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

[Lisette Palmer]

My granddaughters do love him but wish he wasn't quite so enthusiastic.  He will settle down and they will get bigger.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Lisette, Does Charley jump up on beds or couches? Obviously, if he does, then you could rule out joint issues. When I want my larger dog, Wally, to jump up into the back of our Lexus, I need to slide the driver's seat up to give him more space. If it's our van that he's getting into, he does not hesitate to jump. Another thing you could try is to have Charley jump into the front of your Sorento (with the front seat slid all the way back), and then have him move to the rear of the car by climbing between the two front seats in order to get to the rear.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I use a version of both of those with JD since his herniated disc problem. (I also drive a Lexus RX). I pull the front passenger seat all the way forward and he gets in on the passenger rear floor, then climbs onto the seat. I have also tried moving the front passenger seat all the way back and letting him get in at floor level, where he can easily get onto the front seat and then climb between the front seats into the rear. 

[Lisette Palmer]

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Marni and Hanna]

I agree with the space thing too, as Hanna does better with more space.  Also, she will hop right up into my truck and into our small SUV, but struggles with my low-to-the-ground Subaru imprezza...almost like she can judge the distance.  Finally figured out the color might be hard for her to see as the imprezza is black on black, where the other vehicles are lighter interiors and two-toned.

[Lisette Palmer]

Interesting

[BG and Gavin]

Common problem lol. Gavin bonked his head jumping into the back of my suv when he was a pup and after that, he would not do it. I tried and tried. Finally one day I was watching Stanley Coren on tv and he was dealing with this same issue. He reminded me how darn situational dependent dogs are. So, just as Stanely did, I tried a different door. So now Gavin readily goes in the back passenger door. Incidentally he jumps into the much smaller back seat of my husband's much higher up pick up from a stand still. He goes in on the drivers side. Go figure!

[Lisette Palmer]

I just want to give an update on this discussion.  I think Charley was afraid to jump but not any longer.  He gets in the car if he wants to go, he jumps onto the couch and bed.(with permission).  He also has had some problems with his back hips but I give him a product by Spunky which seems to take prevent the problem.