When Your Dog’s Instincts Take Over
- Jessica Logan
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Car chasing, lunging, fixation, and explosive reactions aren’t random. They’re driven by powerful emotional systems in the brain — especially SEEKING.
Many behaviours labelled as “problem behaviours” are actually instinctive systems running without resolution.
Take car chasing, for example.
What looks predatory or aggressive on the surface is often high arousal paired with motion. Fast-moving objects trigger the brain’s SEEKING system — the motivation and pursuit circuit driven by dopamine.
Cars are especially powerful because they:
move quickly
appear suddenly
make noise
can never be caught or completed
This creates a loop: see car → chase → dopamine spike → frustration → repeat
The nervous system becomes sensitized, not tired. That’s why more exercise often makes things worse, not better.
And car chasing is rarely just SEEKING. Other emotional systems often layer on top:
RAGE when movement is blocked
FEAR in sensitive or under-socialized dogs
PLAY early on, before it becomes compulsive
The solution isn’t suppression. It’s redirection into completion and recovery.
One of the simplest, most effective tools is sniffing. Sniffing activates calming parasympathetic pathways, reduces visual lock-in, lowers arousal, restores choice and flexibility.
A common sequence we teach looks like this:
hear the car → sniff or see the car → sniff → recover together (touch, play) → move on
Think of like a behavior chain where we are not waiting for our dog to react. We are one step ahead and starting at the beginning of the chain. Don't wait and see what your dog does. Anticipate a reaction by engaging your dog in a sniff. Toss some treats to the ground in the opposite direction or off to the side, so that your dog is not directly facing the oncoming car.
Instead of focusing on just stopping car chasing, you're actually getting to a life long skill and to the root of behavior by teaching (entraining) the nervous system how to disengage, settle, and return to safety.
When we understand what’s actually driving behaviour, we stop fighting instincts, and start working with the brain instead. Your dog has a brain, so use it!
Jessica Logan is a dog behavior specialist and educator based on Salt Spring Island, helping people and dogs build safety, trust, and understanding through connection and co-regulation.
