dog has car ride anxiety

peterpointinglab

peterpointinglab

New member
Hi guys, was wondering if anyone has had experience or advice for a dog that is terrible to go on car rides with. I've had him for 2 yrs and he goes with me everywhere its not as if hes never goes on rides he always does. He is trained, well excercised and is a good dog except for the car rides. So does anybody have an idea that I can try? Thank you
 
I have experienced the same in multiple breeds, all dogs had the same introduction to car travel as siblings with no concerns, a lot of whom like it! Some get over it, some get better with time, some seem to be that way for life.
 
Is he crated?
Hopefully.

Other than short rides and, possibly, calming measures determined by severity and a vet...time may help.
If pup is being over-stimulated by the ride rather than the experience itself then time may not help.
Anxiety may become a conditioned response.

Dogs also pick up on our anxieties in any situation, easily.
 
Did not mean to imply that you yelled at the dog.
I would assume that you would not do so.
Dogs will simply pick up on our anxieties...and response to that varies pup to pup.

Short rides for conditioning, burn off some energy pre-ride, have a lot of fun and reason to be tired or worn-out for the ride home along with time may help.
Good luck.
 
When the kids were little, we had a mixed terrier that was so taken by what I thought was anxiety that she'd salivate about half her body weight over a two-hour drive. Vet said it was a mild (!) form of car sickness, gave me some doggie dramamine. Worked a bit, but made her loopy. Also took a bit of planning for any car trip.

Might try very low dosage of valium, and see what happens. Works quicker, often used in canines, and no severe side-effects.

We'd gotten her from Humane Society, so no idea what caused it.

Best wishes.
 
My setter was like that for quite some time. I pulled the car into the shade and put him in there in a kennel. I left him in there for most of the day. He began to realize that being in the car is not exciting and stopped being annoying on rides.
 
Ask your veterinarian for Composure. It is a natural product made by Vetri-Science that works well for a lot, but not all dogs (~80%), and it's not a drug so you don't have to use it every day. It takes about 30 minutes to work and lasts for several hours. The other thing you can try is called Thunder Shirt, which is a shirt that's works on anxiety as via compression. If those don't work you can escalate to Anxitane, then to drugs. Abut some people like to try non-drug options first and they work pretty well for many dogs.
 
My male gets all worked up on long travels now for some reason. I suspect something happened when in care of another while on the road. He used to rocket in and love to go. Now really does not enjoy loading and pants heavy and stands walking, spinning the whole way. Gets him self worked up to a fever of about 104 every time..:mad: I don't know what took place but think something must have. Big bumps on a long stretch, jolt, something. :confused: Any way, I put him in the front seat and he is fine. If he starts to pant I lay his head on my lap and scratch his ear. When in the back, crated he gets the s#!ts every time, bad. This is what happened at Nationals last year I'm sure. Same thing when I went to IL this year and WI. So I tried the ride in the front thing and it quits. Put him in the crate and it starts up. So I guess If I am to get a good solid run from him I have him ride long distance in the front with me. I wish I had the secret. But may look in to what marshrat said. It's weird, because for 3 1/2 years it did not happen.
 
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jeffstally said:
Did you try leaving him in the car in the crate while the car is in your driveway for a couple hours?
Click to expand...

If you mean me, yes. He is fine till you hit the road. He is in a crate a whole bunch, at trials, hotels, waiting during trials etc. It yis only when we get the car moving. He is either scared from something, or just simply developed motion sickness in confined space sort of thing. Dano?:confused:
 
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FCS

It could be your driving he's scared of. :D:D
 
Well...it is a learned behavior, and learned behaviors can be replaced by other behaviors. I go back to small doses of valium on short rides, then on longer rides, reducing the dosage until it is "just another trip in the car."

I don't like medicating, but there are times when it just plain helps.

The dramamine the vet used to suggest made my dogs so sluggish and lethagic, and took so long to process out of their systems, that I saw it as a new problem, rather than a solution to the anxiety.

You'all have my best wishes.

:)
 
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