How to get her to jump in the back of our car?

[smt]

Hello all.  We have had Bette for almost 6 weeks.  She is 2, and clearly knows how to jump up into the back of our Subaru Forester.  She has done so on more than a few occasions when lured in by a high value treat.  Other times, she just plants herself and won't budge.  Will we forever have to use cheese to get her to hop up?  If she refuses to get in on her own, we put her front legs up, then lift her around her waist to get her in.  She loves to ride in the car, and rides really well.  It does not seem to be a car aversion.  It seems to be more of a "hop up" aversion.  Any thoughts?

[stevevt]

Does she always jump in when lured by a high value treat? If so, keep using it but slowly reduce the quantity. You should also try to switch to rewarding her for jumping in without showing the treat (i.e., no longer luring). The next step would be to to randomly (and I really mean randomly here) reward her for jumping in. Then, eventually, you can work on completely eliminating the reward.

I'm still working on all of this with EQ, but I consider it a victory that I no longer have to lift him into the car. 

It should help if you're able to be super patient, which isn't always possible when you're trying to get a car trip going. So, set aside some times when you are able to wait things out. I found that if I waited long enough, EQ would almost always jump in on his own eventually. The usual training suggestions apply here: Don't give the command more than once (so you're not training her that the cue is you saying it over and over), give rewards for every step in the right direction, don't give attention for the wrong behavior, etc.

If all this fails, you might consider putting a treat in the car ahead of time and just pointing it out to get her to jump in. Make the car a place where amazing treats might just happen on their own, and Bette might be motivated to check if the Treat Fairy has left any presents just in case. 

[greysmom]

Yes to the above.  It's a behavior you have to train just like any other, in the same way.  

Usually, female dogs particularly, learn to jump up in the training/racing kennels because the smaller females are housed in the top row.  They use marshmallows to train them there.  But your girl (and my youngest now too!  ) came home before that could happen, so the training has to take place at home!

[zimsmom]

Ha!! I've had Maya since she was 8 I still have to lift her in the car.  She just will not move;  treats & all.  She got me trained. 

[smt]

Thanks for the step by step.  That is what I was looking for.