The Dog That Wouldn’t Jump Into The Car

The problem appeared to be fairly simple. A dog that declined to jump into the car and insisted on being lifted in. Surely this was going to be easy……

Mr Barrington was a retired gentleman in his 60s who enjoyed walking and was accompanied everywhere by his Schipperke dog Skipper who he had acquired from the local shelter. A lifelong bachelor his dogs took on extra significance as they provided company during his solitary existence. In his retirement, Mr Barrington used his car for a charity that assisted housebound people to get around, particularly for hospital appointments and shopping. All his dogs in the past had happily jumped into his hatchback car, however, Skipper had other ideas.

This particular breed was one that was didn’t see very often due to its rarity. In fairness, this was only the second one that I had come across. Skipper was a happy, friendly little dog who appeared to enjoy the company of humans, was fairly well behaved, showed no disagreeable traits and was generally a credit to his owner Mr Barrington.

We started with treats with no success, even the temptation of a piece of cooked liver failed to tempt Skipper into jumping into the back of the car. I then suggested that Mr Barrington try sitting on the back seat, leaning over and offering Skipper a treat that way.  With the owner already inside the vehicle, the dog will usually eagerly follow. Not Skipper! I tried placing his paws on the back of the car and then giving him a very gentle nudge. I tried getting Mr Barrington to start the car with the rear hatch open, even driving a few metres hoping that Skipper would jump in not wanting to be left behind. Total failure. The odd part was Skipper enjoyed travelling in the car when he was safely ensconced inside and happily jumped onto the back seat if given the chance so it wasn’t that he was reluctant to jump, he just would not jump into the rear of the car.

A Previous Experience?

I suggested that Mr Barrington contact the shelter that supplied Skipper and check if they had any information regarding the dog’s history. I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that this was an issue that was prompted by a past unpleasant experience. What bothered me was that Skipper was very happy to travel in the back of the car provided he was lifted in, he just would not jump in by himself.

Inquiries at the shelter were unsuccessful as the staff had no information that was relevant to the problem as Skipper had been left over a year ago and the previous owner had moved leaving no forwarding address.

I continued to try to solve the problem with no success.

His bed was placed in the car and was again unsuccessful as was putting his toys in the vehicle. I even suggested putting his dinner in the car as I was sure that would finally solve the issue.

By now I was totally convinced that this had to be the result of an incident from his past that had caused Skipper some distress and his memory had created this impasse.

By now I was almost at the stage of conceding defeat. First and foremost in my mind was being unable to solve the problem and this would affect both Skipper and Mr Barrington for years to come. At the back of my mind was the obvious thought that I was unable to solve what appeared to be a simple issue.

As I shared my frustration with Joy it was her throwaway comment that finally gave me an idea.

“He obviously needs a ladder.” She giggled.

Now all my friends will know that I am not mechanically minded but a chat with a friend who was a DIY nut gave me an idea.

“Is this guy serious”?

I took a long plank of wood and screwed pieces of baton at intervals thus giving Skipper the ability to gain purchase over the length of makeshift ramp that I had created. A telephone call to Mr Barrington led to the appointment and I proudly showed him my creation. He looked decidedly unimpressed. I guess he was thinking.

“Is this guy serious”?

The plank was duly placed and food was out at intervals to encourage Skipper to use the ramp. The dog viewed my creation with some concern and proceeded to repeatedly walk around and sniff this strange contraption.

Finally, he found the food, gingerly walked up the ramp and into the car. Mr Barrington looked at me, burst out laughing and reached to shake my hand.

“Well,” he said. “I’ve got my work cut out, fortunately, I was an engineer by trade so I need to replicate what you have done only with something a little more manageable. Driving around with a two-metre plank on the roof isn’t going to be a long-term option.”

A week later Mr Barrington called and arranged a time to show me his take on my handiwork. I was impressed. His was made of aluminium with some sort of rubber coating to enable Skipper to get a good grip and was hinged in the middle for compact storage.

Did Skipper ever get over his phobia? As far as I am aware the answer is no. I met Mr Barrington accidentally many years later and Skipper was still using his little ramp. Why did this start? I cannot answer that other than to say that dogs do have long memories. Almost certainly Skipper had suffered a painful or distressing experience and never got over it. However, his own little ramp allowed him to enter the car, get out and about without any problems and Mr Barrington was able to keep the seats in his car for his human passengers and their shopping.