Dog gets very excited in the van.

Caoimhín

Morning all.

I could do with a little advice please. I have a 20 month old German Shepard who is usually very well behaved, rarely barks (except at the vacuum cleaner), is healthy and happy.
The thing is, as soon as he hope into the back of my jeep to go somewhere he starts to bark, and bark and bark. Its not a whimper but a loud excited bark. This can go on for as long as we are driving which can be all day going from site to site at work.

Now I know that its not that he has a fear or a dislike of the jeep as he hops in himself and even sits in it if i leave the door open. In fact, if i even pick up the keys he is over at the door of the jeep, pawing at the handle trying to get in. I think it is just pure excitement.

Now this might not sound like a big problem but i assure you, he is a 50kgs German Shepard with huge lungs and so very very loud and also a distraction when driving. I dont want to leave him at home as i enjoy having him with me while i am walking forests (im a forester).

I have tried waiting until he has stopped barking and relaxed before starting the engine but he just starts up again. I have tried giving him a treat when he shuts up for a moment but there really is no way of settling him.

So, any ideas what to do?

Thanks in advance.

ISDW

Has he always done this, or is it a recent thing?

He barks at the vaccuum cleaner, does he bark at any other kind of machinery, if you're in the forests and chainsaws are being used, or anything like that? Just wondering if it could possibly be the noise that sets him off, the hoover and the jeep engine?

Its a jeep he's in, so I guess he can see out while you're driving along? Do you use a crate at home at all? If so, I wonder if you put it in the jeep, with a blanket covering it, so that he couldn't see out if that would have any impact.

The other thing to maybe consider would be to give him a stuffed kong when you get in, a frozen one maybe, so that he has something to occupy himself while you're driving. Even if you just had to do this for a week or so, to try and break the cycle, he's probably just so used to doing it now, that its become a habit.

Or, and this could take all day over a few days. Let him in the jeep, then when he starts barking, get out, and get him out, back into the house. When he's settled, start again. That could go on for hours and hours and hours until he realises whats happening, and he could be quiet until you're down the road, but then you'd have to turn around and go back home and start again. So that would be your days off gone, but GSDs are intelligent dogs, hopefully he'd pick up whats happening fairly quickly.

I feel your pain, I've had a few dogs in the back of my van that barked or howled non stop for hours while driving, is very distracting, and very annoying.

ppink

One of these days I think I will find my jeep flying out the driveway with my GSD driving she loves it so much:D.

We used to do a lot of travelling with them like you do and to be honest the hyperness nearly drove me crazy as it is so hard to concentrate on the road. In the end I had to keep stopping when it got mad in the back. I got someone else to drive so I could concentrate on stopping them from barking and chasing cars from inside the back of the jeep!!
If I was driving I would have to keep stopping to get them to sit and relax.

A bit easier if you could on your days off get someone else to drive randomly and you concentrate on getting the dog to relax. If you need to stop to get him to sit and stay quiet then keep doing that. Sheps are clever so I am sure it wont take too long for him to cop that barking = stopping. I also now will not allow my guys to jump in if they are at all excited.....they have to sit at the back and relax. I will open the door but they are not allowed to rush it, if they do they have to get back out and sit down until called to get in. The same with getting out, everyone has to sit and get out when called.

can you stop him barking at home?

Caoimhín

ISDW wrote: »

Has he always done this, or is it a recent thing?

He barks at the vaccuum cleaner, does he bark at any other kind of machinery, if you're in the forests and chainsaws are being used, or anything like that? Just wondering if it could possibly be the noise that sets him off, the hoover and the jeep engine?

Its a jeep he's in, so I guess he can see out while you're driving along? Do you use a crate at home at all? If so, I wonder if you put it in the jeep, with a blanket covering it, so that he couldn't see out if that would have any impact..

Yeah, he has always done it but he never barks when he is out in the garden or at home. Im pretty certain the noise of the engine is part of it because when i press the acceleration he starts off. But then he goes mental when we pass any other car or truck, especially if it is white for some odd reason.

Ive never used a crate at home or in the car, im not sure if i could get one big enough!

Bearpup

Must be a GS thing!! my girl is the same... she LOVES being in the jeep and paws at at the door even if we arent going anywhere!

Some people might think this is a bit mean but its a trick we have used on our german wire haired pointer... She used to constantly bark at the door of the house to be let in... I mean constantly! We got a one of those bottles, you know the ones that cyclists use... filled it with water and whenever she barked at the door I would open the door and squirt her with the water... she stopped pretty quickly after that!

Nollipop

I walk a dog which is a bit of a 'Heinz 57' but I'd pretty sure she's got mostly Shepard in her due to the markings, size, strength and intelligence.

She also goes mad in the car, barking once the engine starts and doesn't stop until it is turned off again. She especially hates it when a big truck goes past the car. The noise really gets her excited.

Another person who used to walk her sucessfully used one of those anti-bark collars with a citrus spray and sensor. As soon as the dog starts to bark, it sprays some unpleasant smelling stuff near the nose and breaks the cycle of barking. He got her completely quiet in the car using it for a few weeks. She then did not need it again for that particular car...

In mine she's still awful though! I'm saving up for one myself but they are not cheap.