6 month old Goldendoodle is afraid to jump in & out of the car

[Lisette Palmer]

Charley refuses to jump in and out of my KIA Sorento.  He seems to like to go with me.  I have tried luring him with treats but He acts like he is scared to climb in or out.  Do you think he may have joint problems?  He is a happy, energetic dog otherwise.  I appreciate any comments.  Thanks, Charley's Lisette

[Paige and Leo]

Leo has also always been scared to get in or out of cars.  He is year and half old now and still does this.  He is a medium doodle so I can get him in and out but not without him looking like he so sad.  Hopefully other have great info on helping.  A ramp ;)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This isn't at all unusual and I doubt very much that it has anything to do with joint problems. 

It can sometimes be a space issue. There are really no other situations where you are asking a dog to jump up or down into a relatively closed-in area through a relatively small opening from pretty much a dead stop (no running start). I know that JD has always needed to have the car door open as wide as it will go and enough space that he can back up a little before jumping. 

[Lisette Palmer]

thank you. Believe it or not, this is my 1st experience raising a puppy. You can see from the picture that I am no kid. 

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Charley is a gorgeous, flexible looking doodle!  I'm not sure his joints are sturdy enough at 6 months for jumping that high? I'm sure more experienced people on the list will chime in on that. At any rate, how close is Charley to the Sorento when you are asking him to jump in?  My late, impeccably trained (not by me unfortunately) lab, used to jump in and out of the car on command, but only if she had enough room to take a short running start or a few running steps after exiting (she couldn't stick her landing but she was still a 10 in my heart).  When the gardening equipment started taking over the garage, I had to move the car onto the driveway for Ellie to jump in or out. If she didn't see enough room, she would whimper and spin in circles, as she hated to disobey a command. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, this is exactly what I meant about enough space. 

[Lisette Palmer]

Thank you for the comments. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really don't think he has any joint problems.  My Murphy was afraid of jumping into the car for years....so each time we were going anywhere I had his "brother" ( a 22 lb mini) jump in first so he could see, and then I would say "up Murph".  I always let him know I had treats as a reward if he did it.  He was just too scared for a really long time...so when I had given it a fair chance I would put his front paws up on the seat and lift his back end up (and it is a really BIG back end- he's a 70 lb Standard).  This went on for years (yes, literally years), but I never forced it.  He saw that Guinness (his brother) got a treat for jumping in....but Murph just wasn't ready.  Then one day it just happened...and we had a huge party with lots of "cookies".  Now he always jumps in...and we still get a treat and a "party" because I know it takes courage for him to do it.  Having the right amount of space really is important as others have said....but most of all I think it's key to "get" that it may be frightening for them and it will take time.  But when it happens it truly is a reason to celebrate.

[Lisette Palmer]

You are a great help. I do have a papillon poodle that of course leaps right in. You make complete sense. 

[Paige and Leo]

I will use Leo's favorite treats to help him too.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Charley is just beautiful! I wouldn't really be concerned about him not wanting to jump into the car. I think they're all different and it just might not be his thing. I have two doodles and my little one jumps right in with such ease and grace! My bigger one will get his front paws up and gives me the over the shoulder look to boost him up. It just gives me a chance to get extra hugs in!

[Lisette Palmer]

Thanks

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Lure him with high value treats - one paw even slightly forward +treat .  These kinds of things are easiest to train if your dog is clicker trained which is very fun.  Look for clicker training on DK.