[Phillyfisher]

We need to teach Tucker a trick for his last obedience class. We would like to teach him to jump in the back of our SUV. No reason that he physically cannot do this, as he can jump up on our bed no issue. We have lowered the back seat so he has plenty of room to jump up and in. I can lure him to get his front paws up, but I cannot get him the rest of the way in. I have tried getting him really excited to encourage him to jump, but can't get him to go all the way in. Right now I am saying "up", luring his front paws up onto the back of the car and tossing the treat in the back to get him the rest of the way. He just looks at me like, "what did you do that for?"

I have gotten him all the way in if I am inside the back of the car and lure, but I really want him to learn this with me standing next to the car. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Bock]

are you using enough of a high-value treat? perhaps try hot dog or cheese.

 

[amy22]

Ill be interested to hear..I cant get Misty to get into the front of the suv..she will put her front paws in and stand there looking at me...I have to lift her back end in....

 

[Phillyfisher]

Yep, high value treat- leftover steak.

 

[FeatherRiverSam]

The command I use for this is "Load Up" Woody. He's always right there - doesn't want to be left behind after all. It sounds like the treat value is high enough - for a piece of that steak I'd be happy to come over and show him how it's done...

I think what I'd try is skipping his morning meal, to give him a bit more of an incentive, and toss that steak in there...you might want to give him a bit of a running start. And if that doesn't work how about a tennis ball thrown in the back...

And if that doesn't work leave him behind...remember there are no fish rising in the graveyard...

Good Luck,

Pete

 

[Goldilocks]

Good luck. The joke in my family is the lazy Goldens. Neither Cooper or Pippa will jump into a vehicle. Both put their front paws on the back seat and want a boost. It's just ridiculous. The neighbours laugh, make comments, etc.

 

[Alohaimee]

For my boys, I put their beds in the back of my SUV and just told 'em "go to bed" and they jumped right in! (with treats of course) I gradually switched to "Get in" and now they both just hop in whenever I ask them to.

I think for them, it was nice to have their beds to know where they were allowed to go. Maybe put a bed or a toy in the car before you bring the dog to the car? Maybe that will help??

 

[Phillyfisher]

I know this will be a tough one. But he can sure jump up on our bed, so I know he can do it. He did it one evening after a walk without me really asking. I wish I could remember what I did or say to get him to do it. It was effortless for him.

 

[Phillyfisher]

Ok, after this morning, this is our game plan. Since Tucker will hop up on a bed without issue, we will teach him to jump up on the bed with the word "up". Once he can reliably repeat that behavior with our bed, we will transfer that behavior to the kids beds, and then finally (and hopefully) the car. Any other ideas?

 

[GoldenSail]

Find a part of the ground that is up higher and back the SUV up to it (such as a mound of dirt). Practice having him jump in the back this way. Getting in the car can be a confidence thing--sure, they can do it, but they don't think they can. If you make it easy to get in plus rewarding you can eventually move to where he is jumping the full height.

 

[Phillyfisher]

GoldenSail- Excellent suggestion! I have the perfect spot in our driveway to do this. Thanks!

 

[hotel4dogs]

the problem is the front paws! He's got to jump up WITHOUT putting his front paws up.
Once they get the front paws up, they're clueless. Then they just stand there and wait for you to lift the back end for them. There's no way that they're physically able to do it once the front end is up.
They have to jump it from a stand still behind the SUV.
High value treats tossed into the back end of the SUV, about 1/2 way back, seems to work the best. Don't put it near the back gate or you will have the same problem of putting the front feet up.
What also works for some dogs is to have someone in the front seat, hanging over the seat into the back end, squeaking a really cool toy and calling the dog.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Is the 'way back' as we call it, clear of obstacles? No crate? We've found that horses and dogs don't like to load if they aren't sure there's room enough for them.

Also, get him excited first. Do some playing with treats outside the car and then get a running start to the car. Throw the treat in and maybe he'll jump in after it.

I agree with hotel4dogs. The load has to be a jump. Putting the paws on indicates a climb and they know there's nothing to climb on. So they look kind of stuck.

 

[Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom]

It took a really long time for Casey to learn this too. I used treats, treats, treats. He eventually got it. Part of the problem initially was that when he was a puppy he got sick in the car, and really didn't like going in it. As he outgrew his car sickness and got to go to fun places (like the dog park) he was more willing to cooperate. Good luck!

 

[Phillyfisher]

SUCCESS! We did it! Here's how:

1. Worked Tucker on learning "up" by having him jump up on our bed. He loves doing that anyway, so it was really easy. Once I felt he knew what "up" meant, we mixed it in with sits, downs, shake, etc to make sure he really knew what it was.

2. We moved Tucker to another bedroom, to change to environment. Since he is not usually in the other bedrooms, this created more distraction for him. We had to work harder, but once we got his attention, he was able to jump up on the other bed. We repeated the behavior in each bedroom for a couple of nights.

3. Next we moved the behavior outside. We have a low wall and higher grade next to our driveway, so we worked up in this area. The jump height was similar to the beds. He picked it up quickly, so we moved on to the car.

4. At the car, we removed the divider grate we had been using to keep him behind the back seat. We also removed the liner for the cargo area, letting him just jump into the carpeted cargo area. At first he wasn't sure about jumping up, but once my wife and son got in the backseat and encouraged him, we got his excitement up and he jumped right in the back. We then worked on repeating "up" with them in the backseat, hiding behind the backseat and finally outside of the car.

He now jumps in the back of the SUV! Best if all, I have one more day to reinforce it before our class on Thursday night! So proud of my boy!

 

[hotel4dogs]

great job! Way to go!
And he's thinking.... "oh, so THAT'S what you wanted!! Why didn't you just SAY so???"

 

[HovawartMom]

How old is he?.
My boy did not jump,in the car,until he was 6 mths old!.
He would put his front paw,on the car trunk and wait for me,to lift his royal ass!!!.

 

[Phillyfisher]

Tucker is 19 months. Yeah, we baby him. He really is just now just starting to focus. Guess that is what is happens after you get fixed.

 

[BeauShel]

That is great news. Way to go Tucker and Pop.