Chasing cars

[Sparkle79]

Pup is 21 weeks, collie X and likes to chase cars. We have been following advice on here and trying to train him with a clicker and cheese. We take him to the corner and get him to sit and when we hear a car approach we click and give him treat. We're at the point now where he will sometimes look at us for the treat before we've even heard the car, so he is definitely connecting the two. He will sit calmly and watch the cars go by, even when they go right by him. But when we get to a busy road it all goes out the window and he is desperately trying to chase them. Where we live we can't walk anywhere without crossing a busy road so it's quite dangerous.

We do other "herding" things with him. He loves fetch, and we name his toys and get him to find them by name so hopefully we are giving him enough outlet for his herding instinct but any suggestions would be welcome.

Just wondering if anyone has any different tips or an idea of how long it will take before it clicks.

It's very normal for collies and they don't all grow out of it - it depends on how strong their instinct is.

It sounds a bit like your puppy is a bit overwhelmed by all the cars - could you drive him somewhere quieter for a while so he doesn't get so stressed?

You are just upping the anti a bit too quickly for your dog. You have to go at their pace.

When he looks at you everytime on the quiet road you are ready to progress to a busier road. He has had thousands of years of breeding in him so it can take time but if you are consistent you will definitely be able to be around traffic with him.

He will not "grow out" of his predatory motor patterns but you can train him to work with them.

It would work in your favour to avoid the busy road at the moment even if you only drive a few yards to get past it.

@PollyRoulson @sunflowersandbuttercups thanks for the advice. Maybe I'm being a bit impatient. Will slow it down a bit and keep driving to a quite place for walks while we work on it. Just goes against my environmental friendliness but I will deal with that.

This APBC qualified behaviourist is fantastic - and is currently doing lots of content about raising her new collie pup, and is worth following on facebook. This post does mention chasing cars and what she's doing to combat it www.facebook.com/TheMuttyProfessor/posts/4147076078645004

Thanks @AvocadosBeforeMortgages I'll have a look.

[quote Sparkle79]**@PollyRoulson* @sunflowersandbuttercups* thanks for the advice. Maybe I'm being a bit impatient. Will slow it down a bit and keep driving to a quite place for walks while we work on it. Just goes against my environmental friendliness but I will deal with that.[/quote]
I doubt it will be permanent :)

Some dogs just take longer to get used to certain stimuli than others. I'm a dog walker and walk a collie who likes to herd cars - he's 13 so I don't stand much chance of training it out him now

I normally drive him to the start of the walk - yes, it's not far and not great for the environment - but popping him in the car is less stressful for him (and for me) and makes for a much more enjoyable walk.

It also means he doesn't start and finish his walks all hyped up and vigilant, so he's generally much calmer and happier than he was when I walked him to the beach or wherever.

@sunflowersandbuttercups 13 years!! Oh gosh I hope we crack it before then I've decided to go right back to basics with him and every morning I am sitting on my driveway with him watching the occasional car go by. I've also upped the treat to sausage which he seems to love so hopefully we will crack it much sooner than 13 years. I don't drive and don't want to rely on DH for every walk.

You will crack it before 13 years with training.

6 collies here and none of them chase cars now age from 16 weeks to 14 years!

[quote Sparkle79]@sunflowersandbuttercups 13 years!! Oh gosh I hope we crack it before then I've decided to go right back to basics with him and every morning I am sitting on my driveway with him watching the occasional car go by. I've also upped the treat to sausage which he seems to love so hopefully we will crack it much sooner than 13 years. I don't drive and don't want to rely on DH for every walk.[/quote]
In his owners defence, he was a rescue and came to them aged 9 with it being a very ingrained behaviour

He's a lot better than he was, but if there's lots of traffic he still gets quite overwhelmed, bless him, but we don't know his background so it's hard to know what (if anything) may have triggered the response.

I hope you're getting on okay?

@sunflowersandbuttercups bless him x Yes it's going well thanks, we do about 10 minutes a day and he's quite calm just watching the cars go by. Sometimes he even lies down. He looks around when I click and I'm trying to hold the treat there while the car goes by to keep his attention on me the whole time but he will then glance back to watch the car go by and then look back to me for the treat. It's definitely better than pulling / barking / snapping at my hand though so I'll take it as progress

And @sunflowersandbuttercups and @PollyRoulson thank you for your positivity and advice

[quote Sparkle79]@sunflowersandbuttercups bless him x Yes it's going well thanks, we do about 10 minutes a day and he's quite calm just watching the cars go by. Sometimes he even lies down. He looks around when I click and I'm trying to hold the treat there while the car goes by to keep his attention on me the whole time but he will then glance back to watch the car go by and then look back to me for the treat. It's definitely better than pulling / barking / snapping at my hand though so I'll take it as progress [/quote]
That's awesome!

Fingers crossed you get it sorted :)