# Is this an issue I have to address now?



## MAPLEBABY (Jun 26, 2011)

Hi everyone,

:-\ Today I am a little sad and frustrated...Here's the story.

My V, Maple, is locked in the kennel from 8:30 am after morning exercise&breakfast until about 12:30 when the dog walker comes and walks her with other dogs for 1 hour. Then she gets put back into the kennel with lunch and my bf comes home at 5:30pm.. 

My friend stayed at my place last night and she texted me at work at 1 pm that the dog walker didn't come yet. I was very surprised because I thought our dog walker was always rihat on at 12:30 as a first pick up. I called her, no answer and her voice mail was full. 

I was freaking out thinking I gave her the wrong dates until she finally texted me 'Maple has become a danger in the car cuz she is too rambuctious and all over the place. So from now on I have to pick her up right before going to the park.'.. 

It's totally imaginable that Maple wants to wrestle with other dogs in the car so I can't blame her. At the same time I feel a bit ashamed that maybe I didn't train her right. 

Just wondering if anyone can share their V's manners in the car(especially when he/she is aware of going to off leash trails). Not sure if it's an age thing (she is 6 1/2 months) which she will grow out of one day or it an issue that has to be dealt with sooner than later. 

I don't want to let her be THAT kid in the group. Never ever thought I would be the parent of THAT kid that a dog walker dreads of her pick up.

Any advice or comments will be appreciated!


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Hi MAPLEBABY! I think Maple is acting completely normal for a 6 month old happy Vizsla who's been in crate for a few hours. Most likely she associates the dog walker with playtime and off leash walks which of course make her happy. 

Sophie (16 months old) goes for a 6 hour "adventure" with our dog walker once in a while (dog park, off leash walk in the woods, rest, training). As soon as he pulls up to our house, she goes nuts! He walks in, and she acts like she's never ever been trained all jumpy and crying! Sophie loves the dog walker, and he has always said she is a great dog and behaves and interacts with other dogs without any problems.

I think Maple is perfectly fine and only seems THAT dog to those who haven't encountered a Vizsla. Unless she is being aggressive or completely out of control, I don't think there is anything to worry about. You should definitely not feel guilty. She'll calm down eventually


----------



## AfroViz (Jun 26, 2011)

Agree with *Suliko*. Maple sounds like a normal exuberant Vizsla pup. Mine never gets crated and still turns into a bit of a spaztroid if she suspects we're gearing up to do anything fun. She'll get better with training and maturity -- maturity especially. You need a dog walker who's happy to deal with a high-energy puppy while she's a puppy. Or, if it's an option, perhaps she'd be a better fit in Daycare until she's better able to master herself?


----------



## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

Maplebaby,
I'm not just saying this- you've done nothing wrong and to be honest, I think it's totally unrealistic for a dogsitter to expect to have several dogs loose in the car with a puppy and for things to be calm! That's just crazy! It took me a long time to get my dog alone to not be a hazard in the car, but with several in the car with a 6 and 1/2 month old dog? Don't feel guilty AT ALL about this!! This is not a sign of poor training, it's putting a dog in a situation that she is not mature enough to handle yet! There's a big difference! No amount of training at home will prepare her to ride in a car with other dogs, only practicing riding with several dogs will train her for that. It's still a lot to ask at this age.

Laura


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I don't know what standard practice is for a dog walker, but having several dogs in a car running loose sounds very dangerous.

With Kobi, he was absolutely insane in the car. He would crawl from the back seat to the front seat, and everywhere in between. He would try to get on my lap. He would put his nose against the front windshield a dozen times on each car trip (I had a very dirty windshield after a while). He would even try to crawl into the footwell under my legs where the gas and brake pedal were. Needless to say, driving with him in the car wasn't the safest experience.

Now I have a hatchback, and he has his own crate in the back, which he tolerates very well. And that, in my opinion, is the way it should be (at least for a dog with the excitement level of Kobi, he's above average even for a Vizsla)


----------



## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Jasper is 9 months old and still obnoxious in the car, even on his own. He likes to wander between the seats, stand with his front paws on the arm rest and his back paws on the back seat, totally blocking my blind spot to the right. Every window but mine is a smear of nose prints. Add another dog to the mix...whew! In order for me to drive undistracted, he has to be secured with one of those seat belt harnesses.

Maple is a young, exuberant puppy, and she just wants to play with the other dogs. I'm not surprised at all! Definitely not your fault--agree with Laura that the only way for her to get better at this is to practice riding with several dogs in a car. And that could still take a while. 

I also think having several dogs loose in a car is dangerous--for driver, dogs, and fellow drivers--regardless of whether or not the other dogs are sitting nicely. How far away is the park? Is there one closer that would be more walkable for the dogs and human? I guess I'm just curious, since I've never had a dog walker and have no idea how these things are normally handled.


----------



## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

Maplebaby, we had the same issue with Kian when he started with his dog walker when he was around 6 months of age. She told us he was nuts in the car, bouncing and wrestling with the other dogs....again, as everybody has said, totally normal.

Now, one thing she did ask that we do is try and teach him that the car is not a place to act like that. We tried, it didn't work. What did work was for her to pick him up last and we would give her his favourite treats and she would reward him for being a "good" boy in the car.

Apparently it worked but it did take some time.

I personally wouldn't sweat it, Maple is being a normal puppy, especially for a Vizsla.


----------



## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

I agree you've done nothing wrong, and I also think it was the dog walker's obligation to tell you if there was a problem or if she was making a change.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Has anyone considered a harness for car rides? 
Sam wears his harness and is buckled to the child seat belt attachment thing. He sits on the right back seat buckled in. Never had any problems with him aside from getting sick in the beginning. 
Sam also knows the only door available for him is the rear passenger door. No other door will open because of obvious safety concerns.


----------



## MAPLEBABY (Jun 26, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for all the advice! I feel much better knowing it's normal for a 6 month old pup and many people experienced the same. 

I totally agree that people who don't know much of Vizslas will have hard time understanding. As Afroviz said, having a dog walker who's happy with a dog like Maple is important. Not sure if I am being too sensitive, but I sort of started sensing in her emails that she doesn't enjoy having her in the group, saying 'the most difficult dog ever','absolutely bonkers'.. Also she keeps comparing Maple with other dogs/puppies for example, how calm/well behaved some other puppy is.. so we will see if this will keep going. Who knows..?! Maybe she may fire us as a client before we hire someone else..

Suliko: The 6 hour adventure sounds so awesome. what a great treat for Sophie! Wish something like that was available where I live too. 

Afroviz: when does the maturity happen you think?? I wanted to believe it's about 2 years but the other vizsla owner that I met at the dog park laughed at my face when I asked him if his has been calmed down at all at 2 year old mark. 

Laurita : Thanks for the great suggestion. I will gather my friends dogs and practice some manners in the car.

Kobi : Kobi sounds very dynamic  in the car! Has great crawling skills. I like the crate idea. Don't think the dog walker's car is big enough to fit her crate and 5 other dogs, but it would work for mine. 

Redover: Maple does the front paws on arm rest and back paws on back seat thing. And she looks so serious! Then I tell her 'you are not the co-pilot."  Unfortuately, the one that dog walker takes dogs to is the nearest off leash trails 10 min away by driving.

Kian: Apparently now Maple is being picked up last. Poor girl's crated time jumped from 4 hours to 5 hours overnight. Glad to hear things worked out for Kian.

Sarahaf: I know. I wasn't a big fan of how I found out the whole changes. If my friend didn't tell me that I would never have known. 

Datacan : I suggested the seat belt idea but she refused to use one. Sam's so cute!! Enjoy the wrinkle face stage. They seem to grow into those loose skin so fast.

Have a great day!!


----------



## KonasPop (Aug 9, 2011)

Also think this is relatively normal behavior at that age...sounds like the dog walker is has some misguided expectations for 6.5 V - It's true that some of our puppies have been little darlings in the car and others have needed training...

We train our dogs on the "back" command...they are so excited to be in the car and see you approaching (say after an errand), that the reward can be a treat or just you opening the door. 

Sitting before going the car, never going in the front/front passenger side, waiting for back door or trunk door (thats their que its ok to jump in). If in front seats, use name, pause, then "back" command and either lead to back by collar or treat to back seat, use sit command, treat - this can all be done while you're in the front seat. In our case, our girl was the same as others early on - bouncing everywhere, snaking between seats, tyring to take the front seat etc. After a few rides, not opening the door when she was nutz, using the back command she now just sits in the back or lays down at 10mo. old. If i come out of the grocery store i see her in the front, but as soon as she sees me she shoots to the back and sits. If she acts up, I dont get in until she's calm and sitting in the back seat. She can hear through the car doors so i can calmly say back outside of the car and she knows to calm down and get in the back seat. 

Anyway - you get the idea...wanting a calm doggy in car is one thing, training it in is the other thing.


----------

