Would love to hear from people with pups that had car anxiety and were able to overcome it. Any tips? I am planning to completely focus on this this week. I have been driving him to Puppy School every week and he gets mouth foamy and drooly (but never sick). I worked him up to getting to the car on his own on the way there, but he will not get in on his own on the way back. I have to put him in the car which is forcing him to do something he doesn't want. I'll try to take even babier steps and desensitize. I basically get in the back seat and lure/treat him for coming in. Then turn the car on, reward that. And so on. Beyond this I think I've gone too fast. I really hope we can get through this as its really limiting us. We are all set to start Puppy School 2 next week. Would love any tips!
Re: Car anxiety Hi there, Ah it's not nice when they are so unhappy about something... Dexter wasn't so upset by the car but he did whine....after trying several ways ,c&t for quiet,me sitting in the back seat ( he has always been in the boot of the car) I realised me fussing him made it worse...the whining started as soon as I spoke to him so I just got in one day,turned the radio,on and drove off and ignored him,he stopped practically that drive.It took him a long time to relax enough to sit down and even now he's got to be shattered after daycare or a really strenuous walk for him to lie down. I used to always 'put' Dexter in the car because I didn't want him jumping in and out..I used to lift him in and out I'm not so strict now ....bit I don't have him jumping out onto hard surfaces. I think you are on the right track ,but now I would go right back to basics ,get some really yummy yummy treats and just go out to the car and feed treats for being relaxed around the car,then open the door,then lure Him in again....everything you've been doing but slowly,slowly...when you get him comfy with being in the car and it switched on,go for a really short drive ,literally a few houses down ,do this as often as you can and again gradually build up the time....it's not an uncommon thing,it's been discussed before on here and you can fix it x One thing I would say is think about Myles being secured adequately especially if he is nervous.....it's not fun and downright dangerous having a Labrador climb onto your lap or get tangled up on a footwell when you are on the road. Congratulations graduating from Puppy 1 classes ,good luck,with Puppy 2 classes Best wishes Angela
Re: Car anxiety Thank you Angela. He is in the back seat of my small SUV, I have a seat cover that is hammock style so it keeps him in the back. He doesn't try to get to me. He doesn't even whine too much, just hangs his head low and eventually starts drooling, the turns into mouth frothing. Just so sad It's also very awkward trying to get him into the car. I'm about 115 lbs and he's already probably 45 and growing! So I know he doesn't like me putting him in there. It's hard on us both. Thought about looking into getting a ramp.
Re: Car anxiety I am a big fan of the aspca online articles. This is a good one: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/fear-riding-cars
Re: Car anxiety Ericka, I'd still secure Myles in the car with a harness and attachment as in the event of an accident he won't stay in the back seat. Dogs need seatbelts too Anyway, I know you have a lot on your plate but it's something to think about and research when you get the chance.
Re: Car anxiety Do you not have room for a crate in the back? We have an exact replica of his house crate in the car. We even swapped the Vetbed so it smelled the same. He loves the car crate. Plus every single time he goes into it, he gets a treat and often I hide treats in there as surprises. As I've posted before, he might like it too much!
Re: Car anxiety Love the pic and would be thrilled if my dog was that relaxed in the car! It's all I can do to just get him into the car. I cannot imagine how I would then get him into a crate in the car. I don't think his would fit. I'm using the back seat for now, but I clip his existing harness to the seatbelt. I know there are more secure ways but I'm just trying not to traumatize him. Additional handling and fussing with a different harness would not help things at this point. I hope to get there, really I do. So for now just yummy treats around the car, then slow steps from there (thanks for the article JulieT, that's a good one). I can't imagine we're going to get to a 25 minute car ride this week though. So I may delay his next session of puppy school. I feel like I need to address this first and put a stop to all unnecessary car trips until he is far less anxious in the car.
Re: Car anxiety Persevere ,with practice you will get there,he may not love the car but he will get more comfortable with it.Has he always been like this or has something happened to frighten him? X
Re: Car anxiety [quote author=Dexter link=topic=10728.msg159343#msg159343 date=1430011195] Persevere ,with practice you will get there,he may not love the car but he will get more comfortable with it.Has he always been like this or has something happened to frighten him? X [/quote] So when he was 11 weeks old he had to fly on a plane to me. It's a long story but needless to say I don't know how that affected him. Then we had a long 4 hr drive (he was in a crate) to get home. Nothing notable about that trip, he pretty much slept. Then his next 2 trips were vet appointments very close to home and his body language in the car (up front with me) was just very pouty... head down, not happy but still seemed like a normal puppy reaction. Then we started Puppy School which is about 25 minutes away. When we got almost there he started foaming at the mouth (I thought he was dying :-\!) Learned it's an anxiety and or car sickness response. So the length of the trip does seem to make it worse. I would like for him to love the car as I would take him lots of places. But I'm ok if he never loves it, just want him to tolerate it enough to be able to get in on his own. When he is full grown I will not be able to get him in there on my own (it's just him and me).
Re: Car anxiety Gosh Myles had quite a journey to get to you and he was only young.Dexter came on a plane but he was 5 months old. I've just been thinking about you....we had a really good walk this morning and when I got back to the car I said the usual hup hup for Dexter to jump in and he was must have been knackered because he just stood and looked at me....so I picked him up and put him in....he's 23 kgs tops and I'm reasonably strong but they are still an armful....The longer I have a dog the more I realise it's practice ,having consistency and a lot of patience and you do get there.Positive methods are so valuable in situations like this,it might take time but you can help Myles realise the car is a great place to be .....don't be put off if you think it's taking a while.is there somewhere close by that is safe to let him have a little run around ,something he might really enjoy?when you are at the point of being able to start little drives comfortably with him I would drive him to somewhere he loves so he thinks there's something great at the end of the journey x
Re: Car anxiety I do wonder if motion sickness has a lot to do with dogs taking time to get used to cars. Charlie was always fine in my OH's car - at the time this was a very big, quite luxurious car (it was very quiet and smooth) and Charlie couldn't see out of it from the back seat. He was always fine in this car. But in my car, which at the time was a cheap as chips little city run about, he howled and cried and hated it. Looking back on it, I do wonder whether the motion of the smaller car, the fact he could see out of it and so on, made him a bit sick. Anyway, since we only did puppy school trips of 5 minutes we just pushed on as best we could, and he got used to it in the end. He dramatically changed his attitude when we started going to the Common in the car and a run about was at the end (as Angela says). I wonder if a vet could prescribe something to help with motion sickness though, and whether that would be appropriate - if it's motion sickness, breaking the link between feeling awful and the car (just until he hopefully grows out of it) would help a lot I reckon. I know nothing about motion sickness drugs though, and they might be completely unsuitable to use on a daily basis.
Re: Car anxiety Tess hated the car to begin with, it was pretty much the only thing that fazed her in the early days and she whined and howled in the crate in my boot. I wondered if it was because she can't see out of my car. She is now perfectly content and, for us, I think what 'cured' her was that we had a week off in Easter and went to lots of great places with her - so a ride in the car became a means of getting somewhere she wanted to go!
Re: Car anxiety The idea of doing short trips and going somewhere really aces with him sounds like great advice. That way, together with the treats in the car, and the fun at the other end, he should start to associate the journey with something super-rewarding. Good luck.
Re: Car anxiety Molly was awful in the car when I first got her - she used to scream ! It sounded as if I was murdering her! I tried just sitting in the car with the engine off and feeding her treats but it did no good at all. As soon as she was old enough I drove less than 2 minutes to our recreation ground ( ignoring the dreadful howls), carried her in and let her go. Repeated several times a day and gradually she only howled for the first half minute and then stopped altogether. I then gradually went on longer trips, always with a free run at the end and by the time she was 16 weeks old I was able to do a 4 hour drive, with several breaks, to visit family. If you don't have a nearby off lead area, I realise that makes it more difficult. Could you drive to a friend's house and let him free in their garden? I think puppies see that as such a big reward, it makes the car ride worthwhile. My car is also too small for a crate so Molly sits on the back seat and i attach her harness to the seatbelt.
Re: Car anxiety I am definitely going to stick to short distances with super fun destinations. Today we are going to a friend's nearby and she has another lab puppy and a pool (we went last week and he enjoyed his first swim!) I do think here may be some car sickness, which there are remedies for. But most would make him tired and that would not be good when arriving at puppy school. I've heard it's an ear thing and pups can grow out of it. I do hope so!
Re: Car anxiety Hope the car trip is a bit better today, but little and often could be the key to success. Perhaps sometimes just to get in and sit in the car without going any where as well. I would definitely invest in a ramp if you don't want Myles jumping in and out of the car (bad for joints) to save your back as he gets bigger. Invested in one for Juno when she was around 5 months old and I'm happier knowing that I'm reducing impact on her hips and elbows.
Re: Car anxiety [quote author=MaccieD link=topic=10728.msg159438#msg159438 date=1430055728] Hope the car trip is a bit better today, but little and often could be the key to success. Perhaps sometimes just to get in and sit in the car without going any where as well. I would definitely invest in a ramp if you don't want Myles jumping in and out of the car (bad for joints) to save your back as he gets bigger. Invested in one for Juno when she was around 5 months old and I'm happier knowing that I'm reducing impact on her hips and elbows. [/quote] Oh you like the ramp? I'm seriously considering. I am also considering not going to friend's today as I really think smaller steps are key. Hmm. He sure loves to swim though :
Re: Car anxiety [quote author=Mylestogo link=topic=10728.msg159440#msg159440 date=1430055902] [quote author=MaccieD link=topic=10728.msg159438#msg159438 date=1430055728] Hope the car trip is a bit better today, but little and often could be the key to success. Perhaps sometimes just to get in and sit in the car without going any where as well. I would definitely invest in a ramp if you don't want Myles jumping in and out of the car (bad for joints) to save your back as he gets bigger. Invested in one for Juno when she was around 5 months old and I'm happier knowing that I'm reducing impact on her hips and elbows. [/quote] Oh you like the ramp? I'm seriously considering. I am also considering not going to friend's today as I really think smaller steps are key. Hmm. He sure loves to swim though : [/quote] I love the ramp although it's a pain in and out of the car sometimes but wouldn't be without it. I have been lifting Juno in and out of the car over the last 6 weeks but only because of her surgery. We will be back to using the ramp in the next week or so. I think I would take him in the car today, with swimming at the end it might help encourage him to think cars are good. Also if the swimming tires him he may be better for the return trip
