Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kayla Rae and Rowdy on January 30, 2011 at 2:41am

That's so strange! All my dogs I've ever owned LIVED for car rides, they would even get excited at the mention of going on a car ride!  Your little one is still young enough where they might learn to like them...  I don't have any pro tips, but I am curious to see what people reply with and wish you all the best!

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Cerny on January 30, 2011 at 9:13am

I don't have any answers either, Sally hates to ride in the car also!  We have a place up north that takes almost 4 hrs one way and she is getting better but still doesn't like it!  She doesn't barks justs acts upset. She does better in the AM so we wonder if it could have anything to do with the plane ride from WA to MI where we got her. (Were thinking it was an afternoon flight)?

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on January 30, 2011 at 9:48am

Hi Dora, could you tell us how did you introduce crate training at home to your pup, how long ago, how frequent, what kind of challenges you had back then and now?

 

As far as car rides go, what kind of car, what kind of crate, location and when he does "act out", how did you calm / react to this unwanted behavior?

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Permalink Reply by Dora & Rocky on January 31, 2011 at 11:57am

Hi Sam,

 

When I first got Rocky, I would throw a treat in the crate for him to tempt him in and then I would close the gate for about 5 minutes and then let him back out. I slowly increased the time so that he knows it's safe place for him. When he's tired now during the day, he does wander into the crate on his own to hang out but he still doesn't go in there on command when I want him to. The trainer I'm working with saw how he wouldn't go into the crate when I told him to after class one night and she said that I need to teach him that I'm the boss and he needs to go in when I tell him to so sometimes, I can tempt him with a treat but sometimes, I should just pick him up and put him in there.

 

I drive a 2002 Camry so it's a fairly smooth ride for him (at least I think so :P). I have a plastic Pet Mate crate from Petsmart and I usually put him on the backseat during rides. When he's barking like mad back there, I've tried talking to him to reassure him, putting on all sorts of different music, and just plain ignoring him. The ignoring seems to somewhat work but it takes about 5 minutes of enduring his barking and then the silence doesn't last very long either.

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Permalink Reply by Atlas & Trinity on January 30, 2011 at 10:27am

Question what places do you normally take him for car rides? What treats are you putting in the kong for the ride?

 

Being a Dog Trainer a few of my students have this problem. Some as bad as foaming at the mouth for a 5min ride. Some of tricks that worked.

• It sounds silly and a bit unhealthy but drive to a Mcdonald's order a hamburger plain give him the patty in the car, take short trips around the block giving him hamburger
• Try filling the kong with Can Cat food (Cats are really really picky so their can food is much more tastier then dog) and the only time we get the can cat food kong is car rides
• Give High High  treats during car rides (cooked chicken, Cheese, Meatballs, hotdogs) or Med-High Freeze dried liver or really really smelly treats. Have some rapped-fire treats to him when hes not crazy or barking even for a few seconds.
• Nice good game of Tug, Fetch, Chase before going
• It might be cold outside but roll down the window
• Cover the crate with a blanket (this worked on a dog that had to be on med during car rides
• Buy a cd called Through a dog's ear Driving edition  http://www.amazon.com/Through-Dogs-Ear-Joshua-Leeds/dp/B0019K4YRA/r...
• Take him fun places like dog parks, Training, dog friendly places not just the vet and grooming (My dogs go crazy when I tell them we're going shopping aka Pet store for treats and toys but that also means going to work and training)
• Theres a few products out that you can use to help reduce stress - Comfort zone DAP (I've used this in class for nervous dogs, barking dogs also the groomers have used this to help relax some during grooming) get the spray ver. so you can use it on bedding, bandannas, collars or just inside the car. http://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Zone-DAP-60ml-Spray/dp/B000RIA9VU/ref...  there's also another product called Rescue Remedy Pets thats a 5 flower oil http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-Remedy-Pet-Formula/dp/B001S0RTLY/ref=s...

I hope this helps. 

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Permalink Reply by Dora & Rocky on January 31, 2011 at 11:56am

For now, my vet has told me that because Rocky's not fully immunized, I shouldn't take him to places where I don't know if other unvaccinated dogs have been because he can pick up something from them. So far, places that I've taken him by car: the vet, training/puppy socialization classes, and to my friend's house for playdates with her dog. I've been putting cookies in his Kong as well as a frozen chew rope for his to chew on.

 

I've tried rolling down the window (actually alternating between the 4 different windows to keep him distracted) but the silence only lasts about a minute and then he goes back to barking like mad.

 

The blanket idea and the high high treats ideas sound interesting though so I might try that next. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on January 31, 2011 at 12:21pm

He's only 3 months old.   Puppies often hate car-rides.  Think about it: they rode in the car when they were taken away from mom and littermates and the only home they knew, rode in the car when they went to the vet.

 

Jack HATED the car for the first month or so we had him.  What we would do is put him in the crate, take him a few blocks away, get out and go for a walk, and then take him home.  We took him to my mom's, took him to the other end of our big park, etc.   Make the trips different lenghths but make some of them very short (five minutes or so).  Ignore him when he barks.   I tried to make sure we had at least two fun car trips a week to balance out all those vet trips.

 

When you get him out into the world is up to you, and it's true he's not fully immunized, but the socialization windows close around 16 weeks and he should have met lots of dogs and lots of people and walked on lots of surfaces by then, to ensure a confident temperament.  Two breeders and my vet all said that pup could to out and about one week after having his second set of shots.  For Jack, that meant he was out and about at 11 weeks of age. 

 

IMO, you are more likely to encounter sick dogs at the vet's office than out in the neighborhood park.  I would not go into the woods necessarily, or to a dog park with a pup that young, but I would definitely encourage lots of short walks in a regular park, as well as visits to nearby neighborhoods.   Unless you live somewhere with a large population of strays roaming around, most of the dogs were likely vaccinated for parvo (your biggest fear).

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on January 31, 2011 at 2:05pm

before outings to different neighborhoods, ask your vet where they get most of their parvo  cases from. In my neighborhood, I know there is little to no parvo, but drive about 4 blocks down and the cases probably skyrocket. If you are in a good neighborhood it is safe to walk on the sidewalks. I wouldn't go anywhere where there is dirt/grass just yet though unless you are familiar with the area and know there isn't much parvo around there. By the vet I work at, it is dangerous to even walk you dog around some of the parks because there is so much parvo in the soil, if your pup chews the grass, or a stick, or anything he can ingest it. Also, like others said, short trips would be great. Maybe even just put him in his crate in the car, don't go anywhere, treat him with high value treats when he is quiet, then get out. Do this for a bit until he will sit quietly for say 5 minutes, then drive a couple blocks, continue treating for quiet behavior. I would hesitate to use canned cat food, or just use a tiny bit. Canned cat food will most certainly cause diarrhea because it is so rich, and if you feed too much you are at risk of giving him pancreatitis. I'd stick with something like hot dogs or chicken breast, or tiny tiny tiny amounts of cat food if you must but since you will want to be giving lots of treats, I'd use hot dogs cut into tiny little pieces.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on January 31, 2011 at 3:29pm

I suppose it depends how bad it is in your area.   I don't want to debate the risks of parvo vs risks of undersocialized dogs. 

One vaccination works for parvo.  The reason they are staggered is because maternal antibodies can prevent vaccines from taking; however, the newer vaccines supposedly get around that problem for the most part. 

 

If you wait til the full set of vaccinations at 14 or 16 + 2 to start taking pup out and about, pup is already moving out of the socialization windows where they easily adapt to new situations.   Our breeder said ok after 2nd set of shots and so did our vet.  I was worried so I asked another breeder and she said she worries more about lack of socialization than getting sick, and that they are more likely to get sick at the vet's office (or outside it) than on a walk.   She also encourages people to take their puppies out and about frequently.

 

http://www.vetinfo.com/dparvo.html

 

Since we have wild animals in our yard, it would be impossible to keep puppy from exposure to all diseases.  We also live near a park which means a parade of dogs go by our house every day, so we had really little more risk going on short trips than in our own backyard.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on January 31, 2011 at 4:53pm

By the way,  I would not take them out if indeed parvo is prevalent (as it seems to be in your area).  Still, you can go to the edge of a ballfield, a grocery store parking lot, walk by a playground, etc.   Having pup associate car trips = fun is very important. 

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Permalink Reply by Dora & Rocky on January 31, 2011 at 5:15pm

I've been taking my puppy to training and puppy socialization classes as well as to friends' houses with dogs since he was 10 weeks old so the socialization aspect I'm not too worried about. And when I take him to the vet, I always keep him in his crate to avoid contact with potentially sick dogs (because, really, other than getting vaccinated, why else would you bring your pet to the vet unless he's sick?). I think my backyard is fairly well protected since it's over 4 feet high and my neighbour's dog's constant barking at unfamilar things moving into 'his' territory would generally scare away any wildlife.

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Permalink Reply by Kimberlie on January 31, 2011 at 3:33pm

Here are some tips that we where given to teach our puppys to injoy the car.

 

• Spray some lavender scent lightly in car, as it is soothing to a dogs.
• Exercise dog before getting into car to get ride of excess energy
• Have him settle down and calm before having him enter the car
• let the dog enter on it's terms( since puppy can't hop in on it's own pick it up put his front paws on seat/crate and let his guide the rest of his body in.
• wait till he is settled and calm before closing crate doors and car doors
• waait till he is calm and relaxed before starting car
• and let him be calm and relaxed before driving off
• always end the car ride in excitment and praise when he is out. So they look forward to something at the end.So they can think "When this part i hate is over there is something awsome at the end."

do some special trips where he end up at a firends house where he can play or when he get out and he is on the grounds have a toy or treat and do a few second of play as well.Calm before and during, excitment as so as he is out is the trick Then when he is safe to go to dog parks or pet store you can add that as a reward. I us to make 2 trips to the petstore every week even if we didn't need anything, did it just for car training and a little socializing with people and dogs at the store. On other days it would just be a ride aroud the block, or just in and out of the car. No mine love it. As soon as we open the gate they go straight for the car door, leash or no leash.

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