If a simple car ride with your pup is anything but–cue trembling, puddles of drool and whining–your dog is likely experiencing anxiety or car sickness. This behavior makes every trip a challenge, but reluctant travelers can learn to love the open road with simple training and dog behavior modification exercises.
Why Do Dogs Get Anxiety in Cars?
A dog’s stress reaction to car trips are often rooted in motion sickness. Many puppies experience car sickness because their vestibular system, which maintains balance and equilibrium, is still developing. Adult dogs might continue to associate the feeling of motion sickness with being in the car, leading to anticipatory fear that the sickness is coming any time they hop in.
Signs of Car Anxiety
Car anxiety can manifest in obvious (and messy) ways, like vomit or excessive drooling, or in more subtle behaviors such as: * Stress panting, or breathing heavily without a temperature change * Increased lip licking and swallowing * Depression and decreased activity * Whining * Restlessness
It’s important to note that anxiety in dogs can be subtle. If your dog is reluctant to get in the car and “shuts down” once inside, he’s probably experiencing fear or stress.
How to Help a Dog with Anxiety in the Car
Pet parents can help anxious passengers feel more confident by using a multi-faceted approach. First, avoid feeding vomit-prone pups a few hours before trips, as an empty stomach is less likely to trigger nausea. Make sure the car is cool prior to starting the journey and crack the windows during the drive if weather permits to provide a refreshing (and potentially distracting) cross-breeze. Some dogs benefit from taking an over-the-counter herbal anti-anxiety medication shortly before departure as well.
Basic dog training can also help to shift unhappy travelers to adventure pups. Start the process by determining your dog’s “travel trigger.” Is it being on leash next to the car? Or does it start when the car door shuts? The goal is to begin the training process with the action that occurs before your dog begins to have a nervous reaction.
For example, if your dog starts to react when the door shuts, ask your dog to jump in the car and leave the door open. Praise your dog and feed him a series of tiny but delicious treats for a minute or so, then take your dog out of the car and end the session. Repeat this brief process daily until your dog seems excited to jump into the car, which means your dog has started to form a positive association to being in the car.
Divide the remaining parts of the travel process into individual steps, like getting in the car and turning it on for a few seconds and immediately turning it off and continue to build your dog’s positive association to each aspect in short treat-filled sessions. Watch out for overload or backsliding, particularly as your sessions begin to resemble real travel. When your dog looks calm and comfortable with the foundation steps of car travel try going for an extra short “trip,” like backing out of the driveway then pulling right back in. Car anxiety needs to be tackled gradually but taking a slow approach will help your dog discover his inner road warrior.