Bad traveller

pistolpete

pistolpete

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Anyone else’s dog a terrible traveller? Have you found a solution. Meg is six now and still howls whines and barks on short medium or long journeys! We have tried walking her beforehand. Stopping along the way feeding all sorts. Any ideas!
 
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My old dog drooled badly as a pup but grew out of it, was a separation thing. Travel/my dogs coming with me is a big thing for me so it's non negotiable, but the vehicle is set up for travelling them...boxes, window screens etc. Containment, darkness/shelter and physical stability can all be important factors when travelling dogs.
Going in the car is a positive from day one, but that doesn't mean we always go somewhere super exciting. Sometimes we drive to Tesco and they stay there and don't get out and then we come home. Sometimes we drive five hours and do something super fun. For mine, either way, it's no big deal. Lots of people fall into the trap of only ever driving somewhere fun (walkies!) or somewhere awful (vet) and the dog gets wound up by the expectation.
Some dogs don't like the sensation of being in front/rear/middle. Some dogs can't cope with the world flashing past out the window.
Some don't like how the car sounds or feels.

My young one came everywhere in the car from day one but also learned to stay alone in the car too. The day she came home she was in a cat carrier strapped into front seat, that moved to a bigger fabric crate on the rear seat after a few weeks and then after a few months she was big enough for the boxes in the rear. Handful of food for getting in, handful of food if I had to leave her, handful of food when I came back.
She's a super traveller, one of the few things I did right with her!!
 
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CorvusCorax said:
My old dog drooled badly as a pup but grew out of it, was a separation thing. Travel/my dogs coming with me is a big thing for me so it's non negotiable, but the vehicle is set up for travelling them...boxes, window screens etc. Containment, darkness/shelter and physical stability can all be important factors when travelling dogs.
Going in the car is a positive from day one, but that doesn't mean we always go somewhere super exciting. Sometimes we drive to Tesco and they stay there and don't get out and then we come home. Sometimes we drive five hours and do something super fun. For mine, either way, it's no big deal. Lots of people fall into the trap of only ever driving somewhere fun (walkies!) or somewhere awful (vet) and the dog gets wound up by the expectation.
Some dogs don't like the sensation of being in front/rear/middle. Some dogs can't cope with the world flashing past out the window.
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She used to come to the yard with me. She has had short trips long trips. Medium trips always the same! Unless she’s shattered she’s mental!
 
It could be genetic as well. How the dog reacts to their environment (being elevated and moving) often is.

Because travelling with dogs is important to me, it is definitely something I would want to test in an older dog and with puppies there's a few things you can do to see how they are being elevated, how they react to being on an unstable surface etc etc etc.
 
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And another thing. Some people don't like to admit it, but they're not good drivers 🤣 and they have the radio on too loud for a dog's sensitive ears. Pay attention to sharp braking, how you take corners, particularly on windy roads, accelerate etc. A friend's dog travelled much better when they stopped doing their usual driving like a maniac on the mountain roads and the dog wasn't being thrown about.
 
pistolpete said:
She used to come to the yard with me. She has had short trips long trips. Medium trips always the same! Unless she’s shattered she’s mental!
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Have you made any adaptations to your vehicle or changed where she is in the car?

Identifying whether she is being like this because she is pleased or upset about travelling will help. My Mum had a dog who barked continuously as he was excited to go fun places. My advice was to spend several weeks turning the car around and coming home or even just stopping the car (as it began the moment the key turned in the ignition), for as long if not longer than it took for the behaviour to become ingrained, but no one ever wants to do that sort of work!!

You will have to change something about what you are doing/the situation to make it stop, it's up to you to work out what it might be, but it will be hard in a six year old dog.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Have you made any adaptations to your vehicle or changed where she is in the car?

Identifying whether she is being like this because she is pleased or upset about travelling will help. My Mum had a dog who barked continuously as he was excited to go fun places. My advice was to spend several weeks turning the car around and coming home or even just stopping the car (as it began the moment the key turned in the ignition), for as long if not longer than it took for the behaviour to become ingrained, but no one ever wants to do that sort of work!!

You will have to change something about what you are doing/the situation to make it stop, it's up to you to work out what it might be, but it will be hard in a six year old dog.
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I bought a bigger car for her! She’s a menace!
 
My dogs are literally kept in the dark in the back of my car. I have had the rear windows blacked out with film (not tinted glass) and there is an opaque material covering the space at the back of the front seats from floor to ceiling. This was in response to having two reactive dogs as passengers. I could keep one quiet when driving but not two together and two dogs suddenly in full barking mode just behind me was too nerve shattering! The added bonus was a very settled pack. I also drive as if I was towing a trailer to try and avoid sudden braking and too much centrifugal force as any disturbance provoked heavy panting in one of them. It helped but I regret to say he was prone to anxiety in the car all his life. Good luck and let us know if something works please.
 
Probably not this but our dog who adored being in the car and travelled thousands of miles with me, as he got older he got very distressed and unhappy travelling - the vet said his eyesight was failing (which I agreed with)
 
CorvusCorax said:
What have you tried so far, and for how long each time?
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Well daily trips to boring locations didn’t help. Feeding her and kongs and chews only work until they run out. Tried a padded buster collar as sort of blinkers as she’s very reactive. Doesn’t work. Tried a crate on back seat. Nope. Bigger car so more comfy still the barking whining and howling. Intermittent and does give up for a break then starts again. She’s an Adrenalin junkie and has a very low boredom threshold. I wonder if it would be kinder to sedate her!
 
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I feel so sorry for dogs that struggle with cars.Ours just sleeps every journey within seconds but partners old dog couldn't go half a mile before chucking up.
 

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pistolpete said:
Well daily trips to boring locations didn’t help. Feeding her and kings and chews only work until they run out. Tried a padded buster collar as sort of blinkers as she’s very reactive. Doesn’t work. Tried a crate on back seat. Nope. Bigger car so more comfy still the barking whining and howling. Intermittent and does give up for a break then starts again. She’s an Adrenalin junkie and has a very low boredom threshold. I wonder if it would be kinder to sedate her!
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Was it just a wire crate? Have you ever tried a crate in the boot? Mostly or completely blacked out? Dogs don't really get the concept of comfy cars, it's just the noisy movey thing.

Your energy seems quite high in your typing. Is that the way you are too/are you putting a lot of energy back into her/mirroring her energy? (Not a criticism, I hype dogs up very easily, but sometimes people aren't aware they are doing it)

And another thing....are you actually asking for solutions or vibes, or permission to sedate her, as there are a finite number of things to try. Again not a criticism but I'm conscious that I am typing a lot of words that possibly aren't required 🤣
 
CorvusCorax said:
Was it just a wire crate? Have you ever tried a crate in the boot? Mostly or completely blacked out? Dogs don't really get the concept of comfy cars, it's just the noisy movey thing.

Your energy seems quite high in your typing. Is that the way you are too/are you putting a lot of energy back into her/mirroring her energy? (Not a criticism, I hype dogs up very easily, but sometimes people aren't aware they are doing it)

And another thing....are you actually asking for solutions or vibes, or permission to sedate her, as there are a finite number of things to try. Again not a criticism but I'm conscious that I am typing a lot of words that possibly aren't required 🤣
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I appreciate your reply honestly. I don’t think I hype her up. She does that for herself pretty well. She’s so smart. She makes me laugh every day with her crazy joie de vivre! I don’t really want to sedate her. My husband is the peoem truth be told he’s saying he doesn’t want to travel with her! He does the driving and she is very distracting!
 
pistolpete said:
I appreciate your reply honestly. I don’t think I hype her up. She does that for herself pretty well. She’s so smart. She makes me laugh every day with her crazy joie de vivre! I don’t really want to sedate her. My husband is the peoem truth be told he’s saying he doesn’t want to travel with her! He does the driving and she is very distracting!
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Going to borrow another crate and try the complete black out routine again. Pretty sure it didn’t work last time I tried it but that was a couple of years ago.
 
Brig was extremely excitable in the car, ended up barking once due to extreme excitement, which made me jump. On long journeys, he was lots better if we stopped a couple of times and fed him treats. When my parents dogsat, he ate all the wiring and bulbs in their boot. God knows how he survived! Someone suggested Benylin as a calmer (?) but I didn’t fancy a home remedy, god knows what Benylin does to dogs. It was a nice change to have Zak and Bear who were silent.
 
Anyone else find a covered crate makes a big difference? I’m happy to try it again. She’s a live wire!
 

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Presume you've tried her in the footwell rather than on the seat
We had a dogbox, a big solid plastic thing that went in the boot with a mesh door, they were all happy to go in there
 
pistolpete said:
Well daily trips to boring locations didn’t help. Feeding her and kings and chews only work until they run out. Tried a padded buster collar as sort of blinkers as she’s very reactive. Doesn’t work. Tried a crate on back seat. Nope. Bigger car so more comfy still the barking whining and howling. Intermittent and does give up for a break then starts again. She’s an Adrenalin junkie and has a very low boredom threshold. I wonder if it would be kinder to sedate her!
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Years ago my family had a Lab bitch who howled when travelling and was sick. Vet prescribed a sedative, so she slept in the car and eventually she grew out of it. We've had others who grew out of travel sickness, without sedation but yours sounds a bit old for that to be likely.
 
tda said:
Presume you've tried her in the footwell rather than on the seat
We had a dogbox, a big solid plastic thing that went in the boot with a mesh door, they were all happy to go in there
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Not tried a footwell as she wouldn’t stay put. She’s a leggy Lurcher. Currently travels in the back of a Suzuki vitara. I am borrowing a crate next week. Will try the black out again.
 
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Pearlsasinger said:
Years ago my family had a Lab bitch who howled when travelling and was sick. Vet prescribed a sedative, so she slept in the car and eventually she grew out of it. We've had others who grew out of travel sickness, without sedation but yours sounds a bit old for that to be likely.
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She’s never sick amazingly. Cleanest dog we’ve ever had. Used to get really bad anal gland problems but she had them removed and now completely fine. Just gets so frustrated in the car. Doesn’t want to be still!
 
Is there any point taking her out around the block every day and then back home? Thought about doing this so the car doesn’t have as much meaning?
 
pistolpete said:
Is there any point taking her out around the block every day and then back home? Thought about doing this so the car doesn’t have as much meaning?
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I would try that, if you have someone who can sit with her and try to hold her still? If she won't stay where you put her, I.e. in the footwell,
 
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