Aunt Aussie

Dear Aunt Aussie,

I take my dog to the dog park 3 to 4 times a week. The problem is the closer we get to the dog park the more excited she gets. Yesterday she nipped me in the hand while I was trying to see around her to turn into the entrance to the dog park. What should I do?

Happy Feet

I NEVER ride in a car unrestrained. If you have room in your vehicle for a crate you should consider getting one, if not I would suggest a seat belt/harness to keep your best friend safe and secure. First and foremost, most cars now have air bags. If I am in an accident and I’m standing in the seat the deployment of that bag will snap my neck. It’s also a distraction to the driver for me to be roaming about the car barking, jumping at the window and just plain acting crazy. That kind of distraction can get you in an accident.

Pet stores carry many varieties of seat belt/harnesses, if you want to correct this behavior I would suggest you get one and put her in it. The seat belt/harness does 2 things, first it keeps her safe and second it forces her to remain calm by not allowing that excitement to escalate. You should start training her on short rides around the block so you can teach her to stay seated and quite before you take her on a longer trip.

Dogs love real meat treats, chicken, beef liver, hot dogs so train with something that she really likes. Put the seat belt/harness on her, secure her in and tell her to sit. When she does, treat, treat, treat. When she remains seated and quiet, treat, treat, treat some more. You might need to divide that in to two steps – seated in the seat and once she gains that knowledge work on being quiet (if she continues to bark, she may not). Instruct her once “Sit”, if she does not give her a simple and calm “oh my” and put her into a sit. Do this as many times as it takes for her to sit when she is told. As soon as she sits, let her know what a good girl she is and give her lots of treats. Repeat this process until she will sit on command and stay that way increasing the duration between treats. If she barks while sitting, same process, barking gets an “oh my” and quiet gets lots of treats.

If you have room for a crate, put her in it and cover it with a blanket. The crate keeps her confined and far away from the air bags while the blanket blocks her vision and contains that level of over excitement. Unless you have someone seated back there to reinforce “quiet” that may be a bit hard to control from the driver seat.

Good Luck and Happy Training!