Paws To The Floor: Dogs That Drive. Watch these SPCA rescue dogs learning to drive a car. The exercise is designed to show how intelligent dogs can be. Four-legged friends turn to four wheels as they learn how to drive to show potential dog owners how clever the species can be. The animals can start a car, accelerate and steer. Three rescue dogs in New Zealand have been taught how to drive a car. Monty, Porter and Ginny have learned the skills to prove how intelligent dogs can be, in an attempt to encourage more potential owners to come forward. The drive for publicity by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals saw the four-legged friends spend weeks getting to grips with four wheels. The dogs, a giant schnauzer, a whippet cross and a beardie cross can change gear, steer and brake. They sit in a driving position on their haunches responding to instructions called out from the dog behaviour experts. Animal trainer Mark Vette and his team began training the animals using a mock vehicle before introducing them to a real car – a Mini especially adapted for paws. He said: “We chain behaviours together… in this case we’ve got 10 behaviours we’re putting together. Then you put them into a sequence. It’s a lot to do, and for the dog to actually start to get an idea of what actually is happening takes quite a long time. “So we’ll start the car, get into position, brake on, gear in place, back onto the steering wheel, accelerator, take off and hoon (=drive fast …