I seem to be asking so many questions on this forum and I sincerely hope one day it will be the other way round and I can be helpful to others. Red (12 weeks) has only been in the car a few times - when we collected her, Vets, puppy party but apart from her journey home on my lap, they have not been good experiences for her or me! We have been putting her crate in the back of our estate car - quite a feat in itself getting in and out! One time she eliminated badly on the way to the Vets. She was frightened. I have got a smaller crate from Pets at Home but alas despite me measuring looks like it will be too small. I can 't take it out it's box or Pets at Home won't refund me! What does other people use and how have they got around travelling problems? Last journey she was howling and I kept talking to her. Don't think I should have done on reflection as giving too much attention to problem. Did give her a stuffed Kong but she ignored it. Any advice would be really helpful, thank you as we will soon be doing lots of travelling - to training course, holidays, outings etc.
Hi there, There was a thread about this last week I think? Dexter was a bit older than Red when he came to us but he used to have a whine in the car....I don't need to do a lot of road driving with him bit we got a dog guard fitted to keep him in the boot /trunk of the car.He was then secure from the rest of the car after he climbed through once and ended up sitting on my knee on a 12 lane highway....not good,really not! The dog guard works for us but I wouldn't recommend it if you are doing regular road driving,To keep your dog secure you are looking at either a crash tested harness or a car travel crate.Can you take her into Pets at Home for them to help you measure and advise you on the right crate? With the whining,I had that too.I tried several things ,c&t for quiet with someone else driving,a helper chucking treats In when he was quiet when I was driving .....eventually I realised that me talking to him was the biggest part of the problem.I started doing loads and loads of short little journeys just round the block and back and ignoring him and he got the idea really quickly.I mentioned on the other thread ,it took a long time for him to relax and lie down or even sit down,he used to stand and 'brace ' as I went round corners!I couldn't tell him to sit as that would start him whining so I had to leave him to it.That told me he wasn't totally comfortable but I wouldn't have said he was scared.Red sounds quite uncomfortable .....I would try and practice making getting into the car a really fun,rewarding experience,lots of yummer treats and then do as many really short journeys as you can ,maybe just even starting up the car and not going anywhere to begin....
When we got Charlie our rescue dog he was very anxious in the car due to all his transportation from various homes/rescues/fosterers, travelling from Ireland and Wales, so I would pick him up, not easy at 31kgs get him in the car and I would sit in the boot with him, which is not as weird as it sounds as we have a Volvo V70, not even starting the engine, stay silent and fed him high value treats and stoked him, then after a some time I started up the car but didn't move, again I sat in the boot feeding him treats. After more goes I gave him a really good big treat and drove my car back and forth along my drive. Eventually we went to the end of the village which is 2 minutes, then to the School 2 minutes, then up the hill where I got him out for an on lead walk so he got something really rewarding. It took him 18 months to voluntarily jump into my car so it was a long haul but now he does't have any issues and jumps in at the drop of a hat The point is to take it slowly and at Reds pace, rushing won't help but making it positive and calm will. x
Totally agree with @charlie lots of time just popping in the car and rewarding for quiet/calm and gradually build confidence before even starting the engine let alone moving.
I went back to basics with Harley as she was a nightmare in the car. I done what Helen describes above and quite often take her around the block, to the garage/shops so she doesn't see every car journey ending in a walk. Take your time doing the first bits......that's where I went wrong and it took me ages to redo.
Today I have got a smaller crate for the car. I have put it in the kitchen where Red currently spends most of her time with the door open and she has been going in and out of it. Tomorrow I will put it in the car and take her out to it and spend time with her without going anywhere. Friday we have to make a short journey with her in the afternoon so perhaps that morning will just do a trip around village and back. Will try treats and a kong. Need to have her a bit more car ready as she and I start a puppy training course next Tuesday for 6 Tuesdays and it is a 20/25 minute journey there. Does this sound like a good plan?
