It is not a secret that many dogs will chase a car or two. They have been doing this for a long time and they will continue to do it. Why do dogs bark and run after vehicles at night or all day long? There is no just one reason. As a matter of fact, there are a few of them and every dog can chase a car due to each one of these reasons at any given moment. Let’s reveal the reasons now.
5 Reasons Dogs Bark And Run After Vehicles At Night
1. It Is In Their Blood
All dogs have this. Why do dogs bark and run after vehicles in the night time? They have a strong instinct to chase prey. A car will move fast across their territory so they will see it as prey. They will chase him because this is what they have been doing in the wild. This is why most dogs will chase and bark at any hint that moves fast.
2. Cars Are Loud
Dogs don’t like loud noises. Cards tend to make loud noises all the time so dogs will chase them. It simply means that the dog doesn’t like the car and he wants the car to leave. He doesn’t know that the car is leaving. But a dog simply hates loud noise and he will want to eliminate it as soon as possible.
3. He Wants To Play
For some dogs, all of this is a game. A car will move, he will chase the car and the car will leave. It sounds like playing a game and ending up victorious every single time. If we know that dogs don’t have a lot of things they can actually do these days, chasing cars is lots of fun. Many dogs will do this because they are bored and they want to do something.
4. It Is Impostor
Your dog will pee on a specific car all the time. If you take a deep look, you will notice what he will do to mark the territory. But this also means that other dogs will pee or mark other cars. Your dog has a territory. When a car with the pee of another dog passes through his territory, your dog will treat that as an invasion. He will want to protect his land and he will bark and chase the car. Yes, even if a car drives fast your dog can still sense the smell of another dog.
5. He Hates The Car/Driver
It is possible that your dog hates the car that is passing by. He can hate the driver as well. If that car or a driver did something bad to your pet, he will associate the bad feeling and the bad thing with the vehicle/person. This can be bad and a severe issue. Always try to protect the dog as much as you can and try to keep him safe. At the same time, teach him how to stop chasing cars. This can be very dangerous behavior and one that all dog owners need to eliminate as soon as possible.
How To Make Your Dog Stop Chasing Cars
The goal here is to teach your dog to stay in command. Once he knows it and he sees a car you can issue the command and he must stop chasing the car. He should stay in place and not move at all. A good thing is that teaching your dog this command is not a complicated process and you need to do a few things only.
- You need to teach him when your dog is calm. If you try to teach him this while a car is passing by, you will fail.
- At all times your dog must be on the leash. There are no exceptions here.
- Keep him on the leash and issue a ‘’stay’’ command. If he obeys you, give him a treat. If he doesn’t obey you, don’t give him a treat. Repeat this as many times as your dog needs.
- Now you will want to expose the dog to more stressful situations. For instance, let your friend ride a bicycle on the road and you issue him a command to stay. Eventually, your pet will know that this is something he must do and there is no alternative.
The Final Word
Why do dogs bark and run after vehicles at night time? They consider this as play time, they want to chase prey or some other reason we have above. One thing you need to know is that this is not acceptable behavior. Your dog will likely chase everything that moves, including people in wheelchairs. You need to train him and help him stop doing this. This training is simple but it does require a lot of time and effort.
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