We got a car this week and had planned a lovely trip out to the coast today but when it came to getting into Ziggy was a bit reticent. He's been in cars before happily but always on my knee and this isn't possible when I'm driving! He refused to sit on my OH's knee, he wanted to be on mine, and was scared about going in the boot behind the dog guard. Eventually he was coaxed in with some treats but howled and cried so first we drove just half a mile to a park and gave him a short run so he could associate car with fun. He was OK getting back in (again with the help of the cheese box) and slept all the way to the coast (about 30 minutes). After a little trot on the beach and some lunch we were back to reticence and he got upset when we tried to get him back in the car. The issue is being separated from me (or sight of me) rather than car travel itself which he's been fine with on short and longer journeys. Is it just a question of practice? Should I try just sitting him in the open boot with some treats like with crate training? It's a bit tricky to practise when you don;t have a drive, just street parking but we're on a quiet road!
I would just practice getting Ziggy in the car, encouraged with some high value treats. If you can do that a few times a day and as you are on a road just pop his collar and lead on so you have him under control. Gradually work from just getting in and out to extending for a few minutes sitting in the car and then to a short drive in the car, even just to the bottom of the road. As he seems perfectly happy once on a journey it shouldn't take him long to learn to get in and settle quickly, the usual problem is crying once in the car and moving . God luck and let us know how you get on.
In between getting in the stationary car and driving off, add a few other steps like: Going to the driver's door, then coming back and giving him a treat Opening the driver's door, then coming back and giving him a treat Sitting in the driver's seat...then treat Turning on the engine....treat The more you can break it down into tiny steps the better Obviously you'd make sure he was comfortable at each step before moving on to the next one.
We used to have trouble getting Ella into the car too. She'd trot happily out of the house but as soon as we turned towards the car instead of going down the road she'd stop and dig her heals in. We'd pick her up, put her in the boot (SUV) and she lie down nicely and wouldn't fuss at all during the trip. As the weeks went on she didn't get better and she actually started to get quite drooly (pretty sure I just made up that word) so we determined that she was feeling a little sick in the car. The vet said that young puppies have very little saliva so it can be tricky to pick that they're feeling unwell until the either vomit or get a bit older and start drooling. One day we had three adults (humans) and a stack of stuff to get in the car so we had to put Ella on the back seat. She loved it! Since then we've bought a really good car harness and haven't put her in the boot since. Now she trots happily up to the car with no issues at all. Of course it's not a "one size fits all" approach for car travelling issues but I thought I'd share our experience in case there's something similar going on with Ziggy. Good luck and let us know how you get on ☺
Thanks for the advice everyone. A quick update: we've done a few sessions of sitting in various part of the car with boot/doors open and a few treats. We've also been out with the backseat down and the crate in the car - he will happily hop into his crate and shutting the crate door is less likely to chop off his tail than shutting hatchback boot! He's definitely getting the message the car is OK and that good things happen at the end of the drive and we managed to go out yesterday in the boot with the dog guard back in place. A little more practice and I think he'll be desperate to leap into the boot and head out to the beach or the muddy country lanes!
That's really good to hear. You might want to make sure you have plenty of towels in the car for those trips to the beach or muddy country lanes
And we need photos to celebrate the success. There's nothing better than a wet, muddy Labrador as long as it's someone else's dog
Very important for the dog to get familar within the car, if not using a harness within the car itself I would definately recommend using a crate in the boot or at least get a tailgate guard. So many dogs have been run over when they have jumped out when the tailgate has been lifted or if you are unfortunate to have a crash the tailgate could open and the dog escape onto the road or motorway. Another training point is that the dog does not come out of crate or boot until called, not so bad with one but with 3 dogs it can be an issue.
