Calm Car Trips

Image by Sam Williams from Pixabay

​Having a dog that can't settle and relax in the car makes for very challenging car rides.  The good news is that there are things you can do to teach your puppy to be a good traveler and to help your adult dog be more comfortable and relaxed in the car.

---

Safety First

​
​It's important that your dog not be able to physically interfere with the driver of the car.  It is also important to consider your dog's safety in the car.  In the event of a crash, an unrestrained dog could be ejected from the vehicle.  When you arrive at your destination, you'll want to have your dog wait in the car until you are ready for them to exit, rather than them jumping out and running off.  There are a variety of ways to address these concerns.

Image from Canva

• You can use a crate for your dog inside your vehicle.  This keeps your dog securely in one location, allows for a controlled exit from the vehicle and prevents your dog from dashing out when a door is opened.  They now make crash tested dog crates for added security.
• You can use a seatbelt harness for your dog.  This will keep them securely in one location, allow for a controlled exit from the vehicle and prevent your dog from dashing out when a door is opened.
• You can use a vehicle barrier.  This will keep your dog from interfering with the driver and from dashing out when people in the front seats of the vehicle open their doors.  It won't prevent your dog from dashing out when the door to their area of the vehicle is opened, so you'll want to pair this with some training on remaining in the vehicle until released instead of dashing out.
• You can use a hammock or car seat cover.  They can function as a bit of a barrier, but I know some dogs that can get over them into the front seat, so they don't have the same level of security as a vehicle barrier while having the same downsides.

Puppy Prevention

If you have a new puppy and want to prevent future car issues, I recommend making sure to take a variety of short car trips.  If your puppy only goes to the vet, this can impact how they feel about the car.  Instead take your puppy to a mix of places - some enjoyable, most boring.  You can even hangout in the car together and watch the world go by for a bit.

If you see any signs of nausea, fear or over excitement, check out the sections below for ideas on how to help your puppy.

image from Canva

If your dog vomits in the car

​It's not uncommon for puppies to feel nauseous in the car.  Many will out grow it, but not all, and there is a big risk that they will start associating the car with feeling unwell and avoiding the car before they no longer get car sick.  

1) Talk to your vet about anti-nausea medication
If your puppy continues to feel nauseous whenever they go in the car, the association between the car and feeling sick will get stronger, increasing the likelihood that your puppy will start avoiding getting in the car and that will get more problematic as your puppy gets bigger.  If your puppy needs to travel in the car, preventing the motion sickness will help.

2. Know that your dog can still be feeling car sick even if they don't vomit
This is important to know so that when you are working on your training steps you don't just use didn't vomit as your criteria.  If you only focus on whether or not your dog vomited, they may still feel sick and continue to associate riding in the car with feeling ill.  Signs your dog is feeling nauseous can include:

• ​vomiting
• drooling
• excessive swallowing
• excessive licking
• lack of appetite

Image by Brennan Emerson from Pixabay

3. Consider your travel arrangements
Changing how your dog travels may impact how nauseous they feel.  Some things you can experiment with include:

• Seeing out the window/not seeing out the window
• Location in the car ie. front seat vs back seat vs hatch (if practical)
• Fresh air.  Please, if you open the window only do so a small amount.  Dogs that stick their head out the window are at risk of injury to their eyes or face.

4. Practice gradual car exposures
Where you start depends on your dog.  If you want to have them in a crate or harness in the car, introduce it first in the house.  If your dog puts on the breaks and doesn't want to walk towards the car, start with working on proximity to the car.  If your dog is fine getting in the car, but gets car sick or starts feeling anxious when the car moves, start with getting in and out of the car.  It is the same process outlined below for dogs that are afraid of the car.

If your dog is afraid of the car

image from Canva

Ideally, suspend car trips for a period of time to allow you to work on your dog's fear without triggering further fear.  If that isn't possible and you need to travel with your dog in the car before they are comfortable, make sure to make the "have to" situation look different from the training you are doing.  Eventually, your trained scenario will be the one you use, but we don't want to sabotage the progress you are making with your dog by causing them to distrust the process.

 Approaching the Car
If your dog avoids walking toward the car, you need to start there before working on being in the car.  

• Start by walking towards your car, and rewarding your dog for walking with you.  If your dog shows signs of being uncomfortable, turn and walk away from the car.  Treats stop when you walk away, and resume when you walk towards the car.
• Practice in short sessions until your dog can comfortably walk up to the car and walk around the car with you.

Getting in the Car
If your dog is very fearful, you will need to spend more time on the steps than if your dog is less fearful, and you may need to take even smaller steps.  We also need to think about how your dog is going to get into the car.  Can they jump in and out on their own?  Do you need to lift them?  Can they use a step or a ramp?  If you need to lift your dog in and out, practice lifting them, saying your marker word, setting them down and giving them a treat away from the car first.  Likewise if you are going to use a step or ramp, introduce that away from the car so your dog gets a chance to get comfortable with it first.  
Once that has been done, we can work on getting in the car

• ​Walk toward the car, touch the door handle, mark & reward your dog
• Walk toward the car, open the door, mark & reward your dog
• Walk toward the car, open both doors 
• Scatter some treats inside the car and let your dog have a treasure hunt with the door(s) open
• Walk toward the car, cue your dog to get in, then scatter some treats for a treasure hunt
• Walk toward the car, open only one door, cue your dog to get in & scatter treats.
• Walk toward the car, cue your dog to get in, reward, secure your dog (if riding in a harness/crate) reward and then release them and exit the car.
• Secure your dog (if riding in a harness/crate), reward them, close the car door briefly then open the door, release them and exit the car.

Riding in the Car

• Load your dog into the car, close the door, go sit in the driver's seat briefly.
• Load your dog into the car, then start the car.  Turn it off and exit.
• Load your dog into the car, start the car and drive a few feet.  Park and exit the car.
• Drive the car a few car lengths, then park and exit.
• Gradually increase the distance you drive, this could be to the end of the driveway, the neighbours drive, around the block, to the mail, it depends on your location.  The goal with this step is to avoid triggering your dog's fear/nausea/excitement.  Trips need to stay short, manageable and boring.

---

If your dog gets excited in the car

image from Canva

If your dog gets very excited in the car, first think about what usually happens when they get in the car.  Do they usually go somewhere very fun for them?  If they are always going to their version of Disney land when they get in the car, you may be able to change their response to being in the car by taking them on lots of boring car trips.  The specific ratio will vary from dog to dog, but if getting in the car means sitting there while you check social media or read a chapter in your book, drive to the mail box, around the block or to get milk, with nothing fun happening for your dog they will often stop getting so excited about getting into the car.

If your dog is very optimistic, and that occasional enjoyable outing is enough to keep them excited about driving in the car, you can use a similar approach to the one above for fearful dogs.  Make the car boring, and a place for relaxing more than a means to something exciting.  You can also try the following:

• Add more excitement to being home.  Enrichment and fun games with you don't require a lot of space, but can really add some extra enjoyment into your dog's day.
• Practice calming activities and self-control games at home, and then in your parked car.  If your dog lives life suck in excitement mode, learning how to switch gears and calm will be very helpful.

---