Dog afraid of truck?

I'm wondering if a traffic noise or something else might have frightened her when she was in the truck.  Sometimes dogs make wrong associations about such things, for example thinking that the noise came from the truck, so the best way to avoid it happening again is just not to get in.  Try asking her to jump into a friend's car and see if her reaction is the same.

You should consider, too, that the act of jumping into the truck may be painful in ways that the other jumping or running isn't.  Labs are prone to hip dysplasia  and it manifests in different ways with different dogs.

Joint problem maybe? If she has to jump up it could be hurting, especially if she'll still gladly get into your car, which is probably lower and less difficult. Did something scary happen in the truck? Pirate had a seizure in my car, once, and really disliked the car after that for a while.

The other immediate thought is that she's either not enjoying daycare during the day (something bad/scary is happening there) or she doesn't enjoy going as often as she does. When I worked at DDC we recommended no more than 2-3 days a week for the average dog. She could still be excited to *get* there, but once she's there for the day it might get overwhelming and tiring.

I would have her checked out by your vet.  She could be in pain and the reason she jumps in happily when she leaves day care is because she's happy to see your husband and is ignoring the pain.  Also, if she has a joint problem, she could be loosened up after being at day care and not as stiff.  Just a thought.  

It could also be entirely behavioral, as Anne said, and she has made an unpleasant association with getting in the truck at home.  Try moving it to a different location in the garage or driveway.   I'd get her checked out medically first and go from there.

Get some treats, go out to the truck with your lab on a leash and whenever you get close to the truck give her a treat. Keep giving her small treats as you move closer and closer to the truck. Finally only give her treats when she is completly relaxed standing or sitting by the truck. Do this for a couple days.

After that, open all the doors of the truck and leave the engine off. Get some more treats and coax her into the vehicle. After a day or two of this put her in the car by herself, but stand RIGHT OUTSIDE the truck,  leave the windows open, but shut the car doors with her in the truck. Leave the engine off though. Pet her and reassure her through the windows. Only leave her in there for a couple minutes though. Do this for a couple days.

Now you can get in the car, and start the car with her inside. Dont leave the driveway, just sit with the engine running. Go for a short drive around the block and then come back. Reward her greatly. Then, the next day take her somewhere FUN like the dogpark or the pet store in the truck. Do the fun place thing about once a week or so after that.

I do agree though, have the vet check her hips before you do anything of this.  Good Luck!!!

 Thank you so much for all of your advice. I will try everything that you mentioned. I am going to see if she will get in the truck with me versus my husband that should tell me if it is a pain issue or an anxiety issue with my husband.

The day care thing is a possibility.  I know a lot of dogs who go and come home tired, so the owner is pleased thinking that the dog had fun, but really it was just a lot of stress.  If the place has web cams, check it out.  If not, make a surprise visit and see what your dog is doing when he doesn't know you are there.

You may not get a definite "answer" by seeing if she will get in the truck for you versus your husband.  If she was frightened or accidentally hurt herself getting in the truck, the person swap probably won't change her reaction. 

  Try and be very neutral when getting her in the truck.  Another thought I had when pondering your husband having to carry her to the truck, was that this has to be frustrating for your husband.  This emotion is obvious to the dog and will make the dog nervous. It can become a vicious cycle with the dog and your husband anticipating an unpleasant experience.  Sort of a self fulfilling prophecy.

I'll be interested to hear how she does with you getting her in the truck.  Keep us posted.

 

 UPDATE:

 

So I tried to get her to come in the truck with me and she still refused. I was finally able to get her in with a lot of coaxing, but only once. We bought her a harness and got her to get in the truck all buckled in a few times (she would resist going with us until we got close enough to the truck and then she would jump right in). On a side note, after trying the harness for a few days my husband notices that she will jump in the truck with ease from anywhere else, his shop, after daycare, his father's house, etc. etc. She just won't get in the truck from our house. This morning she wouldn't even get out of her crate to put the harness on not even for her favorite treat or breakfast. So unfortunately she had to stay home. I would understand that it was the truck if she was always hesitant to jump into it, I would understand that it was my husband if she would get in with me, I would understand that it was daycare if she wasn't bouncing around and happy to get in the truck from my husband's shop to go to daycare, but since it seems to only be getting into the truck from our house I am completely stumped and at my wits end. Anymore ideas?

 Katie, it really sounds like some "association issue" -- dogs can come up with the weirdest things in their minds!  My Great Dane is petrified of loud trucks driving by because one time someone blew their horn near  us while we were out for a walk.  Now when a loud truck drives by outside and she is in the house, she will look all wild-eyed and start to shake.  I suspect that your husband's stress level may have been a trigger point -- perhaps a few times he had been late and needed the dog to hurry along -- now she associates stress with the morning truck ride.  If your family is like most, morning stress can be quite a common event, as everyone is trying to get to where they have to go.  As another poster mentioned, he probably wasn't too crazy about having to pick her up to get in the truck either.  I have found that association fears are the most difficult to correct because we, as humans, don't understand what they are thinking.  Somehow you have to start making that morning drive a really fun thing -- it won't be easy and it will take a long time -- but the longer she is allowed to feel this way, the more difficult it will be to get it resolved. The fact that she is already anticipating "the scary thing" while she is in her crate, says it is already quite ingrained. But the most important thing is that you can NEVER slip up (be stressed during the morning drive) again after you have convinced her it is 'really ok' now -- she will then think all that fun-stuff was a trick. 

On the other hand, if you are sure it is not stress related -- it could be as simple as she doesn't want to go in the truck only in the morning because she knows she will be leaving her mom and dad for several hours and she's having no part of it!

 If its just getting in the truck from home.. then try feeding her  her meals in the truck. Positive association

blujeans

I have found that association fears are the most difficult to correct because we, as humans, don't understand what they are thinking.  Somehow you have to start making that morning drive a really fun thing -- it won't be easy and it will take a long time -- but the longer she is allowed to feel this way, the more difficult it will be to get it resolved. The fact that she is already anticipating "the scary thing" while she is in her crate, says it is already quite ingrained. But the most important thing is that you can NEVER slip up (be stressed during the morning drive) again after you have convinced her it is 'really ok' now

 

Hi

I often reccomend Labs (of the right kind of temperament) as a first up dog. They are beautiful wonderful dogs, and they are very very clever. They just don't look it. Trish Mconnell Says something like the dogs with razor sharp minds hidden behind goofy looks. They are a little prone to funny associations. My Lab would swim through torrents of water, stand firm against much bigger dogs, do really tough dog things but wouldn't go in an agility tunnel. I was lucky in that i just figured that it wasn't that important. He wouldn't pick up metal articles, but got me clicker trained pretty quick. I miss him so much :((

The big thing with most Labs is that there is a simple training rule.. No matter what the question is the answer is food. They are driven by the stuff.  I would be moving towards having meals in the truck one paw step at a time . Start where he is comfortable and move slowly day by day towards the truck.