Abandoned dogs in New Zealand are being taught to drive cars in order to help them get adopted
People have been training animals for all sorts of tricks since wolves first walked into a human camp and sat down next to the fire. Maybe your beloved companion has some unique abilities, making them a little extra special. For example there are cats that flush the toilet, parrots that sing rap songs, pigs riding skateboards, horses doing math, ferrets playing pianos, crows that solve complicated puzzles, and even elephants playing soccer.
Taking the out of the ordinary pet trick to heart, New Zealand SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) set out to train something that some might deem an impossible skill. The agenda, encourages people to adopt once abandoned dogs by proving how amazingly talented each one of them can be.
Have you ever seen a dog drive a car? Not pretend or use special effects to make it seem like the dog is driving the car. These dogs are actually driving cars!
Have you ever seen a dog drive a car? Not pretend or use special effects to make it seem like the dog is driving the car. These dogs are actually driving cars!
Have you ever seen a dog drive a car? Not pretend or use special effects to make it seem like the dog is driving the car. These dogs are actually driving cars!
Have you ever seen a dog drive a car? Not pretend or use special effects to make it seem like the dog is driving the car. These dogs are actually driving cars!
Organizations like the SPCA find themselves overwhelmed in their attempts to find good homes or even any home to adopt abandoned and forgotten animals. The solution, demonstrates how awesome these dogs are by teaching them to drive.
The first step was making a training chair with pedals, gear sticks, and a steering wheel. Then they had to get the dogs to touch and move the wheel with the help of a tool in every trainers handbook. Over eight weeks, under the tutelage of an expert dog trainer Mark Vette, the dogs learned how to drive a modified Mini Countryman car. It had longer pedals and handles on the steering wheel as well as longer gear shifts making it more accessible to the dogs.
With some positive reinforcement and treats, the driving dogs went live on New Zealand’s “Campbell Live” program. Two dogs, Porter and Monty were able to drive down the straight away of a race track and turn the corner without human assistance. On national broadcast television doggies showed their stuff hoping for all viewers to see, these pups deserve a second chance on a good home.
In an Interview for Campaign Brief, the trainer Mark Vette said, “You wouldn’t believe any dog could learn to drive a car on its own but we’ve proven through our understanding of animal psychology and our specialized training methods that intelligent creatures can adapt to the situation they’re in.” He also said in an interview for ABC News, “We’ve done Lord of the Rings, [The Last] Samurai, many of the big movies but to actually get a dog in a car with no trainer and it does the whole gig itself, I tell you what, it’s been a real challenge.”
The big question, did the campaign actually work in getting the dogs adopted? Simply put, yes. The campaign reached over 200 million people worldwide within a week. People all over the world were able to see these dogs take to the streets and drive. New Zealand saw an increase of 590% in adoption interest. And above all, every SPCA dog was adopted.
