# Lab will not kennel in her kennel in the back of the truck.



## Gone Fishin (Dec 11, 2008)

I have a Black Lab that will not kennel up in her kennel in the back of the pickup. She will be Three @ the end of June. When she was under a year she did it all the time. She has a Timid personality, it's almost like she is intimidated by the height. She jumps into a dog trailer no problem, which is about half the height of a pickup.

This year during Duck opener, we were in between hunts, she would jump in the back periododically with the coaxing of some summer sausage.

Is there any kind of training I could be doing woth her in the off season?

Any help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.


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## Fosse (Jan 5, 2007)

What is wrong with picking her up and helping her in?


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

> What is wrong with picking her up and helping her in?


Agree 100000% help her in and out,

according to a very knowlegable gun dog vet I know jumping in and out of vehicles is a big cause of acl and other injuries. I never allow my dogs to jump in or out. And they are way more athetic than labs.


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## Gone Fishin (Dec 11, 2008)

Nothing,

I can understand where the problem comes in with jumping out of the truck, but jumping in I didn't really see a problem. Just looking for some help guys.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I'm not being sarcastic, its probably hard for her or hurts her, if it wasn't she would do it like she does in the trailer


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

I am willing to bet it is more her not wanting to then her not able to. They can jump crazy high. I have a 3/4 ton pickup, and one day my dog jumped over the tailgate into the back.  I damn near died when I saw her do that. That is as high as my arm level, and I am 6'.

I would say if you want her to do it all the time get her used to it. Have her practice gain some confidence then it will be a breeze when in the field.

When hunting I can see why you maybe don't want to pick her up as she is muddy or whatnot. I end up picking mine up quiet a bit as it is a long ways up and when they are tired I would rather not have them slip and break something or pull a muscle.

Up to you man!

I would practice if thats what you want.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

> And they are way more athetic than labs.


Easy Bob 8) 8)


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

well they are... EP 's are rockets. I love labs but they are linebackers not tightends :lol:


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2009)

Does she show any lameness? Is there a chance she has hip or elbow displasia or a possible ACL? If she did it before and won't anymore I wonder if there is an underlyingissue. Also is the tailgate slippery? I have a rubber mat on my old truck and now have rhino lining that isn't slippery which helps.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Bobm said:


> well they are... EP 's are rockets. I love labs but they are linebackers not tightends :lol:


Alright I'll buy that :lol:

My older female slipped on the tailgate and landed on her back when she was around a year old and to this day she will not jump in the back of the truck, she will go to the tailgate and put her front paws on it but never try and jump up. i just help her up.

Now Bodey is another story, I think I could have the box on top of the cab and most likely he would be able to make it in from the ground if he tried. I screwed carpet on the tailgate to protect him from slipping getting on and off the tailgate.

I would just help her and not worry about it.


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## Gone Fishin (Dec 11, 2008)

Yeah the tailgate is slick, I was thinking about that. The thing is she did it for a while in october in the field and won't do it at home (which is understandable, I do things in the field I won't do @ homw :lol: ) Sometimes she'll put her paws up but won't commit. It's not the jumping part of it she jumps like a deer off the end of the dock and in the field. I think maybe she feels intimidated by the height of the truck.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Two things. Velcro a piece of indoor / outdoor carpet to the tailgate. I've had my dogs slide off the tailgate. Use the whole pack of velcro and it should hold pretty well.

Second, use treats and coax her up with the kennel command. I usually treat my dogs when they are in their crates. She'll be kenneling like a champ when she gets used to the treat on a regular basis.


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## fargodawg (Sep 20, 2005)

my dog wont jump into the p/u box if the truck is in the garage and the garage door is down or I have my trailer hooked up, I needed her to back up a foot and then it is fine, my opinion is they cant see where they are jumping if it is too straight up, back her up a foot and have her try, my dog was hesitant now and again: front feet up and down...a guy told me to back her up a foot and it never fails.

my $.02


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

The slippery tailgate could very well be the culprit. Mine has the plastic liner (very bad) but bare metal is the same. Carpet works good or get a can of box liner spray at an automotive store. It has some fine grit in the spray. When you apply it have a handfull of fine sand to sprinkle on the wet paint. Dries like sandpaper.
Bob's right though. We only have so many jumps in us.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

On a side note, I always back into my little south Mpls driveway, so Remi's always used to jumping into the bed where his kennel is from that direction. One day I pulled in forward and was going to let him drive around with me in the cab to run some errands, so I called him and told him to load up and he jumped on the top of the hood and did he ever look confused. There are a couple nice scratches for a reminder.


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## slipbobber!! (Feb 3, 2009)

I had a dog with the same problem. After watching her I noticed sometimes her jumps weren't quite high enough and she would catch her back legs on the gate. After a day of hunting she was just too tired to make the jump. If she would not jump in I would just lift her in.


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