The answer
On film the trainers fix a car or crate the dog dreads in the same two moves. First, getting in stops being optional - the trainer may wait a day, but then the dog is helped or put in, without a fight about it. Then every trip pays: the car or the crate becomes the thing that comes just before the park, a run, a game or a store visit, and a short word - 'up, up, up' for Thumper, 'go home' for Bernie's crate - comes to mean it. Thumper's trainer puts it in one line: he gets in with no issue now because every time he gets in, they are going somewhere fun, and there is nothing bad attached to it. Bernie's trainer tells the family he shoved him into the truck crate a few times, then the crate kept ending at the park, and Bernie started jumping in on his own. Coco's trainer says the same about her car crate: it means she is about to go and have a lot of fun.
Thumper also shows the limit. Three and a half weeks after he went home, the car fear was back at full strength: his owner had put him in loose, clipped to a seatbelt lead, and he panicked. At the follow-up the trainer had to lift him onto a four-wheeler and called it 'day one all over again'. Her explanations are practice (the further a dog gets from training, the less he does what he was taught unless it is kept up) and the crate (in a crate he cannot see the motion that frightens him). So the association is real but it has to be maintained, and it may not reach a fear of motion itself.
Said on film: the no-option start, the fun at the other end, the loading word, the crash-proof crate, the rewards at the door, and the relapse at home. Inferred: that the fun works because the car comes to predict it, and that it failed at home partly because trips stopped leading anywhere good. In all three the turnaround is the trainer's account after the fact, not filmed from start to finish.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Give him a day or two to settle at home first, then practise. Put a crash-proof crate in the car and use one word for getting in (Thumper's is 'up, up, up'). Walk him to it on a short, locked leash; if he lies down, do not drag him towards it - say 'let's go', walk the other way, turn back and move him up the moment he stands. Reward him as soon as he is in - a treat, a toy, praise and pets - and then drive somewhere he loves: the park, a walk, a store. Do this often, not only when he has to go to the vet. If he is big and fully refusing, do not lift him alone; get help.
What the trainers say
Yeah, well, because he, so the first day that I went to take him out of the kennel, he didn't let me get him even in the car.
But Kelton didn't give him an option afterwards.
it was like a blockage for him yeah it's like oh that's where I got out of the car and that I'm not
he was going to get back in so um now he gets in like no issue because he knows that every time he
gets in there we're going somewhere right we're going to have fun we're going to play we're going
to go to the store it's you know it's there's nothing bad attached to that I will say that I
And I hit the word that I that I gave him for that is up, up, up.
Take him out to the park and use the word up, up, up, up, up, up, up, you know, look at him.
on, let's go. I know, buddy. You got to face your fears though. Come on. I know. Come on, let's go.
the less likely they are to do the command if you don't practice it constantly so me having to like
physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
because he's not in a crate and he can't see you know uh-uh he can see it where we're going yeah
yeah with us he got on he did this the first time i had kelton help me get him on and then after
good boy good boy and then you give him his reward so give him his there we go he either
and and he's really um motivated by treats so having like something that can make him feel
so i lock the leash and i don't give him the option to like you know
if he lays down instead of pulling him this way just walk away like walk the opposite direction tell him um let's go he'll get it up and then you make the u-turn you lock it and you make them go in
good for the first time over praise him give him pets give him treats say yes
like and just like shoved him in the crate um and i did that a few times and then but then like if
time so then he started going maybe i want to get in the crate all right i might be going somewhere
fun yeah yeah yeah so then it's like okay like on the other end of the crate is like something cool
the crate yeah go home yeah or sometimes if it's in the car i'll go like up up yeah up up yeah we
That specific kennel is made for, like, it's crash-proof, and I don't, honestly, I don't like driving with the dogs outside because, you never know, people are crazy, I don't want the dog to go flying, I don't want him, you know, nothing wrong with him.
every time she goes in the crate right we go to the park so at some point she's like i really like the crate because the crate means i'm about to go have a lot of fun
you don't go anywhere fun and the dog's like i'm either inside or i'm in a crate inside
you don't want to have them have it go out a bunch and then you don't want to put them right back in the truck after
truck makes everything go stop right ever all no pressure happens in truck right um you want them
that you want to praise it because that's a good thing you want to make this a good thing for her
her to to make the connection that oh every time I gotta get on here it hurts
yeah well i think the car thing it just takes time because he wasn't used to it so
How it looks, dog by dog
Thumper
The case this concept is named from. Thumper came in already afraid of the car: at the go-home lesson on 1 March 2026 his owner says he fought being put in the car for his neuter trip. On his first day Gemma could not get him into her car and gave him one more day to decompress; then, in her account, Kelton gave him no option and they made him get in past the spot that scared him. After that every trip led somewhere - to play, to the store - and a word, 'up, up, up', was attached to getting in; she tells the owner he now gets in with no issue because there is nothing bad attached to it, and that she drives him in a crash-proof kennel. A Short adds that with the staff it was a struggle only the first two or three times. The in-programme success is reported, not filmed. At home it did not hold: at the follow-up on 26 March the owner says it has not been working, that he stiffens and sticks to the ground, and that once in the car he screamed until she let him out; she had him loose, clipped to a seatbelt lead. Gemma lifts him onto a four-wheeler with the owner holding his collar, has the engine started while she is close, and he rides calmly once moving; she calls having to put him up there 'day one all over again'. Shorts show the re-teach: a trainer coaching the owner to lock the leash, walk away and U-turn if he lies down, move him up as he stands and reward him at once; and, at home, over-praising his first ATV ride. Whether the car was ever solved after that is not on film.
On film
But after that, like, when I tried to put him in the car to go get fixed, I mean, he was like, they're taking me back to the car.
Yeah, well, because he, so the first day that I went to take him out of the kennel, he didn't let me get him even in the car.
But Kelton didn't give him an option afterwards.
he was going to get back in so um now he gets in like no issue because he knows that every time he
gets in there we're going somewhere right we're going to have fun we're going to play we're going
do have a kennel a secure kennel um and it's um it's been car proofed like crash proof I mean and
after the first two or three times it didn't happen again
so you said you've been working on the getting him in the car and it hasn't been working
i mean it's just like it's that complete fallout and like then he like stiffens up so he's like
cause he wasn't in a crate when I put him in there. I had him attached to that leash that clips in to the seatbelt.
let's go up up up come on up up up let's go let's go and i want you to hold him from his
physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
if he lays down instead of pulling him this way just walk away like walk the opposite direction tell him um let's go he'll get it up and then you make the u-turn you lock it and you make them go in
good for the first time over praise him give him pets give him treats say yes
Bernie
The same sequence in a different dog, told to the family at the second go-home lesson (published 2026-04-26). In week two a handler could not get Bernie into the car kennel at all, and trained him at a staff property instead, because she will not drive a dog outside a crash-proof kennel. At the handover the family's first question is how the trainer got him into the crate, because he did not want to go in. The trainer's answer: he made it non-optional and shoved him in a few times; then the crate kept ending at the park - collar on, out, run around, a long walk - and Bernie started thinking he might be going somewhere fun, and now jumps into the crate and the car on his own. His word for the crate is 'go home'; for the car, 'up up'. The trainer tries the family's crate during the lesson. As with Thumper, the turnaround is the trainer's account; the moment it changed is not filmed.
On film
Well, alrighty, well, since I cannot get Bernie in the car, I don't feel comfortable having him out of my car because of safety reasons.
That specific kennel is made for, like, it's crash-proof, and I don't, honestly, I don't like driving with the dogs outside because, you never know, people are crazy, I don't want the dog to go flying, I don't want him, you know, nothing wrong with him.
How did you manage that he get in the crate? He did not want to get in there, dude.
like and just like shoved him in the crate um and i did that a few times and then but then like if
you think about like on the other end of it like we go to the park and then i'm like hey buddy and
i put the thing on him and we get out and we run around and we go on a long walk and he has a good
time so then he started going maybe i want to get in the crate all right i might be going somewhere
fun yeah yeah yeah so then it's like okay like on the other end of the crate is like something cool
ride in the car yeah okay he jumps in there on his own now yeah he just jumps
the crate yeah go home yeah or sometimes if it's in the car i'll go like up up yeah up up yeah we
Coco
A Rottweiler the trainer describes as nervous. At the second in-programme owner lesson (filmed 18 Sep 2026) her owners say she would not go into her crate at first, and the trainer reports that now, when he opens the crate in his car, she jumps in. The explanation is the same idea in plain words: every time she goes in the crate they go to the park, so the crate means she is about to have a lot of fun - unlike a crate that only ever leads to more time inside, which a dog has no reason to want. No forcing step is mentioned for Coco.
On film
but like she would not go on her crate yeah she didn't like the crate the first couple times
Coco now when I open my crate in the car she jumps into my car and gets in the crate
what we do is we like associate the crate with something positive i put treats in there
every time she goes in the crate right we go to the park so at some point she's like i really like the crate because the crate means i'm about to go have a lot of fun
you don't go anywhere fun and the dog's like i'm either inside or i'm in a crate inside
there's no actual like excitement they're like i don't want to do the crate it's just a smaller
Lola
The same logic from the other side - a neighbouring use, not a case of a feared car. After a bolt-and-recall on a long line, Lola's trainer will not put her straight back in the truck, because that would make the truck the place where pressure stops and the outdoors the place where it happens. He resets her outside so the place she has just been corrected in ends on something good, and caps such moments at two per session so outings do not come to be dreaded.
On film
So now, like, after that, right, she felt a bunch of pressure.
And then now everything's really good.
you don't want to have them have it go out a bunch and then you don't want to put them right back in the truck after
that you want to like because then you know what they think truck means huh truck i go truck yeah
truck makes everything go stop right ever all no pressure happens in truck right um you want them
to like re set out here and feel good here right and then it's like oh everything's cool out here
Kalypso
The prevention version, also a neighbouring use. At Kalypso's second private lesson a substitute trainer tells the family to praise any time she gets on the place cot by herself, because she is sensitive to pressure and they do not want her to learn that getting on the cot hurts. Nothing here is feared yet; the point is to keep the place a good thing while pressure is used to teach it.
On film
that you want to praise it because that's a good thing you want to make this a good thing for her
and not a bad experience you know she like because she's sensitive to the pressure you don't want her
her to to make the connection that oh every time I gotta get on here it hurts
Why it works
As the trainers explain it, the dog stops dreading the car or crate when it reliably leads to something good. Thumper's trainer: he gets in because he knows every time he gets in they are going somewhere fun, and there is nothing bad attached to it. Bernie's trainer: on the other end of the crate is something cool, so he started wanting to get in. Coco's trainer adds the contrast: a crate that only leads to more time inside gives the dog no reason to want it. Two other pieces are stated. The first trips are not left to the dog: Thumper got a day to decompress and then no option, Bernie was put in a few times, and the owner lesson locks the leash so refusing is not on the table - only then does the fun at the other end get the chance to work. And a word is attached to getting in ('up, up, up'; 'go home'), with the reward given straight away at the door. The same logic runs the other way: Lola's trainer keeps the truck from becoming the place pressure stops, and Kalypso's keeps the place cot from becoming the place it hurts. On why it faded at home, Thumper's trainer gives two reasons: it was not practised (the further from the programme, the less a dog does what he learned unless it is kept up), and he rode loose instead of in a crate, where he would not see the motion. The owner's own description adds a third: his fear of anything moving is bigger than his wish to ride.
On film
he was going to get back in so um now he gets in like no issue because he knows that every time he
gets in there we're going somewhere right we're going to have fun we're going to play we're going
to go to the store it's you know it's there's nothing bad attached to that I will say that I
fun yeah yeah yeah so then it's like okay like on the other end of the crate is like something cool
every time she goes in the crate right we go to the park so at some point she's like i really like the crate because the crate means i'm about to go have a lot of fun
you don't go anywhere fun and the dog's like i'm either inside or i'm in a crate inside
But Kelton didn't give him an option afterwards.
so i lock the leash and i don't give him the option to like you know
And I hit the word that I that I gave him for that is up, up, up.
the crate yeah go home yeah or sometimes if it's in the car i'll go like up up yeah up up yeah we
good boy good boy and then you give him his reward so give him his there we go he either
you don't want to have them have it go out a bunch and then you don't want to put them right back in the truck after
her to to make the connection that oh every time I gotta get on here it hurts
the less likely they are to do the command if you don't practice it constantly so me having to like
because he's not in a crate and he can't see you know uh-uh he can see it where we're going yeah
versus being in a crate where he might not be able to tell
he's more afraid of anything that's moving than than anything like then his
his him being afraid it is bigger than than his desire to go to the back yeah
Inferred
Not said on film: that this is the dog learning what the car predicts, so that each trip ending in fun strengthens the link and trips that go nowhere good (or only to the vet) weaken it; that Thumper's link weakened at home because, without a crate and without regular fun trips, the car again predicted a frightening ride; and that a destination, however good, may not be enough when what the dog fears is the motion itself, which is why the crate suggestion matters. Also inferred: that removing the option first matters because a dog who learns that refusing works never gets to the fun at the other end. None of the trainers ranks the parts against each other.
Common owner mistakes
- Putting the dog in loose, clipped to a seatbelt lead, instead of in a crate. Thumper's owner says that trip frightened him badly because he was not in a crate; the trainer agrees it may be because loose he can see where they are going.
On film
cause he wasn't in a crate when I put him in there. I had him attached to that leash that clips in to the seatbelt.
Watch at 0:40 ↗ of your um yeah i mean that's what i did when i put him in and he freaked uh-huh well maybe it's
Watch at 25:18 ↗ because he's not in a crate and he can't see you know uh-uh he can see it where we're going yeah
Watch at 25:24 ↗ do have a kennel a secure kennel um and it's um it's been car proofed like crash proof I mean and
Watch at 9:12 ↗ That specific kennel is made for, like, it's crash-proof, and I don't, honestly, I don't like driving with the dogs outside because, you never know, people are crazy, I don't want the dog to go flying, I don't want him, you know, nothing wrong with him.
Watch at 0:11 ↗ - Letting it lapse. Three and a half weeks after go-home the car had 'not been working'; the trainer's explanation is that a dog does less of what he learned the further he gets from training unless it is practised constantly.
On film
so you said you've been working on the getting him in the car and it hasn't been working
Watch at 4:00 ↗ the less likely they are to do the command if you don't practice it constantly so me having to like
Watch at 3:21 ↗ physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
Watch at 3:31 ↗ - Pulling a dog who has lain down towards the vehicle. The trainer's correction: walk away with 'let's go', U-turn, lock the leash and move him up as he stands.
On film
if he lays down instead of pulling him this way just walk away like walk the opposite direction tell him um let's go he'll get it up and then you make the u-turn you lock it and you make them go in
Watch at 2:16 ↗
Questions owners ask
Should I just put him in the car?
On film, yes, at the start - but not on your own if he is big, and not as the whole plan. Bernie was put in a few times. The owner lesson locks the leash so refusing is not an option, walks away and U-turns if he lies down, and moves him up the moment he stands. Then every trip has to pay. Lifting a heavy dog is something the trainer says she would not recommend an owner do alone.
On film
But Kelton didn't give him an option afterwards.
like and just like shoved him in the crate um and i did that a few times and then but then like if
so i lock the leash and i don't give him the option to like you know
if he lays down instead of pulling him this way just walk away like walk the opposite direction tell him um let's go he'll get it up and then you make the u-turn you lock it and you make them go in
he is heavy no yeah for sure i wouldn't recommend this but because i'm here
Will treats fix it?
Treats, toys, pets and praise at the door help - the trainer tells Thumper's owner to reward him the moment he is in, and to over-praise his first ATV ride. But the reward the trainers lean on is the destination: the park, a run, a long walk, a store. Coco's trainer puts it plainly - the crate means she is about to go and have a lot of fun.
On film
good boy good boy and then you give him his reward so give him his there we go he either
good for the first time over praise him give him pets give him treats say yes
gets in there we're going somewhere right we're going to have fun we're going to play we're going
i put the thing on him and we get out and we run around and we go on a long walk and he has a good
every time she goes in the crate right we go to the park so at some point she's like i really like the crate because the crate means i'm about to go have a lot of fun
He was fine with the trainer. Why is he scared again at home?
Thumper's trainer gives two reasons: it was not practised, and he was riding loose rather than in a crate, where he would not see the motion. Three and a half weeks home, she had to start again - 'day one all over again'. Give him a little time to settle back in, then practise often, in a crate, with trips that end somewhere good.
On film
the less likely they are to do the command if you don't practice it constantly so me having to like
physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
because he's not in a crate and he can't see you know uh-uh he can see it where we're going yeah
Yeah, let him hang in at home a little and get back to his routine and then you can do that.
Should my dog ride in a crate?
Yes. Both Thumper's and Bernie's handlers drive dogs only in a crash-proof kennel, and Bernie's handler will not take a dog out of the facility without one. For Thumper the trainer adds a second reason: in a crate he may not be able to see the motion that frightens him.
On film
do have a kennel a secure kennel um and it's um it's been car proofed like crash proof I mean and
That specific kennel is made for, like, it's crash-proof, and I don't, honestly, I don't like driving with the dogs outside because, you never know, people are crazy, I don't want the dog to go flying, I don't want him, you know, nothing wrong with him.
versus being in a crate where he might not be able to tell
What word should I use?
One word, every time. Thumper's is 'up, up, up'; Bernie's trainer uses 'go home' for the crate and 'up up' for the car. The word comes before getting in, and the good thing comes after.
On film
And I hit the word that I that I gave him for that is up, up, up.
the crate yeah go home yeah or sometimes if it's in the car i'll go like up up yeah up up yeah we
The lesson
The goal
An owner can load a dog who dislikes the car into a crash-proof crate on one word, without a fight, and make every practice trip end somewhere the dog loves.
Learn first
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- Calm at every threshold
- Play becomes the reward - and play is a contest
The drill
As run on film: on a short leash, walk to the open crate and give the loading word ('up, up, up'). If the dog lies down, do not pull towards the vehicle - say 'let's go', walk away, U-turn, lock the leash and move him up the moment he stands. Reward at once (treat, toy, pets, 'yes'). Then drive somewhere he enjoys - the park, a walk, a store - and repeat often. At the follow-up, for a dog who refused entirely, the trainer lifted him on with the owner holding the collar and had the engine started while she stood close; she did not recommend that an owner lift a heavy dog alone.
Watch out for
- Riding the dog loose or on a seatbelt lead instead of in a crash-proof crate (Thumper).
- Pulling a dog who has lain down towards the car, instead of walking away and U-turning (owner lesson).
- Only using the car when he has to go somewhere he dislikes, and not practising (Thumper's follow-up; inferred in part).
- Lifting a big, fully refusing dog alone (the trainer's warning).
Check yourself
Your dog lies down two steps from the open car crate. What do you do, and what happens after he is in?