Dog hates the car; sedation?
Discussion
I will be asking the vet about this next week but wondered if anyone has any ideas about this. One of our dogs has decided he hates travelling by car. Never used to be like this but he has recently started. He won't settle down and sits there ears back, panting heavily and shaking like a leaf. Doesn't matter whether it is flat open roads or cross country journeys. Initially we thought it was just my car, but he now does the same in the wife's. He even goes off to hide when he knows he has to go in the car and has been growling when we come to get him. I have tried all combinations of where he goes in the car, windows open/shut, heating on/off etc and nothing makes a difference.
Unfortunately there are times when we can't just leave him at home because we go away a lot at weekends and have no-one to look after him. Is there anyhting we can give him before we travel with him?
Unfortunately there are times when we can't just leave him at home because we go away a lot at weekends and have no-one to look after him. Is there anyhting we can give him before we travel with him?
Buy one of the dog cages that fit in your car and lift out. When you're not travelling put the cage in the house with his/her normal bed in it so the dog always sleeps in it in the house and it is very familiar to them. When you go out put the cage complete with the dogs normal bed into the car and chances are the dog will be happy.
A cage is a great idea as a dog learns that it's his own private space. Also, get the dog used to spending time in the car even if it's not moving. Sedation's not a good idea or practical unless as a one off solution.
ETA: Any idea why the change in behaviour? Aversion if that's what it is must have been triggered by something. You need to establish if the panting etc is down to excitement ie where the dog thinks he's going and the fun he's about to have. Or, is it stress/fear. If the dog really is afraid of the car ie you have to go and force him into it or is he being stubborn and dominant. Would he jump into the car to get his dinner?
ETA: Any idea why the change in behaviour? Aversion if that's what it is must have been triggered by something. You need to establish if the panting etc is down to excitement ie where the dog thinks he's going and the fun he's about to have. Or, is it stress/fear. If the dog really is afraid of the car ie you have to go and force him into it or is he being stubborn and dominant. Would he jump into the car to get his dinner?
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Sunday 11th October 13:47
We once had a dog like that,so visited the vet,who suggested some sedation pills.
'Give to the dog 2 hrs before departing'
We gave them to the dog as stated,didn't make any difference on the journey,upon arrival the dog zonked out for the entire weekend and just came round in time for the journey home.
'Give to the dog 2 hrs before departing'
We gave them to the dog as stated,didn't make any difference on the journey,upon arrival the dog zonked out for the entire weekend and just came round in time for the journey home.
My springer will only travel in the rear of an estate car. He has never really been keen on car travel but has slowly come to accept it . He will get in and out of the estate without any problem , just lies down and stays calm. On the few occasions we have to take him in a normal saloon car he shivers / shakes / whines on the rear seats even if someone is sat with him.
I also have a van. He wont get in of his own free will. If I have no other choice I take him places in the van occasionally . I have to lift him onto the passenger seat, as soon as the engine starts he dives on the floor, often trying to crawl between my legs and the pedals. I then have to get him over to the passenger side and settle him on the floor before I can move off.
I also have a van. He wont get in of his own free will. If I have no other choice I take him places in the van occasionally . I have to lift him onto the passenger seat, as soon as the engine starts he dives on the floor, often trying to crawl between my legs and the pedals. I then have to get him over to the passenger side and settle him on the floor before I can move off.
Our dogs calmed down in the car when we used a doggy 'seatbelt', it is a harness which goes round them and clicks into the normal seatbelt holder, maybe worth a try.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Klix-Dog-Car-Harness-Large_W...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Klix-Dog-Car-Harness-Large_W...
The dog is associating the car with something it didn't like...perhaps a visit to the vet's for something it didn't enjoy?
Trick now is to get it to realise (as someone else has said) that going by car is fun and not all car journeys end up with either 'Mam and Dad' screaming at it to behave or some stranger sticking needles into it or ramming a thermometer up its jacksie....!
Make car travel a regular thing for the dog and make it pleasurable.
Put it's fave blanket on the seat, DON'T get cross or acknowledge unwanted behaviour, keep calm but assertive.
Trying to soothe it as you would a fretting child will only be seen by the dog as a reward it gets every time it acts up, thus heightening it's insecure state.
The watchword here is 'patience'.
Take your time, don't rush the dog into the car, you need to make it WANT to get in.
Our last Springer was a 'rescue' and from 'get go' it hated the car and would howl something chronic on even the shortest journey.
After 6 or 7 trips (at the end of which it got something it enjoyed be it a walk or a treat etc) I could hardly keep the daft thing out of the car and we had no more problems!
Trick now is to get it to realise (as someone else has said) that going by car is fun and not all car journeys end up with either 'Mam and Dad' screaming at it to behave or some stranger sticking needles into it or ramming a thermometer up its jacksie....!
Make car travel a regular thing for the dog and make it pleasurable.
Put it's fave blanket on the seat, DON'T get cross or acknowledge unwanted behaviour, keep calm but assertive.
Trying to soothe it as you would a fretting child will only be seen by the dog as a reward it gets every time it acts up, thus heightening it's insecure state.
The watchword here is 'patience'.
Take your time, don't rush the dog into the car, you need to make it WANT to get in.
Our last Springer was a 'rescue' and from 'get go' it hated the car and would howl something chronic on even the shortest journey.
After 6 or 7 trips (at the end of which it got something it enjoyed be it a walk or a treat etc) I could hardly keep the daft thing out of the car and we had no more problems!
OllieWinchester said:
I know its no consolation, but my jack russel f
king loves going in the car.
Same here our labcross loves going in a carking loves going in the car.Any car, anyones car
Infact its downright annoying as soon as he spots any car that is open he is in it. Including the builders van that was parked outside and ten minutes later the builders returned to drop off the bloody idiot dog
His latest trick is if he sees me near the landrover he sits on it so i can't go anywhere without him
Edited by thinfourth2 on Sunday 11th October 15:28
Give it to the dog.
thinfourth2 said:
His latest trick is if he sees me near the landrover he sits on it so i can't go anywhere without him
Ssh - if my dog learns this trick I am in bother.A friend of mine had a big Rottweiler which used to like to
rest its head under the foot pedals of the car
while my friend drove.
I remember some careful footwork while negotiating the
Malaga ring road in rush hour.
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