Car anxiety

Kelsey

Kelsey

As many of you know Axel had bad car anxiety so with Hugo I was really hoping he wouldn’t but he whimpers and takes time to settle. So I guess I’m wondering is this normal until they are used to it? Or is this who he is? Im feeling pretty deflated ☹ I bring frozen kong and stuffed kibble kongs, and toys and that keeps him busy for a bit until he’s done then he whimpers and paces until he does eventually settle… usually 5-10 minutes. Any tips on how to help make this not permanent? Or is it just a puppy thing that your dogs grew out of?
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Definitely normal, definitely a puppy thing and there’s plenty of time to help him get comfortable with car rides.

Can you unpick it a bit? What is it that makes him uncomfortable? For example, is he comfortable being in the stationary car with doors open? Does he mind the engine noise? Is it when the car’s in motion that he starts looking uncomfortable? With Stilton we built it up in stages, short sessions to start with and lots of reinforcement like vegetable chews and rabbit ears. Particularly when the car was moving we’d do a 2 minute journey, then 5 minutes, building up. In all honesty, when we first started puppy classes I needed to drive there and didn’t have time to build up to it, and he squeaked for the first few minutes of traveling to begin with - I found that singing to him (!) and lots of verbal praise did seem to help settle him, and after a couple of weeks he was a lot more comfortable.
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

HAH said:
Definitely normal, definitely a puppy thing and there’s plenty of time to help him get comfortable with car rides.

Can you unpick it a bit? What is it that makes him uncomfortable? For example, is he comfortable being in the stationary car with doors open? Does he mind the engine noise? Is it when the car’s in motion that he starts looking uncomfortable? With Stilton we built it up in stages, short sessions to start with and lots of reinforcement like vegetable chews and rabbit ears. Particularly when the car was moving we’d do a 2 minute journey, then 5 minutes, building up. In all honesty, when we first started puppy classes I needed to drive there and didn’t have time to build up to it, and he squeaked for the first few minutes of traveling to begin with - I found that singing to him (!) and lots of verbal praise did seem to help settle him, and after a couple of weeks he was a lot more comfortable.
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I’ve been trying to figure out what it is exactly. He’s completely fine once I buckle him in, and even when the car is started, but once we start moving he starts to give out whimpers and paces then he gets all tangled up in his seatbelt. So then I was thinking maybe it’s that he is restricted with his seatbelt/harness and can’t freely move how he wants to. So I unclipped the seatbelt to give him free range but he still whimpered and I honestly only tried that for a couple minutes. I also will talk to him and that helps in short bursts, when he’s bad enough I shove my hand in the backseat and rub his face while driving which really helps, but that’s uncomfortable and not safe, but does settle him down to relax.

The seatbelt clicks in like a regular seatbelt and it attaches to the back of his harness. You can tell better in the second photo. It’s the black line going behind his bed. The first photo though you can see him clipped in on the back of the harness and he’s laying on the seatbelt.
D335E878-3421-4D47-9B87-D009477E77E0.jpegE2AC3EBD-738E-497E-8753-882400747BAD.jpeg
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

It gets better as they get older. Iver was terribly travel sick. As he got more confident it got better. It seems to be a bit of genuine motion sickness at first and a bit of stress. We just kept the journeys short for a while with reassurance and doing things like just sitting in the car and not going anywhere and feeding him in the car. We also did things like took him to places he liked so every journey had a good pay off. He bounces into the car now he likes going places in it. He's 4 now and is a good happy traveller. Hugo just not a baby yet and I've found a lot of the little pups can he vocal just because. It's all so new and he's just finding it all a bit much. It doesn't mean he won't be a good traveller it's just he's finding it a bit strange now. It's hard being a tiny baby pup.
We also after a romp put him in the car for a nap
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Jacqui-S said:
Could you try him beside you on the front seat to see if he settles better? I know then you have to (probably 😉) then transition him into the back, might might help develop his confidence?
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I’m scared to do this as I did this with Axel. Axel was a great traveller at the start because I had him in the front with me, then as soon as I transitioned him to the back that was it, nothing could calm him down, it was bad enough I even tried medication but he fought that. Eventually we got to the point he could leave the house and drive half way to our destination then he would go crazy until we were out of the car 🥺

SwampDonkey said:
Hugo just not a baby yet and I've found a lot of the little pups can he vocal just because. It's all so new and he's just finding it all a bit much. It doesn't mean he won't be a good traveller it's just he's finding it a bit strange now. It's hard being a tiny baby pup.
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I’m hoping this is all it is, is Hugo is just a baby getting used to new things. He does absolutely amazing in his crate now, wouldn’t have guessed he had issues before, so I really hope that’s how the car pans out too.
 
Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
What @SwampDonkey says!

I am pretty sure Cass had motion sickness in the car as a little one, even after she stopped creating a fuss as she grew up a bit she still would drool. But it stopped in time and it hasn't left any lasting effect as she travels for hours with no complaints as an adult.
Thinking back, she had a crate in the back to start with - I'd lost seatbelts to dogs before - and a comfy bed that she was already familiar with. I definitely agree with making the end of the trip worthwhile for him as he grows up, positive associations and all that !

Try not to pressure yourself too much @Kelsey&Axel :hug:, he's still so tiny xx
 
Joy

Joy

Location
East Sussex
It may be a short-term thing. Molly howled like a banshee in the car at first (it really sounded as if I was murdering her!) I kept journeys very, very short to start with - 2 minutes (which was luckily enough to get to the beach) and then let her out for an off lead explore. I can't remember how long it took for her to decide the car was ok but I think it might have been a few weeks.
 
Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
I had a car sick puppy and with all my pups, I didn't make an issue out of it, no treats etc, popped them into their crate and went a very short, five minute journey and a little walk somewhere interesting like a common or field. They then associate the car with good things. I would think most pups would be uneasy in a car to start with, unfamiliar territory.
 
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