new dog please help again

Hi All,

Following my thread about my partners mums new dog Bella she has asked me to ask you all other question as the advice about my daughter situation was so helpful.
What should she do......
when out walking with bella she barks at cars and tries to chase them as they go past its every car but obvisusly can't as she is on the lead.
They would never let her of the lead near cars and only allows her of in a enclosed park.
the lady they got her from has always owned Red setters and i don't think she knew how to cope with a more active dog, she told my partners mum that when she started to do this at the cars she gave up and never took her for a walk on the road. which does help. we know there is a few things that need to be tackled with but my partners mum really doesn't want to send her back or get rid of her so she is willing to try anything, apart from these 2 quite big issues she has, she is a brilliant dog,
Do you what is the best way to tackle this?
thanks again
donna

Hi there

I have a rescue collie who does this. With my girl she is bad just now because she is recouperating from an op and is really limited in her exercise. When she's fit and healthy and can have the proper physical and mental stimulation she needs, she doesn't bother with them.

People may have other ideas, but to start with I would try to avoid the road when she is full of energy. I would take her somewhere (by car if necessary to avoid road walking) and give her a good run & do some training In short bursts - a couple of minutes or so at a time) and games like hide and seek to work her mind as well as her body as this will make her more tired than pure running alone.

Once she has got rid of the surplus energy, I would walk to somewhere where we can see cars at a distance, try and find a bench and just sit for a couple of minutes. Get her to focus on you when a car goes past, if she keeps her attention on you, praise her and give her a treat. Alternatively, if she is toy focused, you can tempt her with a toy when the car goes past and let her play with it if she ignores the car. If you are going to use a toy, get the one that she likes best and only let her play with it as a reward - not as a toy that she can play with whenever she likes. This will help keep the toy special and a high reward.

Gradually (over a period of days/weeks - not in one session) you can get nearer the traffic.

There is no quick fix for this but if you are determined, I'm sure you will improve. Getting her calm (because she has already been mentally/physically worked) imo is the key.

good luck