Question: How can I get Dougie to jump into the SUV????

[Adrienne]

OK, I am at my wits end.  Dougie is now 50+ lbs and will not jump into the back seat of my Honda Pilot.  He accidentally did it once so I know that it is possible, but, he will not even attempt to do it again.  I have tried treats, toys, having my kids jump in first, etc.  Nothing seems to work.  I have found that if I help him a little, he will clumsily crawl his way up into the seat.  And, if we are in a cement parking lot or area with a hard surface, I usually have to pick him up to get him out...  I have a strange feeling that I am being manipulated...Is there anything else that I can do?  Picking him up is quickly turning into a non-option.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Hi Adrienne - Great to hear from you!!  Can't believe "baby" Dougie is now 50+ lbs. My, how fast they grow!!  Casey & Cody are right there with him, though. Casey is 51 lbs and Cody is 48 - they just turned 10 months old.  They both LOVE to go for rides - - in my hubby's Honda CRV, but Cody always gets carsick in the backseat of my sedan.  So he pulls the same thing - - - puts his front paws on the seat and waits for me to push his tuckes up into the car. Casey always just sits there and looks at us - - - trying to decide if he is going to get in or not. IF he decides to get in, he just calmly walks up and steps into the car, then sits on the seat. Occasionally, he has decided - NO - don't think so - - and walked back to the door into the house. One of these occasions is when we were going to the vet, so he didn't have a choice. It took me literally dragging him to get him to the car. He just sat his butt down and decided he DID NOT want to go.  Mmmmmm, I decided that was not going to happen, so after about 10 minutes of pushing, pulling, and sweating - - I finally got him into the car. Once in he was fine.  Grrr.   The next time we went someplace, he eagerly got into the car. In fact, he did several times, then the other day, decided again that he didn't want to go and went back inside.  Talk about a mind of his own!

[Adrienne]

LOL!!  This reminds me of Dougie.  He just sits and waits for me to push him up into the SUV.  No matter how much I try to coax him to get up on his own, he just quietly waits.  I have some chicken pieces and cheese to sweeten the deal.  I hope that it works.  Unfortunately, with the snow storm blowing through today, I doubt that I'll be going anywhere.

[Sally S Miles]

If we need to get her into the backseat, first I take the front seat and scoot it all the way forward and then tilt the seatback forward as well. Getting down on her level showed me that it was a total blockade and not inviting at all -- so it started this way and it works., She did it the first time we showed her, after that waits until she can see clearly the floor to aim for. It takes a minute or so, but with the curvature of doors and the tilted back seat it seemed so tight to me - this has been a no problem. Now that she is fully grown she can hop straight into the seat, but I don't like it because I don't want her jumping down from that height - so she has to go through all the motions to appease.    She waits, I tap the floor and say Load - in she goes and then the seats are readjusted. This is of course easier done with power seats!

Getting into the hatchback definitely takes a bit of a running start, I slap the deck, say Load and up she goes.   We have an Outback and a pickup truck, the truck has a bigger back floor than the SUV!! But it's higher and I carry a folding step for exits.   We have a ramp for the wagon, but it's bulky and not at all convenient, had to get the extra long and it's ok in a pinch, but takes up a lot of room.

[BG and Gavin]

The perspective and sight line you are talking about Sally is right on.  Gavin and I do what we call "urban agility" in the park sometimes.  Gavin can jump over a park bench - right over the back of it without touching the seat!  However he will only jump it when we approach from seat side not from the back side.  I guess it looks more "doable" from that perspective.  When Gavin jumps in the truck we move the seat forward to expose the floor space etc but he jumps right from ground to seat.  Like most things in life, it is all a matter of perspective :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

My deer fence is kind of like that. It is only about 5 feet high but there are two thin cables above it and the posts are taller. I think the deer think it is much taller than it is. They also won't jump into areas where the site lines are obstructed.