May 03, 2011
I have a 9 month old Bull mastiff that is afraid to get into my utility vehicle. What should I do?
Full Question:
I am now beginning to watch The First Steps of Bite Training. As I am going through the video I am still wondering whether my dog is capable. I have a Bull mastiff male who is not afraid of too many things. The one thing that I am having a problem in is getting him into the car. I take him to work with me everyday, and he is in some way afraid of getting in the car. I have a sports utility vehicle and it is quite high up. At this point he is 9 months old and weighs 105 lb. I still have to put him in the car; he doesn't put forth any effort. He is getting heavy. Is it possible that the car is just still to high for him and I might need a ramp? Do you have any suggestions? I also wonder if this fear is an indication that he will not be capable of handling protection work. Thank you for any information you can give me. 
Ed's Answer:
Take the dog and have his hips preliminary x-rayed. He may not be jumping because he has pain in the hips. This has nothing to do with protection work - nothing at all.
Toss a hot dog into the truck every time you want him to get in. That will increase his desire to jump in their (assuming his hips are good).
Toss a hot dog into the truck every time you want him to get in. That will increase his desire to jump in their (assuming his hips are good).
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