# Chasing cars........Help!!!



## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

Our 13 wk BC walks perfectly off the lead whilst in the woods/fields, but as soon as she's out on the lead near a road, she is drawn to chasing cars!
I have sat for hours on the bench at the side of the road to try and get her used to the traffic but I get the same reaction every time a car goes by 
I had a friend drive by and pull up to talk to us a few times and as soon as the car gets close enough, she starts wagging her tail, (the dog, not the friend ) making no attempt to go for the car.
I have heard that this is a common problem with Collies and just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences, and if so, how did they cope? 
I think I will end up with muscles like Arnie if this carries on!


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## Guest (May 14, 2008)

Never had a problem like that with Jayjay in fact he was terrified of passing cars when walking by the road to start with, we just made sure we didn't avoid walking by roads and carried on as normal. 

As with anything we didn't go out our way to solve the problem as I often find that increases the problem before it solves it, we just walked by the road when we had to, ignored his attempts to pull away from the road and just carried on ahead. I don't think many people have the same attitude we do but it certainly works for us.


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

hi, 
take a look at this website to help your dog stop chasing cars: Train Your Dog to Stop Chasing Cars - Associated Content

hope this helps


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## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

daycare4dogs said:


> hi,
> take a look at this website to help your dog stop chasing cars: Train Your Dog to Stop Chasing Cars - Associated Content
> 
> hope this helps


Thanks for your comments, think we need to get the 'heel' command sorted!
We have been practicing but she seems to have selective hearing.......... Even a nice tasty treat or her favourite squeaky ball are useless against moving traffic! I know they say you have to make yourself more attractive to your dog, be it's centre of attention but I think the only way I could do that would be to smother myself in peanut butter or another dogs wee..........have to draw the line somewhere................


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

ok, there are 10 stages in which a dog goes through when they have pent up energy and in your case your pup expresses this through chasing cars!

here are some tips for you:
when you are out walking you pup, keep her interested in you by constantly talking to her, use a squeeky toy or her favourite toy to help as well!

when a car is coming by, you will notice her behaviour and posture changes and she will be going through the stages very quickly. 
when you see the changes, tug on the lead to the side, dont pull her back. pulling the lead to the side keeps you in control and her in check. 
do this every time, reward her with a tasty treat when she does what you want her to do and carry on with your walk. do this every time she looks at a car, goes to chase a car and when she is penting up her energy. 

if you are consistant with this then she will stop doing this and walk with you and be more focused on the walk, not the cars!


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## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

daycare4dogs said:


> when you see the changes, tug on the lead to the side, dont pull her back. pulling the lead to the side keeps you in control and her in check.
> do this every time, reward her with a tasty treat when she does what you want her to do and carry on with your walk. do this every time she looks at a car, goes to chase a car and when she is penting up her energy.
> 
> if you are consistant with this then she will stop doing this and walk with you and be more focused on the walk, not the cars!


This is more or less what I have been doing but she isn't interested in the treat (tried usual range plus liver, chicken, cheese etc)
Should I try her on a harness? Maybe this will give me more control.
She is so well behaved in every other aspect and circumstance (ok, we won't mention puppy classes) it's kind of making our walks not quite as enjoyable.
Still, I will keep trying.........things can only get better! Thanks for the tips


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

i wouldnt put a dog or a puppy on a harness because the dog and pups will have more control over their heads and bodies. people make this mistake all the time and then wonder why they dont have control and their dog isnt good on the lead/harness.

harnesses were originally made for sniffing dogs, as they like having their nose on the ground constantly and when they are on leads, they have linited access to the ground as the collar and lead hold up the head.

you would be better sticking to the collar and lead for your walks to be more of a success. she is still young and you just need to be consistant with her.

hope this helps!


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

you could also try putting the collar very high up her neck so that you have total control of her head and body. (like show dogs at crufts)
she will look as though she is on tip toes which is what you want especially if she is trying to chase cars. using this method would also work for you as she will have no option but to follow you, so she wouldnt be able to chase the car then, would she!


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## Gemma83 (Mar 5, 2008)

My sheltie dosn't like walking after its been raining, he gets neverous of the wet tires on the road. I find the best thing to do is to walk normally and just use a firm "heal" when required and lots of praise when hes walking nicely. 

Yours is still young though and I think with heal trainning and practice he should grow out of it. 

You can also try turning the other way to desctract the dog, or making it sit 

Good Luck!


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

cocis said:


> Our 13 wk BC walks perfectly off the lead whilst in the woods/fields, but as soon as she's out on the lead near a road, she is drawn to chasing cars!
> I have sat for hours on the bench at the side of the road to try and get her used to the traffic but I get the same reaction every time a car goes by
> I had a friend drive by and pull up to talk to us a few times and as soon as the car gets close enough, she starts wagging her tail, (the dog, not the friend ) making no attempt to go for the car.
> I have heard that this is a common problem with Collies and just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences, and if so, how did they cope?
> I think I will end up with muscles like Arnie if this carries on!


Hi there, 
I have a bc and went through this when he was a pup. 
Don't panic it is perfectly normal as collies, being hearding dogs have a high chase instinct. 
Do you go to puppy class? If you do you may be teaching her commands such as leaves when you put a treat in front of her and tell her to leave it then giving her a different treat etc. Having learnt this we were adviced by the trainer, also a collie owner,to use this principle with traffic. As our dog is clicker trained, when walking down the road, if i saw an approaching car I would give the leave it command and click him at the moment before he had the chance to try to chase and would then phrase him and give him a treat. Repeat this method and your clever collie will soon cotton on to the fact that if she doesn't chase she gets treats. Even now from time to time i give him the occasional treat just to keep it going. Hope this helps. I think it is good because it makes the dog consciously make the decision to not chase the car. It certainly worked for us.


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## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one! We are also clicker training and have had a lot of success, I just never thought to take it with me to help with the car chasing problem! We also use the 'leave' command so tomorrow morning I will try again and attempt your method  will keep you posted!


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

cocis said:


> Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one! We are also clicker training and have had a lot of success, I just never thought to take it with me to help with the car chasing problem! We also use the 'leave' command so tomorrow morning I will try again and attempt your method  will keep you posted!


Ok. Best of luck. I'm sure she'll cotton on soon enough with her clever little collie brain.


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## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

Update on today's walk............
Not quite so bad but in the rush to get the kids to school I forgot the clicker, doh! Have figured out that she has a preference for white cars! Maybe they look like sheep to her 
Did remember to take her fave squeaky ball but this only seemed to attract other dogs, had a quiet chortle to myself, watching the owners as their dogs strained at the leads...........


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## Vixie (Nov 17, 2007)

I have 3 border collies and never had this problem, but the 2 jack russels in my street are awful to do it I wish their owners would keep them in their garden and not running free before they get knocked down, it makes me so mad


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

cocis said:


> Update on today's walk............
> Not quite so bad but in the rush to get the kids to school I forgot the clicker, doh! Have figured out that she has a preference for white cars! Maybe they look like sheep to her
> Did remember to take her fave squeaky ball but this only seemed to attract other dogs, had a quiet chortle to myself, watching the owners as their dogs strained at the leads...........


Hehe- good to hear she was a little better today. 
Giuve it a try try with the clicker- it will not work after just one click but she will get the message if you repeat the proccess. 
Best of luck


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## Nina (Nov 2, 2007)

Are you sure that she is chasing and not herding


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

Nina Cole said:


> Are you sure that she is chasing and not herding


have you thought of maybe joining herding classes? when she is older she could enter herding comp's!

take a look at this website: Willow Acres Dog Training (Agility, Obedience, Herding, Clicker) - Herding Training 
tells you about herding!


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

daycare4dogs said:


> have you thought of maybe joining herding classes? when she is older she could enter herding comp's!
> 
> take a look at this website: Willow Acres Dog Training (Agility, Obedience, Herding, Clicker) - Herding Training
> tells you about herding!


i thought about doing this with my boy when he is older too!


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

its well worth it and gives your dog something mentally challenging, dogs love this kind of thing!


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

daycare4dogs said:


> its well worth it and gives your dog something mentally challenging, dogs love this kind of thing!


yer- we currently go to a tricks class to give him some mental stimulation. I'm sure he would love herding though- but too young yet though. Thing is last time he saw sheep- he didn't do anything- we were at a relatives house and he thought it would be far more interesting to play with the other dogs- didn't care about the sheep.


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## daycare4dogs (Apr 29, 2008)

lemmsy said:


> yer- we currently go to a tricks class to give him some mental stimulation. I'm sure he would love herding though- but too young yet though. Thing is last time he saw sheep- he didn't do anything- we were at a relatives house and he thought it would be far more interesting to play with the other dogs- didn't care about the sheep.


as he gets older he will think anything that moves, needs herding! 
if you were to take him to some herding field trials, he could observe and when he goes to classes when he gets older, he will soon learn that the fluffy white things need herding!!!!


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## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

Nina Cole said:


> Are you sure that she is chasing and not herding


The herding she does when we are out for a walk and she's off the lead!
She runs ahead, scouting, then doubles back to check, almost as if she is doing a head count! I hid behind a tree once and OH said her ears stood up, she noticed someone was missing and came back to look. She found me! 
She will nip (not hurting) at the kids trouser legs if she thinks they're not moving quick enough, so I suppose she thinks of us as her flock!

The chasing cars thing, took clicker, ball, treats out this morning and they made no difference at all. It's like she goes into some sort of 'zone' and is completely oblivious to everything around her. She even ignored a big Lab sniffing her bum, whereas usually she strains on the lead to greet anyone and anything . I'm taking a slightly quieter route tomorrow just to give my arm a rest. The 'heel' command is working well when there is no traffic about so I will carry on practicing and hope for the best!


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## Gemma83 (Mar 5, 2008)

I have the same hearding problem with my sheltie, he gets really upset if we don't stay in a group!


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

cocis said:


> The herding she does when we are out for a walk and she's off the lead!
> She runs ahead, scouting, then doubles back to check, almost as if she is doing a head count! I hid behind a tree once and OH said her ears stood up, she noticed someone was missing and came back to look. She found me!
> She will nip (not hurting) at the kids trouser legs if she thinks they're not moving quick enough, so I suppose she thinks of us as her flock!
> 
> The chasing cars thing, took clicker, ball, treats out this morning and they made no difference at all. It's like she goes into some sort of 'zone' and is completely oblivious to everything around her. She even ignored a big Lab sniffing her bum, whereas usually she strains on the lead to greet anyone and anything . I'm taking a slightly quieter route tomorrow just to give my arm a rest. The 'heel' command is working well when there is no traffic about so I will carry on practicing and hope for the best!


Aw bless!
My collie does the same- I remember once we were out on a family walk in the forest and the dog kept running up and down the ranks doing a head count. Very funny! You could almost see him thinking "come on u lot keep with the rest of the pack". Bless him! 
Often we say to him "Where's so and so?" and he'll run off and find them!
Keeping going at the traffic thing- she will get it eventually.
Best of luck


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## Paula C (Mar 25, 2008)

My Puppy Maya doesn't like cars she gets frightened if they are too noisy. But where we live most people will slow right down as they go past and she will just lay down till they have gone but bizarrely if they slow down too much as they go by she will try and pounce at them. She is always on the lead when we are anywhere near the road so she doesn't get anywhere near close to them but the 1st time she did she was on an extendable lead and she was laid down and all of a sudden jumped it frightened the life outta me!


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2008)

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/12073-van-chasing-horse-visiting.html

Hope theres some helpful info on this thread too


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2008)

SazzyB said:


> http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/12073-van-chasing-horse-visiting.html
> 
> Hope theres some helpful info on this thread too


This thread is four months old!


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## cocis (Apr 24, 2008)

and the problem is cured! Thanks anyways


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## georginakedge (Aug 31, 2012)

Hiya, I know this is a very old thread now, but I am taking on an 11 month old border collie and he has issues with cars, I was just interested to know how you cured the issue, thanks


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## Gibbonfunky (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi how did you cure your dog exactly


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