Can't get in car by himself

[Eileen Ross and Cody]

We have been trying to get Cody to get into the car by himself. He can't do it without his puppy stairs. We have tried treats but all he does is put his front paws on the seat and wait for me to lift his butt. Any advice? He is a 7mos old 55lb goldendoodle.

[Gail & Max]

We just went thru this with Max who is now 11 months old and it has only been in the last 2 months that he would jump into our truck by himself but not out and than about 3 weeks ago he will jump out as well! Its like suddenly the lightbulb went on and he gets it all of a sudden. I would just be patient it will happen, hopefully before your back goes out :)!

[sandy b]

Not knowing what kind of car you have but if there is space enough how about putting his front paws on the floor instead of the seat and then kind of push him in?

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Dexter plays this trick too. Amazingly he has no trouble jumping up on the bed which is higher than the car seat. We found that getting him going with a running start helps. We put him in a car harness so we take the leash off, grab the top of the harness...get him going and then w/the running start he'll jump in. Dex is a very lazy doodle :) He's 2.5 yrs and still tries to get us to give him a boost.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

We have a small SUV - he definitely has room. Dexter is a very very goofy doodle and he'll do stuff like this all the time. We do love him for his goofiness, but I am not boosting a 65 lb dog regularly into the car :)

I have to agree that I wouldn't let an 11 week dog jump in and out yet - I don't think it's great for their bones.

[Karen Gaffney]

Cirrus does this too! His issue I think is anxiety associated with the car. He also drools in the car. My trainer says dogs who had one of their first car rides associated with leaving home and going on an airplane for many hours (a frightening experience to be sure) can develop car anxiety. Cirrus is smaller though only 40 pounds a little easier to lift.

Karen

[Kim]

There was a Dog Whisperer episode about a dog that didn't like to be picked up that I remember seeing. I'm pretty sure it was a beagle. I don't remember the episode enough to remember what ended up changing that behavior - but it was fixed!

[Kim]

HA! So weird that when I got on this site that this was the first discussion... My Allie JUST jumped out by herself today FINALLY!!! She is 7 months. I almost cried happy tears!!! LOL. She still needs me to help her in a little bit - but I don't have to pick her up anymore to get her in.