# How do I train my dog to fear respect avoid cars?



## billsharp

Sorry for the cumbersome title but I wanted to make this thread searchable.

I want to train Liesl to avoid cars. We walk in a quiet neighborhood, with occasional 20 mph traffic, so it is not that I am trying to teach her to navigate a 4 lane highway. However, she has no understanding or fear of even a slow-moving car. It is as if she assumes it will stop or avoid her. I understand that she of course has no concept of what a car is or what damage it can do to her, so I must train her that she should turn and leave when one is approaching her. It seems that the training process would be similar to teaching a dog to respect cattle, horses, etc. If I could get her to fear cars like she fears lawnmowers we'd be fine.

Does anyone have any direction for me on how to train a dog to avoid or respect a moving car?

My thoughts now are along the line of controlled exposure by having my son drive our car toward her on the street and honk/scare her/correct her until she learns to move out of the way. Obviously this is pretty crude and I don't want to "experiment" on her like this. Please provide your constructive suggestions, thanks.


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## jprice103

I haven't taught my dogs to avoid cars per se, but I did teach them that they are not allowed in the street unless I say it is ok. On walks, when we come to a cross street, they will stop and look back at me, and wait for me to say "OK" to enter the street. 

Of course, since I don't let them off leash, I'm not sure if that would be enough to stop them if they were out and chasing a cat...but at least they know that the street is off limits unless I say it is ok. 

Could be a start of training at least.


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## Freestep

I once had a dog that was hit by a car, not enough to cause injury other than road rash, but boy did he have a healthy respect for traffic after that! 

I wish there was some way you could set up a controlled situation in order to make such a deep and lasting impression on the dog, without actually hurting them, or causing them to be afraid of cars that aren't moving (or afraid to walk down the sidewalk), or creating other phobias. I don't know how you could do this. 

How do they train guide dogs to deal with traffic? To stop their handler from walking into the path of a moving vehicle?


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## billsharp

Jprice, you're right, tight control is solution #1. I'm trying to build in a fail-safe since we walk almost all non-leash now.

Freestep: exactly! Service dogs will prevent their blind owners from walking into the path of a car. How is this trained? Guess I need to sift through the junk on youtube and see if there are any nuggets of gold there.


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## TimberGSD2

I walk down country roads with Milla every day and what I have started doing with her is when a car approaches we get out of the road, she sits and has to pay attention to me "watch me". All focus is on me. She went from spooking with cars, to wanting to go after them to completely avoiding them for the most part now.

Since I live in the middle of nowhere the cars go down my road at 90 MPH so if one of my dogs got on the road this would be very very bad.


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## Nikitta

I live on 2 busy streets. All my dogs knew not to step out into the street but I'm not really sure how I trained them. I just scream loud I guess LOL


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## kiya

When I have to pull my truck inside the fence I make them "wait" by the side of the gate. As I pull in the yard they are normally very good about waiting there. Then I have to get out of the truck to close the gate. By this time they know they aren't going anywhere but are eager to check out the truck. I have to get back into the truck and back into my spot of course by now one of them must be in the way. As I roll back very slowly telling who ever it is to "MOVE". I watch them and the older dogs do kind of move when the truck is coming, the younger one follows the older dogs lead.
My pup still likes to lunge at passing vehicles every once in a while, the other 2 never did.


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## wyominggrandma

I helped my friend stop her dog from chasing cars.. She tried everything and didn't work. Honking, yelling, banging on car door didn't seem to phase her.
So, we got a bunch of friends to help us in their cars at about 4 or 5 minute intervals. The person in the passenget side of car, which was closest to her driveway held big water balloons. As the car drove slowly by, the dog of course came running out to bark at car. She got a face full of water balloon that broke on her head... Sure stopped her in her tracks. The next car approached and as she came out, a bit more cautiously, she got another face full of water. We did this comeing and going, drivers side and passenger side. If she laid by the driveway, we did not touch her. After four or five times, she just stood by driveway and watched cars go by. did it again next day. She started to run out of driveway towards car, then hit the brakes and returned to driveway. We did a few "remember" drivebys in the following days/weeks and she will no longer run out to cars.
Not sure if this would work for your dog, it might get her to realize cars equate getting a face full of water. Even if it hits her body, she will still get a surprise and in no way can the balloons of water cause damage.


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## selzer

Hit the dog with water balloons? No, I can't say that I would want to use that method, I would just keep the dog on leash if the dog's heel was not solid. 

When I walk my dogs, every time we reach a street, I make them sit and pause and then we heel across the street. Every single time. We do this on leash. And when I do go off leash, it is the same. Though, when I work off-lead, unless it is out in the woods somewhere, we heel the whole time. When we are on lead, as long as the lead is loose it is ok, except for street crossing, then we always sit first, then I start and we heel across streets. I think it does teach the dog to at least pause before running into the road. But some things you can't take back. After the dog gets hit and breaks bones, it is too late to think that maybe you should have used a leash.


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## wyominggrandma

Well, in this instance it was either stop her somehow or she was going to get killed.. Lots and lots of folks around here do not believe in fences or leashes, after all, "we live in the country and the dogs should roam free".......... 
I have had folks call me cruel because I have 6 ft chain link fences around my home and kennels and the dogs are not running loose.
Would I hit my dog with water balloons? No, but then again, I keep my dog on leash when walking next to the road, even though she is good on recalls and staying with me.
Deperate measures sometimes call for desperate measures or a dead dog.
Not surprising you don't agree with me Selzer.. But then again, you never do.


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## selzer

I really am sorry that you expect me to agree with someone setting their dog up to get smashed with water balloons over and over again. Some total zero might read that, and think yeah, great idea. Maybe their dog will hear a car coming and bolt every time ripping the owner's shoulder out and getting smooshed by the car as it turns down the road. 

I just can't NOT say something when I hear of something absolutely disgusting. I thought I would be nice about it and just say I wouldn't do that, but since you want to stir the pot, I think it is a bad training method that could backfire. I prefer to set up a dog to succeed and then praise it for doing so. I get good results that way. Yes I do say Eh! or No! when they do something I do not want them to do. But I do not hit them with water balloons. Unreal.

I live in the country too. That is no excuse.


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## wyominggrandma

Of course you were here and saw exactly what was happening with this border collie that was "herding" cars with nobody telling her not to.. I guess instead of using water balloons to stop her from chasing cars since the owner was not able to stop her any other way, and fencing was not going to happen, I should have just told me friend I would not help her and instead let the dog get hit by a car. Of course she is now 8 years old and no longer chases cars.
The dog was NOT fenced AT ALL. There was NO LEASH or way for this dog to "rip the owners shoulder off" . I was using this as an example that worked for THIS dog, just a suggestion.
I told a story that worked for me and this dog, made a suggestion. I did not realize by telling a story I was "stiring the pot"
Yep, you are right. How stupid of me to cure this dog of chasing cars by using water balloons that would not hurt her, I should have just let her get hit and killed. Yep, I can see how cruel I was .. Yep, sure can.


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## LuvShepherds

Obedience training is best. Walk the dog in areas with traffic while heeling, so he gets used to doing that on a regular basis. Teach a "watch me" command, where the dog is rewarded with either food or praise for keeping its eyes on your face when told to do that. I fostered a dog for a long time that was a chaser. She chased anything on wheels, from cars to strollers. When the object moved away, she "won." I had to set up controlled situations where she was required to go through her obedience workout and pay attention to me rather than to a wheeled vehicle. We made some progress, then she was adopted by a family living in a rural area without a lot of traffic.


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## selzer

wyominggrandma said:


> Of course you were here and saw exactly what was happening with this border collie that was "herding" cars with nobody telling her not to.. I guess instead of using water balloons to stop her from chasing cars since the owner was not able to stop her any other way, and fencing was not going to happen, I should have just told me friend I would not help her and instead let the dog get hit by a car. Of course she is now 8 years old and no longer chases cars.
> The dog was NOT fenced AT ALL. There was NO LEASH or way for this dog to "rip the owners shoulder off" . I was using this as an example that worked for THIS dog, just a suggestion.
> I told a story that worked for me and this dog, made a suggestion. I did not realize by telling a story I was "stiring the pot"
> Yep, you are right. How stupid of me to cure this dog of chasing cars by using water balloons that would not hurt her, I should have just let her get hit and killed. Yep, I can see how cruel I was .. Yep, sure can.


I think you are right. We are never going to see eye to eye. I will never condone setting a dog up to getting smashed with water balloons. If I saw you doing that, I would call AC. 

I listened to a sermon once where they told what a Good Shepherd was, and how he manages the flock, and how the flock follows him and by his voice, he leads. And when he has a lamb that will not do as he wants it to, does not follow, he will break the lamb's leg. And then he will carry that lamb until it is able to walk again. After that, the lamb will stick with the flock and not get eaten by wolves or lions. The ends justify the means I guess if the lamb turns into a sheep and lives to produce more lambs.

Stirring the pot was the little dig, but of course, You would not agree Selzer. Whatever. I have to go and feed puppies and take one to class now. Have a good day. Go hit some dogs with water balloons and scare the pee out of them. I am glad you are in Wyoming and that is far away from me.


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## billsharp

Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate the input. Although I agree that I need to establish a solid sit and wait (and we do work on that on about half of the street corners during our walks) I am looking to teach an "understanding" on her part that will serve her when I'm not around (if she gets out of a gate, or if I am not 100% perfect and get distracted in a conversation myself when out walking with her.)

Grandma, thanks for the water balloon suggestion. I am not sure that would work on Liesl, but I may try it on the Wife this July 4th. Selzer, I have tried positive reinforcement with the Wife, but she still back-talks a lot and will not heel without snapping at me first.


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## chelle

billsharp said:


> .... I am not sure that would work on Liesl, *but I may try it on the Wife* this July 4th.....


:rofl: Let us know how that works out! :laugh:


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## doggiedad

teach your dog to heel on either side with or without
a leash. teach her to walk on the side of the road
and not to step on the road. if you have to walk
on the road teach her to stay as close as she can
to the inside. why does your dog have to have a close
encounter with traffic? i think you should keep her safe 
in the face of traffic.


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## llombardo

I guess it would be nice to think that one can trust there dog 150% of the time when it comes to the streets and cars. I don't care how well trained my dog or any other dog is, I would NEVER walk my dog down any road without a leash and I don't care to see others do it either. The dog has no concept of traffic and even in training the dog, all it takes is for the dog not to listen once and see something that it wants to chase. My dog's life is worth more then me being able to walk it off leash down the road.


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## selzer

billsharp said:


> Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate the input. Although I agree that I need to establish a solid sit and wait (and we do work on that on about half of the street corners during our walks) I am looking to teach an "understanding" on her part that will serve her when I'm not around (if she gets out of a gate, or if I am not 100% perfect and get distracted in a conversation myself when out walking with her.)
> 
> Grandma, thanks for the water balloon suggestion. I am not sure that would work on Liesl, but I may try it on the Wife this July 4th. Selzer, I have tried positive reinforcement with the Wife, but she still back-talks a lot and will not heel without snapping at me first.


LOL! 

Since we're telling stories, and I have never been married, I will tell about the time my dad thought it was a good idea to throw a glass of water on my mother. This was many, many years ago when we were all in college. I don't even know why exactly Dad went for the water. But Mom was so infuriated she took his math book and ripped out more than half of the pages. He spent days laboriously taping his math book back together (mostly so he could show the guys at work what his wife did to him I think). Dad always seemed to end up the worst when he got into tiffs with Mom, but she put up with him for 50 years last October. 

I don't think it would go over well at all. 

In our town, there is a feral cat community. I often sit up town with a dog at night and watch the kitty show. I swear some of them are canicidal. They wait for a car to be coming and then try to entice the dog to chase them. 

I cannot protect a world full of dogs with inadequate owners (owners who allow them to roam indiscriminately). But I can protect mine. I generally only go off lead in a securely fenced in area. Some things you just can't take back.


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## doggiedad

you could train with distractions to help with running
into the street when unleashed or distracted (cat, deer,
dog, bird, squrriel, chasing ball into the street etc.)



jprice103 said:


> I haven't taught my dogs to avoid cars per se, but I did teach them that they are not allowed in the street unless I say it is ok. On walks, when we come to a cross street, they will stop and look back at me, and wait for me to say "OK" to enter the street.
> 
> Of course, since I don't let them off leash, I'm not sure if that would be enough to stop them if they were out and chasing a cat...but at least they know that the street is off limits unless I say it is ok.
> 
> Could be a start of training at least.


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## doggiedad

teach your dog not to leave the yard, teach her
not to door dash (house and car).



billsharp said:


> Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate the input. Although I agree that I need to establish a solid sit and wait (and we do work on that on about half of the street corners during our walks)
> 
> >>>> I am looking to teach an "understanding" on her part that will serve her when I'm not around (if she gets out of a gate, or if I am not 100% perfect and get distracted in a conversation myself when out walking with her.)<<<<
> 
> Grandma, thanks for the water balloon suggestion. I am not sure that would work on Liesl, but I may try it on the Wife this July 4th. Selzer, I have tried positive reinforcement with the Wife, but she still back-talks a lot and will not heel without snapping at me first.


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## Lakl

billsharp said:


> Grandma, thanks for the water balloon suggestion. I am not sure that would work on Liesl, but I may try it on the Wife this July 4th. Selzer, I have tried positive reinforcement with the Wife, but she still back-talks a lot and will not heel without snapping at me first.



:spittingcoffee::rofl::rofl: LMAO!! That's the funniest thing I've read all day.


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