Fear Of Car Rides and Car Sickness

Suzi did not enjoy her first ride home. As she sat in my lap, she barked, whined and even howled the entire 25-minute drive. So two days later when it was time to take her to the vet, 10 minutes away, I decided the safest thing would be to transport her in her crate. While this definitely was a smart move, being confined in the cargo space of our CR-V made her even more fearful. She threw up going and coming home.

The next time we went to the vet I decided to withold food until after the appointment. With our the first puppy I had that had carsickness, this seemed to do the trick. This seemed to work, until the ride home. Drat.

Experience, as well as my vet, reminds me that many puppies simply outgrow car sickness. But when you need to transport your puppy frequently, wait-and-see is not much of an option.

If your puppy or dog hates the car and/or gets car sick, I'll tell you what I tell my clients. "Different remedies work for different dogs."

Desensitization
Whether a dog is afraid of cars or gets sick, making him feel more comfortable is required. The idea is to slowly re-introduce the dog to the car in short sessions, creating positive experiences. Drives are only introduced and lengthened with increased success. Fairly detailed steps on car desensitization can be found in "Help my dog is afraid of car rides! " by Krista Mifflin for About.com.

One aspect of car rides Mifflin's article does not address is restraint. A travel crate may help some dogs feel more secure. But, like people, other dogs may do better if they can look out the window. Window-watchers will need a canine seatbelt harness or, for toy and small breeds, a pet booster seat (a separate harness may be required - check packages carefully).

Don't forget that you will probably need some stress reduction. Even when able to ignore whining or barking, most people get tense during these car rides, too. That is another reason to keep initial practice runs brief. If you stress-out and end up shouting "Shut up!" at your dog, this will not help matters. So put in some ear plugs or put on some soothing classical music to keep yourself calm and in control.


Supplements
There are a number of different things you can try giving your pet. I am a fan of trying natural remedies before medicinal. A number of my clients have sworn by a slice of fresh ginger root. There are also quite a number of herbal car sickness and anti-anxiety concoctions on the market for pets. Whether or not these will help your pet can only be determined by trial and error.

Veterinarians sometimes often recommend a dose of Benedryl or Dramamine. For severe or otherwise appropriate situations, vets prescribe stronger medications.

All these options seem to work best if administered 20-30 minutes before the car ride. Also, please be sure to consult your vet regarding anything you give your dog. Even herbal and natural remedies can cause adverse reactions, or interfere with any medications your dog may be currently taking.

As with most everything in life, there is no quick fix for doggie car issues. As you work through this process keep the following in mind: Be safe; Be comfortable; and carry plenty of towels.

Just Keep Calm!

We are having our roof replaced today. I probably don't have to tell you, the dogs are not happy about all the noise. When the crew first started walking around on top of our heads, Buddy and Chloe went barking mad. But I just ignored them, and continued working. After about 5 minutes they relaxed. Every once in a while, when there's a big bang or other new noise up there, one will jump up barking and get the other one in on the act as well. I don't say or do anything and they calm right back down.

The reason I detail this is to remind owners just how effective our own reactions can be on dog behavior. Too often owners unknowingly create anxiety in their dogs. I'll often get complaints from someone that she her dog is uncontrollable and high-strung. When I meet with this person, she is high-strung and anxious herself. Well, no wonder. She even makes me nervous!

I often see people treating dogs like babies. This is unfortunately rampant among the smaller breeds. Picking up your dog and carrying it around denies him of the chance to learn how to manage around other people and dogs. This fosters nervousness and diminishes social skills.

Of course there are times, in extreme situations, you should pick up a small dog or provide a dog with comfort. But the key is to find the right balance. Are you supporting your dog, or over-exaggerating the situation?

The best way to support your dog in any situation is to manage the environment as much as possible. In my current situation, I can’t stop the noise. As long as my dogs behave reasonably they can continue to hang out with me. (They’re actually resting calmly right now!) But when I leave later, or if they start becoming more anxious, I will intervene. I will put them on the lowest level to minimize irritation and make them as comfortable as possible. And when I return, we’ll step right back into our normal routine to cue them nothing has changed, all is well.