Chasing Cars

Question
QUESTION: I have a 3 year old Golden Retriever named Lucy. I've had her since she was 6 weeks old. Lucy has a really bad habit of chasing cars. She started chasing them when she was 7 months old. She waits to see if the car goes past our driveway, and then she'll chase them. We live in the country and on a private drive, so there aren't many cars that go by, but it's still dangerous. She however, never chases any of our cars, just other peoples. She got hit by a car when she was 10 months old and broke her leg. The vet thought that she would probably stop chasing them since she had gotten hit. She didn't stop. It actually seems like she wants to chase them even more now. She chases them when we're outside and when we aren't. If we are outside when a car goes by, we can hold her so she can't chase it. Once I let her go and the car has passed, she takes off running towards the road barking and then comes back. She is outside all day and gets plenty of exercise. I take her for walks all the time. She does have a lot of energy and she is on a routine. She sleeps in her pen at night (which is outside) and she is let out early in the morning. I think she really gets enjoyment out of chasing this. She loves to chase squirrels, cats, moles, birds, and even airplanes in the sky! She isn't the first Golden Retriever we've had but she is the first dog we've had that chases cars. My question is how can I teach her not to chase cars?

ANSWER: Hi, Sophia,

Thanks for the question.

Do you ever play fetch and tug with Lucy? How much hard vigorous playful activity does she get every day? Does she get a chance to play full bore with other doggies on a regular basis?

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes! Tug and fetch are probably her favorite games. We play fetch with her on a daily basis. She gets a ton of play time in everyday. When we're playing fetch or tug with her, and a car goes by, she'll immediately stop playing with us and go chase the car. No, she doesn't get to play full bore with other dogs everyday. Unfortunately, there are not many dogs where we live. Our neighbors have a dog, but she's kept in a pen all day and is let out maybe once a week. When she's let out, Lucy plays with her a lot but if she's playing with our neighbors dog and a car goes by, she immediately chases it. There are not any dog parks where I live, or else I'd take her and let her have fun with some other dogs.

Answer
Good to know.

Since she gets a big charge out of chasing cars, and has been doing it for a while, and getting hit by one hasn't deterred her, what I think might help is playing tug or fetch outdoors, near where the cars are likely to come by. Have her on a long lead, about 30' long. She should also be wearing either a regular collar, as wide as possible, or a prong collar, which would be even better. Both are designed to be able to better absorb the energy of of any kind of pressure around the neck than a choke chain or a narrow collar would.

Since you can't predict when a car is going to come along, have a friend with a car that's unfamiliar to her (since she only chases strange cars) wait up the road a bit. When your dog is really into playing with you, give your friend a signal, take hold of the end of the leash, and play a rousing game of tug. When the car comes into view and the dog starts to go after it, hold onto the leash because she's going to be running full blast in the car's direction. When she gets to the end of the leash and it goes taut in your hands, shout "Wait!" in an urgent tone, as if you're trying to save her life (which you are). She'll probably yelp in either surprise or pain, or both. Immediately praise her loudly and lavishly and run away, still holding the leash, and waving the tug toy with your other hand.

This is dangerous. It's going to momentarily frighten and hurt the dog. That's why you need to run away and act as if you're offering her the most wonderful game of tug ever played in order to overcome those feelings.

If you don't think you can do this properly, that it's too complicated, or you're not sure of the mechanics of it, don't do it. It has to be done right, with perfect timing, or it'll be a waste of time and you will have hurt and frightened your dog for nothing. But if you do it right, you may very well have saved the doggie from seriously hurting herself in any future battles with the automotive industry.

Feel free to ask me any further questions about this procedure.

LCK