Bing shows his wide-eyed anxiety
in the middle of the van.

Sometimes I just can’t believe how long it takes me to think of something.

When Bing was a youngster, I tried to use a Manners Minder in his crate in the car. It was too big for the space so I couldn’t use it. I tried again maybe a year ago to use it in the van, but each time he tried to eat out of it, Acacia yelled at him, punishing him effectively enough that he wouldn’t go near it after her first snarl.

What’s a Manners Minder? It’s a device which delivers pieces of kibble when you press the remote button. It’s generally used to help dogs with issues around the front door, and the dog would be rewarded for doing things like laying down or sitting on a mat. It’s currently being sold by Premier Products.

Bing’s behavior in the car hasn’t been great these past few weeks; it seems to be the one aspect of his behavior that has deteriorated in the time that I’ve been weaning him off Prozac. He used to be ok when he was in the car with just me and Acacia…he could calm down after a few minutes. But now his behavior is just like it is when Pete and I are both in the car with him…squeaky, barky, drool flinging everywhere, frenetic, moving around constantly, wanting petting but moving away as soon as you touch him.

Interestingly enough, I noticed that as soon as I reached for a bag of treats, or if I were to crinkle a bag of something for myself, he was quiet and focused on that bag, waiting calmly for me to dish something out.

This led me to realize that now that Acacia is deaf, I could try the Manners Minder again. She gets in the van and lays on her ‘Queen Seat’…the back seat. Bing is up between the front seats for the duration of whatever ride we take. I could set it up under the front console and hold the remote in my hand while I drive. Acacia would never hear the beep.

Bing positioned between the front two seats, anticipating the beep.


After the beep.

I tried it this morning, now that it was cool enough for me to fuss with things like that. The heat has just been unreal here…104 degrees yesterday. We got in the van to drive to the vet so I could weigh them and pick up a prescription for Acacia. I waited for Bing to offer something I liked…I chose to beep him for squeaking his squeaky toy (as opposed to shredding it). He laid down and gobbled his treats. I used a very high rate of reinforcement…every couple of seconds for the whole ride there. Sometimes he scratched at the Manners Minder, so I had to wait 5 seconds or so to beep him again.

Bing laid in between the front seats for the duration of the ride, both to the vet clinic and back home again. I was able to reward him a bit less frequently for the ride home.

But what was even cooler was when I took them for a walk this afternoon. Bing got in the van and sat and looked at me. I waited and waited for him to lay down, but he just quietly sat behind me. So I beeped him…how could I not? I was able to beep him every ten seconds or so…he was MUCH MUCH calmer on this second ride…it was astounding, the difference, in just one ride!!!!

WOOHOO ! Maybe there IS hope that we’ll be able to drive across the country with him yet!!!

Bing's ears are visible in the middle of the van, watching Pete take this picture as I drive away.

Bing Blog 57