In almost any city in India, it’s a usual sight to see a street or colony dog sitting comfortably on a car roof, especially during hot summer months. This sight may amuse or amaze a few. While a few car owners ignore it, for most of them it brings plenty of annoyance and frustration. And this is more so if the car is new and even more so if the car is a BMW or a Mercedes. And even if it’s not, what the heck? Cars are bought with hard earned money and who does not want their priciest possession to be spotless and gleaming?
However, not to worry! Here are seven ways to prevent street dogs from climbing on to your car roof:
The most cost-effective way to solve this problem is to buy a car cover. First of all it will protect your car, prevent scratches and will make it difficult for dogs to climb on to your car roof. If you cant cover the car fully, then just cover the front part so that it acts as a hindrance to the dog from climbing up.
You can raise your car wiper blades (like the picture below) or better still, you could hang a cardboard on the blades so that the dog cannot climb up on the roof. It blocks his way to the cars roof from the bonnet, which is the place from where the dog climbs up most often.
You can install a motion detector with a buzzer. So whenever the dog tries to climb the car, the buzzer will refrain dog from climbing up the bonnet. This product is available online
Plastic films, like the ones used to cover books are also very useful to deter dogs from climbing on to your car roof. You can stick the plastic film on the bonnet area of your car. These films are very slippery and dogs will not be able to climb on the roof of your car. These plastic films are easily available in any stationary shop.
When you catch the dog in the act, throw a mug of water on him. If you do this 3 to 4 times, the dog in all probability should stop. The dog would get startled to have a gush of water coming on him all of a sudden. But a word of caution here – please DO NOT throw hot water on the dog as it would scald him tremendously, just like it could happen to a human child.
Spraying your car especially tyres, with a smell that repels them can be very effective since dogs are very sensitive to smell. You can use a FOGG or a non-aerosol /alcohol based perfume or spray or apply vinegar on the cars wheel arches and may be a little around. The stench of these sprays stays on the car for quite some time and will help resolving the issue at hand. The use of phenol or deodorant sprays is not effective as the smell fades away easily.
While writing this article, I wondered why dogs indulge in this practice of perching themselves at a higher level like on top of a sand pile in a construction site, a parapet wall, window sill, a chair or a bed at home. Are they sunbathing, enjoying an aerial view or doing a better job of night patrolling?
Though there is no pin-pointed motivation for their sitting on car roofs, it could possibly be one or all of the reasons mentioned below:
In case any of the readers of this blog have newer ideas about avoiding a dog to climb on to the roof of a car, please let us know in your comments or write to us at – [email protected]. Your ideas could be useful to many other people. Besides, it would be very useful to these voiceless animals who do things only on the basis of their instinct with no malice to anybody. After all, streets and colonies are their only home and we are their only hope.
Stray Relief and Animal Welfare (STRAW) India is a registered nonprofit /non-government organization and its focus is summed up in its motto, Animal Welfare through Education. It promotes empathy and compassion for all living beings and care for the environment by educating young people through its humane education programs and workshops.
How to protect car doors from dog scratches
There are various ways protect your car door from dog scratches. Here are four solutions that I use and believe are the best ways to do this – my experience is, training is hard and probably won’t work.
Can you train your dog not to scratch your car door?
Whenever I intend to train one of my dogs out of doing an undesirable behavior, I follow a specific process to see if the behavior is even worth correcting. The behavior in question needs to meet the following criteria:
Barking is an isolated behavior. Lifting an inconspicuous leg to pee on the couch is an isolated behavior. If your dog is barking and jumping and showing excitement, it is more difficult to isolate the behavior you are correcting.
This was exactly how my dog used to behave.
As soon as I got out of the car, he’d jump up at the window and start scratching the door. I felt like I had a race against time to run to the other side of the car and get the door open before he completely ruined the interior door panels.
Stray Relief and Animal Welfare (STRAW) India is a registered nonprofit /non-government organization and its focus is summed up in its motto, Animal Welfare through Education. It promotes empathy and compassion for all living beings and care for the environment by educating young people through its humane education programs and workshops.
Though there is no pin-pointed motivation for their sitting on car roofs, it could possibly be one or all of the reasons mentioned below:
In almost any city in India, it’s a usual sight to see a street or colony dog sitting comfortably on a car roof, especially during hot summer months. This sight may amuse or amaze a few. While a few car owners ignore it, for most of them it brings plenty of annoyance and frustration. And this is more so if the car is new and even more so if the car is a BMW or a Mercedes. And even if it’s not, what the heck? Cars are bought with hard earned money and who does not want their priciest possession to be spotless and gleaming?
You can raise your car wiper blades (like the picture below) or better still, you could hang a cardboard on the blades so that the dog cannot climb up on the roof. It blocks his way to the cars roof from the bonnet, which is the place from where the dog climbs up most often.
While writing this article, I wondered why dogs indulge in this practice of perching themselves at a higher level like on top of a sand pile in a construction site, a parapet wall, window sill, a chair or a bed at home. Are they sunbathing, enjoying an aerial view or doing a better job of night patrolling?
FAQ
How do you protect paint from dog scratches?
- 1) Cover Your Car. The most cost-effective way to solve this problem is to buy a car cover. …
- 2) Raise your wiper blades up. …
- 3) Scare the dog away from the sound. …
- 4) Stick Plastic Films. …
- 5) Use water as a repellent. …
- 7) Use a spray on your car or car tyres.
How do I protect my car door from dog claws?
How do you protect door panels from dog scratches?