We take our two BCs training three - four times a week with shows on top of that. We take them in the back of the car, but one of them goes absolutely beserk and jumps about all over the back of the car (we have a dog guard up), especially at night when she can see the car headlights. What can I do? I don't want to buy a cage as they are too expensive and the car is only a corsa. She really tires herself out which isn't very good when we are on our way to an agility show.

Hi

Dog cages are not that expensive & are the safest way to travel your dogs, but if you don't want to use one that is your choice. Using one is unlikely to stop your dogs behaviour

You need to fnd out what actually triggers the behaviour. Does he/she do it when alone in the car? What is your other dogs reaction?

Does he/she do it everytime ? Is it during the day or night or both?

It could be quite a deep problem Is your dog at all other times?

A physical yet harmless cure for dogs that bark in the car is to get a passeger to squirt jif lemon juice in the dogs mouth & as soon as the barking stops YOU praise the dog for being quiet(the passenger has to be silent)

I guess too that you should be grateful that the other BC isn't joining in yet!!!

I have just beenlooking after a farm-bred Bc from working stock, and he was a bit of a nutter and very "compulsive/obssessed/fixated" which is his breeding, and I wojld say that this is your Bc's inbred instinct coming to the fore. The urge to herd lights/shadows/water as I am sure you know is not at all uncommon. It can be almost a self-rewarding habit, in which case the lights, etc need to be out of his sight! Or it can also be a way of stress (or even excitement) relief.

Is there some way that you can put the BC on the floor beind the passenger seat (a safe place) and restrain him so he can't jump up? Or alternatively cold you try getting a crate (or borrow one?) and cover it so he cannot see the cars/lights and so on?

We have an almost two year old Collie. He had rather a bad start in life and we adopted him at about ten months. He used to do exactly the same as yours, especially at night. The car headlights really mesmerized him. Eventually I found the cure! Initially you have to block their view. Either get someone in the car with you to cover the dog's head with a towel or something similar (or you could try a crate and cover it with a blanket etc). It took two or three trips of covering his head and now he is quite calm when in the car; even at night on long trips to Scotland!
Hope it works for you.

Bye for now,

Liz

Thanks everyone for all the advice, I will try an idea the next time we go out. Liz you know exactly what I mean. She can't stop watching the headlights and is fascinated by them. She is a rescue dog I adopted when she was 4.5 months old.