Car chasing tendencies?

So Sawyer does fantastic on walks but one thing I'm noticing is that when a car drives by, he will shoot out to the end of the leash. Like he'd probably just go after it if the leash wasn't stopping him.

Thus far he doesn't really acknowledge anything else and I obviously don't want this to progress or continue as he gets older and it becomes more difficult to manage. Suggestions on nipping this in the bud?

I tend to go the conservative approach with puppies, meaning I manage and hope it goes away without too much intervention. Work focus away from it so the you have a great history of focus being rewarded when you do go back to it. I wouldn't let him practice it at all, if you have no choice but to walk him near streets, go armed with awesome treats work focus BEFORE he gets distracted by the car and reward every single good choice he makes.

Snipe started car chasing just before I got her; she was thinking about chasing a garbage truck the first time I found her at 4.5 months. I did do management like Sara, but I also did Look at That games with her around vehicles as I could. Catching her early on in the cycle (about a month in) and teaching her what TO do means that we worked through it in about 4 months of off and on training and at 4yo we have no issues since.

Hank is a chaser (bikes, cars, runners) and I just basically would walk and make it a no big deal. I don't like stopping and such when he'd lunge but I would praise praise praise when he re-focused or made a good choice. I initially tried keeping a distance and that helped but wasn't something I was 100% able to do. So at some points I would physically manage him but he's gotten a lot better. The only things that occasionally trigger it are bikes and it's rare now.

Ok cool, sounds like stuff I was thinking of so good to know I was on the right track. I just don't want to screw it up. There are issues juno had as a pup that I either didn't recognize or didn't know how to work with and yeah... just became a pain to try solving when she was an adult.

Right now he refocuses easily and once he hits the end of the leash, he gives up at that point. But again... baby. Things can change lol.

Thanks!!

Crossbone used to go after cars, bikes, people running, skateboards and the mail truck. We walk a trail with a lot of bikers and runners so I would keep a lookout and get his attention before one passed us and have him focus on me (or throw a treat on the ground) as they went by. He's great now and can be off leash near everything except skateboards and the mail truck...

ooooh yes, I've got a chaser here. Doesn't help that he's 90lbs.

When walking I can manage it just fine. Distance is great, but like it was mentioned, not something you can count on. When i see something approaching that he is likely to lunge at, I ask for attention. Works really well. The only thing he is NUTS about is motor cycles. If I'm not paying attention, I can get yanked right off my feet. He will redirect and not chase IF I'm on top of things before he gets too stimulated.

Milo used to do this, so I just got his sit and "watch me" really solid and then whenever a car started to approach I asked for that. I started out on our quieter streets and practiced in parking lots where his temptation to lunge was less and worked up to bigger roads with faster traffic. It only tooka few walks before he started defaulting to that when he saw a moving car.

I did the same with a clients dog that only tried to chase motorcycles, and it went the same way. I used high value rewards for this.

I'm not sure what I'd do with a little puppy if they didn't have a solid sit yet, but I feel like most puppies can handle this at like 10-12 weeks.

LAT is where we started and continued to the point of solid impulse control. Now I put him in a solid down stay as they go by.

Brisbane did that when he was a baby puppy too. We did a lot of LAT and always brought treats and he got better about it pretty quick. Now he only has an active vendetta against skateboards and the mail truck. (With prozac he only reacts to the traditional funny-shaped trucks and not anything bearing the United States Postal Service logo.)

Thanks!!

I think I am learning that things close up = chase, things at a reasonable distance = not a big deal. It doesn't even have to be that far away for him to not react to it. But things that pass RIGHT BY us he wants to chase. He wanted to go running with the woman who ran past us on the trail this morning. And cars are okay if we're on the sidewalk and they're a little further away from (vs walking through the neighborhood with no sidewalks).

Super easy to refocus him though so hopefully we get it worked out.

In that case is encourage him to do a default behavior (I'd choose looking at you, since you can still get him to walk in high traffic areas) even if you know he's not going to chase. Most likely as he gets older it will translate over to anything that passes, even if it's close.

You can also do LAT for car chasing.

Smiley was a lunger/chase/barker at cars, trucks, bikes, skateboards, people too. It took a while to figure out what worked for us, but saying "leave it" as they approached, and just continuing on finally worked. Now he is perfectly fine, except some skateboarders. They can be on the street, but not on the sidewalk, according to Smiley.