# Car Nightmare! Help!



## BrodiVizsla (May 6, 2011)

Hi everyone, Im new to the forumn so this is my first post! 
I have had Brodi for 3 weeks now and he is doing great with everything apart from travelling in the car, i have been doing short journeys with him since the day i braught him home 5 minutes at a time either to my parents house or the fields for some off leash running but as soon as i set off he poo's at least twice in a 5 minute journey! For the first 10 days he was travelling in his crate in the boot of my car with towels and blakets from his crate which he sleeps in of a night, i have also hidden treats in there but he still went to the toilet straight away. I have since removed the crate as thaught this may be the cause of his distress whilst travelling, he is now travelling in the boot of my car with his blankets/toys and treats without the crate, im giving him lots of praise when he goes in and comes out but he is still barking like crazy and pooing everywhere! What can i do to solve this?? Any help would be greatly appreciated?!!

p.s i will post some pictures of Brodi very soon!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Keep him crated with nothing else in the crate and just enough room to lay down. Read up on crate training and stick with it.


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

I've had other issues but not this one specifically. But first, does being in a crate in your house stress your pup out?

If it were me, I would try to start over and rather than driving, spend time trying to desensitize the pup to the car and do it very slowly. Put the puppy in the car and praise and treat. If the crate stresses him, I'd put him in the car without the crate (to deal with one stressor at a time). Don't drive anywhere just keep him there a minute or less and treat profusely (if he pooped, it was too long). Do this a few times, gradually extending the time in there until he's comfortable being there a few minutes without going to the restroom. I'm not sure if this is the issue, but it sounds like even 5 minutes driving is too much right now for him and he needs much smaller steps in associating being in the car with something good. Maybe even right after you put him in the car and take him out (without driving), initiate some sort of fun play with him so that he starts learning that being in the car will lead to having fun.


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## BrodiVizsla (May 6, 2011)

He loves being in his crate in the house, he will quite happily go in of his own accord and chill out whilst i do housework etc and never makes a fuss of being in his crate, which has been a god send! I actually tried your suggestion last night, i took him out to the car with plenty of treats and praise and sat with him for 5 minutes without driving anywhere, he screamed and barked at first then settled down i then let him out with treats and praise and he didn't go to the toilet during this time either. I will keep doing this a couple of times a day, trying to make the car an enjoyable experience as possible for him, hopefully this will eventually solve the problem. Thanks for the advice Laurita, i will let you know how i get on!


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

It sounds like you're on your way to getting him used to the car. It's important not to push them too far. I constantly forget this and have to remind myself when mine seems comfortable and I take him to the next level too quickly and then he spooks. Always pull back a little-- for instance if he barks and cries at 5 minutes, try just setting him in the car (treat within 1 second if possible; i've read that 1 second or less is the most ideal/effective time in associating an event with a reward), and take him right out and praise him for being a good boy. If he handles just being set in the car, then lengthen the time rather than making him sit there for 5 minutes when he's uncomfortable. You can also keep him right outside the car, open the door and treat. You can sit in the car and toss treats to him while he sits outside. Just keep building the associations of car and tasty, + things. He'll definitely get there! Tiny steps for us can be giant ones for the little guys.


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## BrodiVizsla (May 6, 2011)

Finally made a breakthrough last night! I took Brodi out to the car a couple of times in an hour treating and praiseng him getting him to sit,stay and lay down and work for his treats in the boot of the car like we do in the house, i then sat in the car with him ( without driving anywhere) and he seemed to be a lot calmer after doing this. I then took him back into the house for some play time. After the second time of taking him to the car with treats/praise etc, i decided to take the 2 minute drive to a closer field/woods to my house for some off leash running and he was a lot calmer and didn't go to the toilet on the way there or way back either which is a first, so hopefully these small steps im taking to associate the car with good experiences will eventually pay off and he will love to travel in the car (fingers crossed)!

Another question i have is? Is it normal for Brodi at 11 1/2 weeks to start trying to hump my leg and also he tried to hump my friends 15 month staffordshire bull terrier??


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I don't think it's rare to see the humping at that age, but it's definitely not quite normal. I think another user on here (maybe RubyRoo) has a female of about the same age that would hump. She was a devil dog  Not sure what you're supposed to do to correct it, I normally just shake Kobi off and tell him no lol


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

Hi BrodiVizsla,

Great news about the car ride!!!

About your second question: when I first got my pup at 10 weeks, he tried to hump my boyfriend and on a separate occasion, me too. In the past 3 months, he's probably tried once or twice more. I sort of freaked out because I was worried he was trying to be have status over me. It was perplexing because I had just gotten him and was already doing the "pack leader" things: giving nothing for free, working on obedience & creating polite behaviors, walking ahead of the dog, etc etc. You'll see so many opinions on the topic, so this is just mine & what I did... I admit that I may be completely wrong. From what I've read they can hump at a young age for various reasons, but that it's learned behavior during play with their siblings. I'd love to speak with a breeder to see if they do in fact do that to each other when playing. I think when they do it at an older age it can be of a more sexual nature, some people say that dogs are trying to assert their hierarchical status, but I personally think that dog behavior is complicated. Back to your puppy...

My pup hasn't tried to mount another dog (yet), so I haven't dealt with that. He does get humped & when he does, other owners lower their voice so their dog hears the drop and call their name out and say, "NO!" Then they try to get their dog away and distract him/her from the behavior. I think that your pup might just be trying to play with the dog if that's the case that puppies do this during play. The problem is that many dogs don't handle that well and could easily attack your puppy. So distracting him when he does might be a good thing. He might have an adult dog reprimand him and learn that way. It's just that if he is doing it to a dog you don't know, you can only guess how the dog is going to react.

When he humps you, is there something that precedes it? I've noticed a pattern with my dog, he will start humping (usually the air) when he is playing and seems to have too much energy. his body starts doing this weird wave-like motion. He has one squeaky toy in particular that gets him hyper and I try to limit him with that toy because I know it can go in that direction. I also try to give him enough exercise to where when he's inside he just wants to relax. The first time it happened, I sort of freaked out and made too big of a deal & I think that was the wrong way to go about it. he hasn't done it weeks and weeks, but the last time that he did, I'd just say "uh uh" and get his mind off of it either by putting him in his crate for a little while, doing a few obedience drills, or wearing him out. I think a lot of times they just need to get that energy out and humping is the activity that brings it out until they learn a better behavior to do so. Once he starts, try to get him to do something else right away so that it's not something that sticks in his mind as a good thing. I think that as long as you show him something else to do when he feels like doing it, he'll outgrow it with time... until adolescence!!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

No lie, Jasper tried to hump my leg the first night he was home.

There are lots of reasons dogs hump--it can be sexual, it can be out of excitement, it can be out of anxiety (which may be interpreted as a dominance behavior), or, in the case of some puppies, just a play behavior. Or, like a lot of people, dogs will do it because it feels good!

When Jasper attempted it with me, I simply stood up and walked away. Since then he has never even tried it again with me (or any other human, for that matter). He has one toy that will set him off, but usually only if I've been a bad mom and not given him enough off-leash running time that day. He has done it to two other dogs once--both smaller and very submissive dogs, and both times only after he had been humped himself by another dog less than an hour prior. In either case, I say gently but firmly, "No," and then redirect with a different toy, playing chase, or other games. An older, less patient dog might reprimand your pup for it when he gets about the right age, if he tries to hump a dog that is unwilling to just ignore it. 

Some humping is probably normal and caused by any of the aforementioned reasons. If it becomes a compulsive thing, that's a different story altogether, and that could be caused by extreme social anxiety or even canine compulsive disorder. But I think your best bet right now is to just get up and walk away if he does it to you, and try to redirect if he does it to other dogs, toys, or even the air.


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## BrodiVizsla (May 6, 2011)

Thanks for the response guys!

The humping seams to happen when he's been playing with his toys or fetching the ball in the house and is really excited, he will then see my leg and try and latch on and hump. I pull him off straight off and re-direct him with play and toys etc. The couple of times he has tried to hump my friends dog is when we have got back from walks at the field and my friends dog is lying down resting and Brodi still wants to play and gets on his back and starts trying to hump him, so i don't know if it's a just an attention thing because he's not done playing yet ( he never knows when to stop and rest by the way. ha) or it's him trying to be dominant over the older dog? Either way i just pull him off and re-direct him again with something else! My friends dog is very laid back with Brodi and tolerates his hyperactive puppy behaviour very well, Brodi just see's him as one big chew toy ha!!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

You are making great progress. Sometimes having the patience required is the hardest part. When humping, the dog is saying; "I'm here, I'm the King, play with me or I will do what I want". Dominance.


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