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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

The one thing that winds me up about my dog

15 replies

Toocleverbyhalf2 · 02/12/2016 11:22

I've have a 5 year old Labrador who is really good and well behaved 99% of the time and is a joy to own.
One little thing he does though, he's constantly pawing me. In the car he puts his paw on my hand whilst I'm trying to drive & if I tell him off he stops, for about 30 seconds! Anytime we have a cuddle, he has to push my arm down with his paw & every opportunity he gets he pins my hand or arm down. It drives me mad! He's quite strong too and sometimes it's a tussle to get my arm back. It's never done in an aggressive way, more a possessive way. Any advice to stop this?

OP posts:
pigsDOfly · 02/12/2016 17:45

My daughter's dog does this, drives me potty.

How does he touch you when you're driving, my dog's clipped in on the back seat and her arms aren't long enough to reach me in the front.

Original poster
Toocleverbyhalf2 · 02/12/2016 21:30

When I'm driving & he's in the front seat, he rests his paw on my hand ( I've got both hands on the steering wheel). Drives me mad!

OP posts:
stonecircle · 02/12/2016 22:50

Our 9 year old Lab does this and it means she wants a chest rub. Could it be that?

I'm afraid I'm a bit Hmm about you having him on the passenger seat when you're driving though. Especially if he's putting his paw on your hand as you're driving. He could really distract you, especially if something startled him. And he could really hurt himself if you had to brake suddenly. If you don't have an estate car where he can go in the boot it would be better to have him on a harness on the back seat.

Original poster
Toocleverbyhalf2 · 03/12/2016 09:42

You are right about the car, I'm leaving my son's car seat in the passenger seat now to stop him jumping over - it was freaking me out! But he does it at other times too, his nails grow really fast, and I get marks on my arms were he is dragging me to give him a cuddle - he drives me mad! I have to get his nails clipped every 4 weeks or so.

OP posts:
AlwaysLookOnBrightsideOfLife · 03/12/2016 10:13

Is he not clipped in with a harness on the back seat OP?

missyB1 · 03/12/2016 10:19

Buy yourself one of those straps that clip into their collar and then into the seat belt. I got two off Amazon for £5.99.

WeAllHaveWings · 03/12/2016 10:20

As far as I am aware it is illegal to have your dog unrestrained in a car and could invalidate your insurance. Regardless of this it is irresponsible to have a dog jumping around a car while driving.

shockingsocks · 03/12/2016 12:10

My DM dog used to do this - it is really annoying.

When he used to come and stay I used to turn my back on him when he did it and COMPLETELY ignore him - no shouting, nothing. If he carried on pawing my back I'd change seats whilst making absolutely no eye contact whatsoever. If he followed I'd let him, but if he started pawing I'd move again. It's a total palava but after a few days it really did stop him doing it (well..... he'd forget himself sometimes...). Dogs hate to be ignored, they'd rather be shouted at than ignored.
Trouble was my DM didn't follow it through, so next time he came to stay I'd have to go through the whole fiasco again!
Obviously if you're going to try this it's important to give him some affection when he's NOT pawing (to begin with this will cause him to start pawing you the moment you stop so be prepared to change chairs)

Hope this helps

pigsDOfly · 03/12/2016 14:10

Part of the reason, probably the main reason, for having a dog restrained in the back of the car rather than running free, apart from the danger of distraction, is that in the event of an accident where everything in the car is thrown forward, the effect of the impact on the driver and front passenger of the dog flying around the car will very likely cause their death and obviously the very unpleasant death of your dog.

In those circumstances the dog becomes a very heavy missile aimed at your head and back. Not a risk I'd be taking personally.

TrionicLettuce · 03/12/2016 14:22

Dogs really need to be properly restrained when they're in cars both for their safety and for the safety of everyone else in the car with them.

The best option is a good quality crate in the boot but if that's not possible a decent, crash tested harness is a good alternative.

Lots of car harnesses sold for dogs are actually purely to stop the dog moving around, they're not intended to offer any kind of protection (for dog or others in the car) in the event of a crash.

The videos from this study on car harnesses are pretty sobering. An Australian insurance company did similar tests and they got similar results, with the same harness performing well as in the Centre for Pet Safety tests.

AlwaysLookOnBrightsideOfLife · 03/12/2016 20:32

missyB1 you shouldn't clip them directly on to a collar as it could break the dog's neck in the event of an accident. Even emergency breaking could I guess, cause harm. They can be used safely with a harness though.

dudsville · 07/12/2016 12:11

It is possible your insurance won't cover you if you have an accident and can't show that your dog was restrained and therefore didn't cause the accident.

pigsDOfly · 08/12/2016 12:59

I used to know someone with two small dogs and when she was driving one would sit in the gap between the front seats between the handbrake and the gear lever and the other one would sit on her lap.

Every time she changed gear she had to push the dog out of the way and turning the steering wheel involved a delicate balance between turning the wheel and avoiding knocking the dog on her lap. Crazy.

Budgiebonbon · 08/12/2016 13:11

This is what we use for our Dog, on the back seat. She likes to get so she can see between the front seats- it makes me laugh when I can see her in the mirror like a little back seat Co-Pilot.

She does use your hand to stroke her self by pushing her nose under your hand. Only really does it when we are on the sofa though!

GinAndOnIt · 08/12/2016 13:16

Bloody hell, how did I not know dogs had to have their own version of a seat belt when they're in the back?! Seems so obvious now ConfusedConfused

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