Unruly in the Car
My lab tries to attack things through the window of the car. I've tried to yell at him, but he just seems to get worse. He also paces. Front seat to back seat to front etc. How do I get him to sit still?"

There are several reasons for unruliness in the car. Aggression, sport, hyper activity, and nervousness are the most popular. The key is to spot possible triggers first, before Fluffy sees them. Practice Sit Stay a lot. This is going to be your weapon. When you spot the possible trigger (kids, cats, horses...) Place him in a sit stay. If you practice a lot, just the command will put him in it. You may need a volunteer to place and hold him in the stay for you. Once you pass the object of his desire and he appears calm, tell him good boy. Some dogs need to use Down Stay. This is more for the aggressive/dominant dog. Down stay is real live dog language for being the alpha boss. If you practice this at home, he will heed this command. Don’t forget that negative attention (yelling) encourages the aggression. If you yell repeatedly at him, he interprets it as “ yeah mom, we’ll get the cow together...”

Another solution is to have him ride in a crate. This way he feels safe and secure and he knows exactly what ‘s expected of him. In other words, he knows that he doesn’t have to protect the car against strange cows when your going 50 mph.

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