Training to 'Load up' in the Suburban

[texanmom4]

Okay, Ruger is pushing 60# and is tall. He will jump up in the car (cargo area of the Suburban), front legs only. We always end up having to lift him in. We have tried different approaches to this. I have even been on the inside back seat, treat in hand, calling him to 'load up' and he wags his tail and stretches, but no back legs or jump. He 'can' jump when he wants to, trust me ; ) He does love the car once he is inside it.

We totally forgot how we trained our GRs to do it. (It has been 15 years) What are your ideas to train him to 'load up'?

[Sandy]

I am inclined to think it might be a doodle thing. Toby loves the car too, but almost never jumps in. He just puts his front feet on the seat and waits for a boost!

[Richard Crowe]

Holly will jump in our SUV when there is enough room such as when the vehicle is in the driveway and we can open the door fully. However, when the SUV is parked in the garage next to our other vehicle, the door cannot open fully. In that case, Holly just puts her front paws up and waits for a boost. We just give her a slight boost by her tail and that seems to be enough.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We recently purchased a new Honda Minivan with the "girls" in mind. We actually took them to the dealership to make sure that they could jump up into the back of the van with the seats folded down and stored, as we thought this would provide them lots of room to travel. At the dealership they both jump right up into the van, no problems. After we brought it home, Lucy will not jump up into the back of the van. It is front feet up and you lift my butt, I'm not jumping. She will jump in the side doors, but not the back. She will jump into the backseat of the Accord or into the truck, just not the back of the Van. I haven't worried too much about it since they both seem to prefer riding on the back seat with it up, vs having it folded down and stowed, so they just come and go through the side doors now! We had considered getting one of the fold up ramps, but this seems to be working for now and I haven't pursued it any further.

[Louise and Toby]

Would you believe it took until our Toby was 2 1/2 before he would jump all the way up in to the car? And getting out was scary for him too for a good while. Silly doodles!

[Kathy Spyker]

I had to put a leash on Lilly and back her up to get a little run and pull up on the leash saying "up-up".We had to do this a couple of times until she got the hang of it. After that she does it on her own. She still backs up first before she jumps up.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin will jump in, but only after staring at the seat for a minute and resisting slightly. I don't understand because he loves being in the car? perhaps it's just the getting in part that bugs them. Too much effort. :-)

[2qnpolyp1871h]

Ava was the same way. She would put her front feet up on the backseat of the car and then wait for you to pick up her back end. We have a Corolla, so she can practically just step in. Finally, we just refused to do it for her. I would stand behind her, telling her to "get in" and making sure she couldn't back up. It took a while at first, with her just standing there and us coaxing her with a treat, but she finally did get up on her own. She is better about it now, but I still have to stand behind her and tell her to "get in". Our 12 lb mini poodle on the other hand has no problems, he jumps right in!

[Missi]

I never thought of that! Lizzie ran across the street to the neighbors a few months ago and jumped right in their car!

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Timbow is a little over 65# and will only jump all the way in our camry or bmw when he feels like it. I think it's a doodle thing.

[texanmom4]

Thank you for all of your input. I will continue to try to see if he is 'up' to getting in on his own, but I certainly won't press the issue! It could just be a doodle thing? I will just have the kids lift him in on those muddy, rainy, mucky days! : )

[Missi]

For Lizzie, if I could open the SUV's door completely, she would jump on the floor board on her own and then up to the seat. I put lots of treats on the floor board and worked with her with the leash on. We had me on one side of the SUV and dbf on the other to coax her. Now, she FLIES into the SUV and will run from the front door to get there! It's pretty nice to say "load up" and she does it without any problem...makes taking short trips so much faster.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Dexter is SO lazy. He always puts his front paws up and waits for a boost. When he does this, I will make him back out of the car and will help him get a running start. His momentum usually carries him into the car. You can also try putting a treat in the car - I bet he may jump in to get that :)

Dexter also has no problem jumping - he is just very lazy :)