We have a 21 month old Irish Wolfhound. He has recently developed some odd behaviour which appears to be cyclical.It last happened around 6 months ago in exactly the same way. My wife and I have to take our Wolfhound in the car for his daily walks which he enjoys immensely. We travel upto 200 miles every 5 days taking him to regular, yet varied safe walk sites. He gets very excited in the car and constantly tries to climb into the front despite a car harness. He often whines fairly softly and this increases the nearer we get to the destination along with frantic jumping around. When there, he enthusiastically has his walk/ chase/ play and then gets back into the car and the behaviour is repeated the nearer we get to home.
In the last week (though no negative incident has occured) he refuses to get into the car or even to cross the road to it. If both my wife and I are present he will jump in with no hesitation. As I work full time and my wife is at home all day with him, It was usually her who takes him for walks. He asks for a walk and then at the end of our path refuses to go in any direction. Gentle cajoling persuades him to start moving and he is resonably happy but only to go around the block always the same way. The walks are however unsatisfying and short as he must be kept on a lead . My wife has to go out every 5 or ten minutes for about 3 hours until he sleeps always the same way. Any deviation from this results in having to force him to move forward even though he is familiar with all directions leading from our house. He only seems to be motivated if we are both present. Last time this happened we didn't make him use the car and in about 3/4 weeks he reverted back to the car and all was fine for around 6 months.Why is this occurring? Please any suggestions are helpful.Please feel free to ask any questions.

Hello Ken

First of all it is important that a full check is carried out by your vet just to clear any physical problems.

Regarding the "odd behaviour which appears to by cyclical", we would need to know if this is only the second time this has happened or has it really occurred every 6 months since you have had your dog. If there is no underlying medical reason does the behaviour occur when there is some external factor e.g. fireworks (autumn) and wind and thunderstorms (spring) which makes the dog fearful of going outside unless both owners are there for security?

Regarding the excitement in the car, this could be excitement/anxiety or controlling behaviour - excitement as the walk always ends in something exciting, anxiety - he could actually be fearful of the car and is seeking security in the front with you or he could generally be quite indignant about being restrained in the back - especially if this is the only time he is restrained.

If this is excitement and not fear/control issues then when you get him out of the car you could do some 'boring' training to take the edge off his excitement. Additionally you could take him on car journeys that don't end in a walk.

Although you say, in the last week, no negative incident has occured, there may be something that has gone undetected or a gradual build up to this problem that has gone unnoticed.

Your wife going out every 5 - 10 minutes before he goes to sleep, it might be better not supporting this behaviour and instead of trying to take him out take him back in and ignore him. Otherwise this behaviour can quite quickly turn into attention seeking behaviour.

Ken, it is not clear from your post what the underlying cause may be. This is really the type of case that needs a home visit - it is then much easier to assess the relationship the dog has with its owners and therefore establish the likely cause and best way to resolve it. It would also help to see the dog's general demeanour. We would need to know how he behaves around the home, is he afraid of anything, is he an obedient dog, does his behaviour change in any other way etc etc. Also to help motivate him we need to know what he likes doing - is he a good eater, does he like to play etc.

Whatever the reason it is important not to force the dog into the car or out on walks as it will result in deterioration of the dog's behaviour.

Hope this can form a basis for a reply but do let me know if you need any more details or if I can be of any further help.

Walter, Thank you so much for your careful and considered reply. Just to clarify some points.
This is only the second time this behaviour has occured. We have had 'Hazard' the Wolfhound since the age of 4 months.We strictly have him checked by the vet regularly and there is no physical reason. Paws, nails teeth, back etc all fine.It is interesting that you mention Spring as we have had and trained horses for many years and have fully accepted that Spring affects them in certain ways. Could this be the same for dogs? We have recently had very high winds when this behaviour began and both my wife and I considered this but some external reassurance is very welcome. At the end of his walks, very like a horse, we 'walk him down' for about a half mile. He does all his chasing of rabbits/hares which he lives for on the outward portion of his walk. The frantic behaviour seems worse as we approach home.I don't think he is fearful of the vehicle and will take a favourite snack whilst in it.When we arrive home he usually goes straight to sleep or cools down in the garden first.My wife in the last week has taken to ignoring him which is hard but has proved very successful. He simply goes back to sleep. The hardest part has been going from a dog that is bursting with energy and going out around 6/7 times a day to one who does 1 long walk in the morning and has another reasonable walk/chase in the evening as well as hefty play sessions. He used to have all the above just in more quantities.
He is extremely well behaved at home. He never soils in the house, never barks (occasionally gives a quiet woof at an approaching stranger but not the rapid gunfire bark of many other dogs) He is non destructive and follows several commands with ease. He does not overly like strangers fussing him but withdraws and shows no sign of aggression. He is fully accepting of people he knows. We have never heard him growl yet. He romps with my wife and play fights with her but is submissive to her when required. With me he tends to play 'ground' games such as trying to get a ball off me or chase the ball. I chase him he chases me. We do tend to indulge 'Hazard' but in as much as a pack member would. We have found he only demands something if he has a reason. I.E/ He is hungry, too hot, bored, has wind etc otherwise he is happy to do his own thing.He is not food orientated at all and will pick at his dog food all day. We have to remove his food an hour before and after his walks to minimise the risk of bloat. He is unpossessive of food and will readily give it up on command. Hope that helps and thanks again. As a foot note, If my wife or I are driving the car slowly and one walking him, he will rush to car the car and jump in enthusiastically!Many thanks.