Do you dread having to take your dog anywhere? Does your dog’s car anxiety stress you out, too?
Over the past year, most of us have been spending more time at home. We’ve haven’t been going much of anywhere, and neither have our dogs.
Our dogs familiarity with travel and car rides has lessened, and even those dogs who were accustomed to going places and doing things may now get nervous.
Name of the game
Familiarity is the key. Dogs, like us, get nervous in unfamiliar situations. Car rides with dogs qualify, especially if the only place the dog goes is scary.
Think about it from the dog’s perspective. If the only time he/she gets in the car is to go someplace where scary and/or painful things happen, you’d hate the car, too. Veterinary care and grooming are both necessary for our dogs, but neither is fun for the dog. Hope and Fran knew when they got puppies that as grown-up dogs they would be spending a lot of time in the car – going to obedience, rally and agility trials as well as on road trips, so they translated their crate training from the house to the car.
To turn things around and achieve stress-free car rides, start slowly, from the beginning.
Make it fun
Start where your dog’s anxiety begins. If he/she is nervous getting near the car, walk him her around the car, chattering calmly to your dog and delivering treats. Or play with a favorite toy near the car. Open and close the doors, all the while playing or rewarding for calm behavior.
Don’t force the dog to get closer, let them take it at their own pace. Coddling isn’t required – it’s not okay to be scared. Speak calmly and encourage exploration, but don’t force it and try not to get frustrated. You know there’s nothing to worry about. The task is to convince your dog that’s true.
Step by step
Like all 2-Minute training games, after a couple of minutes, you’re done for the session. You can come back to it later, but give your dog time to absorb the fact that he/she had fun near the big, scary, noisy thing.
When your dog is fine around the car, have him/her get in it. Again, give treats or play with a toy for a couple minutes. Reinforce for your dog that the car is a positive place.
When your dog can enjoy the treats or toy in the car, hook him/her up to whatever restraint you use in the car and have another play session. At this point, if you have another person who can help, one of you get in the driver’s seat while the other plays with, or gives treats to your dog.
Noisy scary
The next step is to have the dog in the car and turn on the engine. Make sure you’re outside, or the garage door is wide open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Play or treat for a couple minutes. If you don’t have a helper, give your dog a treat-filled toy. Use a high-value food stuffed in the toy – peanut butter or spray cheese work well for most dogs.
If your dog is able to focus on his/her chew or treat toy, you’re well on your way to stress-free car rides with your dog. Take a short ride around the block and back home. As you’re able to take your dog in the car for longer periods, try going to a park or somewhere dog-friendly and playing a fun training game as we discussed in the post, “Take it on the road …”
Building on success
Stay at whatever step as long as you need to. If your dog is too nervous to take treats or play, stay there until she gets more comfortable. A nervous glance, then back to the game is fine. Rejecting the treats/toy due to nerves means your dog has reached his/her limit and you may even need to go back a step.
When you are able to progress to actual trips, be sure you go fun places where nothing bad happens. Take your dog to a park and go for a walk. Or a pet shop and let him/her choose a new toy. Then straight home.
Accentuate the positive
You can replace anxiety with anticipation if you teach your dog, step by step, that there’s nothing to worry about. As your dog gets used to new things, they’re less scary. If you make car rides routine fun, you’ll have stress-free car rides with your dog.