Barking in the car

[imposerose]

Hello all,

I have 2 Bearded Collies, 7 and 5 years old. They are taken to the park every morning in the car. When they know they are being taken out they continuously bark repetitively until they leave the house, and when they get in the car they continue to bark right up until they get to the park.

We have tried a few things to try and get them to stop barking like:

Spraying water at them with a gentle spray bottle,
Keeping them distracted with treats,
& Loud noises

However none of these have seemed to work and its getting to be a real problem. It is very distracting to drive with 2 big dogs barking behind you.

If anyone could suggest any training methods or just tips to try and solve this that would be great!!

Thank you.

 

[Josie]

Morning,

I believe I saw this on ‘it’s me or the dog’ but when a dog would not stop barking in the car they blocked out the windows at the back so the dog couldn’t see where it was going. It stopped then barking because they couldn’t see where they were going anymore.

Do you always take them out at the same time every morning? Maybe if you’re able to mix up timings they won’t know when they’re going out and so don’t know when to start barking. That won’t work of course if it’s when they see their leads!

May help!

 

[JoanneF]

Please don't spray water or use loud noises, aversive techniques and tools may interrupt or suppress a problem but don't actually resolve it, so often the problem will manifest in another undesirable behaviour.

I like Josie's suggestion, also if it is excitement you could try taking them for short drives at different times, that don't end with a walk at the park.

Or, give them something like frozen kongs on the way - they can't lick and bark at the same time.

You could also work on training this using the methods described in this series of short videos. This will take a bit of time, depending on how long the barking habit has been established.

Kikopup Barking Series - YouTube

 

[lurcherman]

It’s all down to the excitement so try not making it a big issue, leave your house and don’t go into car , go for a 100 yard walk first and then when the big burst of excitement has gone down then quickly back to car, this may not win the battle, from the moment I get a dog it’s the car I get them into first and touch wood I’ve yet to have a problem, be very careful which method you try, perseverance for a week then try another method,, but as Joanne has said , training and back to to old school basics I’m afraid. Also how old was the dogs when you got them?

 

[JudyN]

I can't offer any further advice, but just wanted to add that this is a breed characteristic - the beardies I know are very barky dogs.

 

[Sez1]

I have a similar problem although he only barks from excitement when arriving at places he likes.
I have found that ignoring him and being very very patient and waiting quietly, he will eventually stop if only for a short time. This is when he gets praised and we then move off..quietly, or I open the car door. If he starts again I stop. He does get the message. Ignoring his bossy barks at home works best. At 2 his is much better. He was the one in puppy class who l shout at the instructor to "Get on with it !" when she was explain a task. I would need to walk him around to calm him down or scatter feed while she talked. Obviously training continues.

 

[Deansie26]

Hello all,

I have 2 Bearded Collies, 7 and 5 years old. They are taken to the park every morning in the car. When they know they are being taken out they continuously bark repetitively until they leave the house, and when they get in the car they continue to bark right up until they get to the park.

We have tried a few things to try and get them to stop barking like:

Spraying water at them with a gentle spray bottle,
Keeping them distracted with treats,
& Loud noises

However none of these have seemed to work and its getting to be a real problem. It is very distracting to drive with 2 big dogs barking behind you.

If anyone could suggest any training methods or just tips to try and solve this that would be great!!

Thank you.

Vibration collar?

 

[JoanneF]

Vibration collar?

Why?

One of the problems with tools like this (in general, as opposed to driving) is that it might interrupt the behaviour but the dog doesn't know what alternative behaviour you are looking for. It does nothing to actually train the dog in anything other than avoid something unpleasant. And, the reason for the barking hasn't gone away so the dog will try to find an alternative behaviour that you might like even less.

Specifically when driving, it might not be safe for the driver to operate the control anyway, and if you are talking about the anti bark collars that vibrate automatically, one dog could be punished when the other dog barks, creating even more confusion.

 

[Deansie26]

It honestly worked a treat for our dog barking at the neighbours dog, she knows what barking at the neighbours dog does, and now she no longer does it. Was just a suggestion.

 

[JudyN]

It honestly worked a treat for our dog barking at the neighbours dog, she knows what barking at the neighbours dog does, and now she no longer does it. Was just a suggestion.

Thing is, she's stopped barking because she's afraid to bark. She is still just as stressed about the neighbour's dog - in fact now she will be more stressed. It is, really, tantamount to stopping a small child from crying by punishing the crying, not by addressing the cause of the crying.

 

[Deansie26]

Thing is, she's stopped barking because she's afraid to bark. She is still just as stressed about the neighbour's dog - in fact now she will be more stressed. It is, really, tantamount to stopping a small child from crying by punishing the crying, not by addressing the cause of the crying.

Each to there own I guess

 

[Feverfew]

Hello all,

I have 2 Bearded Collies, 7 and 5 years old. They are taken to the park every morning in the car. When they know they are being taken out they continuously bark repetitively until they leave the house, and when they get in the car they continue to bark right up until they get to the park.

We have tried a few things to try and get them to stop barking like:

Spraying water at them with a gentle spray bottle,
Keeping them distracted with treats,
& Loud noises

However none of these have seemed to work and its getting to be a real problem. It is very distracting to drive with 2 big dogs barking behind you.

If anyone could suggest any training methods or just tips to try and solve this that would be great!!

Thank you.

An interesting experiment would be to walk with your dogs separately. I'd be interested to know whether they bark individually in the car. That might narrow things down a bit, anyway.
Other than that, blocking the windows is a good idea. Lots of dogs are defensive in a car, and the movement can make this more intense.
You could also try some travel sickness medication, and keeping the walks quite low key, eg lead walking, to see whether over stimulation is contributing to the noisy barking.
However, if it's a longstanding habit, it may be very difficult to change and you might have to put up with it.