He can lie down, sit, or put his head out the 1/2 way down window.
Sometimes he barks with his head out, sometimes not. Does'nt bark at anything in particular. Not at dogs, cars, or people.
I really can't tell if he's agitated or not. It kinda sounds like his "happy bark", but there could be tones of stress as well. His former owner didn't drive (or own a car for that matter), so these could be his first car rides. I've brought him to work every day this week, trying to get him used to the idea that car rides don't mean any life-changing events will occur. He gets to come inside with me where I work, so he's never just sitting in the car.
What do you suggest I condition him to do instead of barking? I have been telling him to sit sometimes before he gets the treat, but that can be hard to enforce while I'm trying to watch the road.
Thanks for your help!

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
OMG! This dog is just too smart! I just taught him to "speak" on command in less than 3 minutes!!! I had him speak for treats about 6 times, then started with the "quiet" treats. And back and forth for another few treats. I will practice a whole bunch. I'd always heard this is the way to do it, but had never had the need until now. At first, I wasn't sure how to get him to bark on command, but we have another couple dogs here that barked, so he just got it!

Now if it works in the car...

THANKS!

 

[cafarmgirl]

Quote:

Sorry, I know it must be so frustrating but that's just to funny! My dog has car behavior issues to but at least he hasn't figured out the horn yet!

 

[thebritt]

so feel your pain, but have no suggestions. Sigh. My dog barks in the car as well, if cars get too close, drive by me, if he sees another dog, or a person, or the wind blows the wrong way. Heaven forbid I LEAVE him in the car, then he barks his fool head off as long as he can see me, if a dog walks by, someone drives by, the wind blows...

Quote:

Sorry, but that IS hilarious! At least from here!
I'm having a lot luck following Redyre rottie's advice...(so far)

 

[ranchhand]

My Lab learned how the power lock buttons work. He trained me to never leave anything behind in the house after I have put my purse, WITH the keys, in the truck.

Of course this is the same dog who locked the sliding glass door behind me in January, when I went out for more firewood. In my jammies.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
And I thought I was dealing with challenging behavior!