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
Ed 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).

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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