Pup HATES the car, what to do?

[Romanarama]

Where do you put your dogs in the car?

My pup loathes the car. No suitable dog bars exist for it, so I've bought a Ferplast Atlas box thing which is smaller than his normal crate and I thought he'd feel safe in that, but if anything he's worse than loose in the boot. He barks his head off frantically. Yesterday I was filling up with petrol and the car (a mahoosive MPV) was rocking as though there were a couple of horny teenagers in it. I was really .

I've been putting hot dog sausages etc in the box, and I put it in the kitchen for a while and gave him his meals in it too, but he's still terrified of it.

Anyway, I'm sure he'd be happier on the seat. I was thinking of just forcing the poor mite to tolerate the box (with hot dogs for compensation) until he's a bit bigger, then getting him a seatbelt harness. I can't really spare the cash this month to buy one and then need a bigger one in 2 months time. What do you think?

(The boot is very deep and he'll never be big enough to see out of the window when he's in it)

It's usually better if they can't see out, but if a pup is really scared of the whole car thing then you have to go right back to basics and compeltely desensitise him.

Is he happy to get in and travel in the car boot itself, without the box?

You need to get him used to the box, the boot and the car.

First of all, don't say a word to him when you're in the car. Not a peep. Any noise from you, soothing or otherwise will reinforce his frightened behaviour. It has to be a jolly hockey sticks and just get on with it type of voice.

Put one of his meals in the box in the back of the car while it's parked on the drive or street and let him build confidence in the car, and the box. Masses of praise when he's normal in that situation. Do that a couple of times a week at least.

If you can, leave the car boot open for a while so he can jump in and out while it's stationary.

If you feel bad about the boot, try getting him used to the crate on the back or front seat. You'll obviously have to secure it carefully, but it might be a gentle way in.

Treat every time you get in the car, and I treated randomly as we drove along if behaviour was good (flinging dog treats over my shoulder in the region of the boot!)

I wouldn't muck about with putting him on the seat - not least because it'll get filthy. And if you have to leave him in the car for 5 minutes the destruction he could cause doesn't bear thinking about.

Have you tried leaving him in the boot but tying his lead to something in there o he can't jump over?

I suspect the only answer is to get him used to it by driving lots with him and then giving him a little treat when he gets out.

obv is traumatised by the hot dogs cant say i blame him for not wanting to be in the car with those smelly, crappy shapes that say there are meat but are really eyes,ears and arseholes!!

our woofa 10.5 stone so a tad heavy, used to hate the car, but granny+cheese sorted him out

good luck

We had a collie who hated the car - was literally sick with nerves.

We managed to get him to tolerate it (cant use enjoyed) by building up the time he was in it. Started just driving round the block, then going further each time.

I'm sure I read somewhere that putting a blanket over the box helps so they cant see out because sometimes they are scared of the cars whizzing past.

You can get a harness that goes round the dog's chest & then clips onto the seatbelt. They can then lie down on the seat but are safely restrained in case of a crash.

carness

Buggrit - carness

Oops - sorry, saw you'd already thought of them! They're adjustable though so you might get more wear out of it than you think

Daisy, thanks that's an idea - to feed him in the boot. I'll do that over the weekend.

He hates the box whether it's in the boot or not, and the boot whether or not it's got the box in it! I'll persevere......

I hadn't really thought of the damage to the car - I suppose he could quite easily chew the corner off the seat as I drove along, even with a harness on. Maybe I'll skip that idea!

What I (Bella, btw!) did with my pup was to take her right back to basics. For about a week or so I gave her treats next to the car, and fed her next to the car. I then worked up to giving her meals in the car (you can leave the doors open so he can see through the rest of the car and it doesn't seem so enclosed) and then on to leaving her in the boot for a few minutes after a meal. Next stage was to have the engine running, and then on to very short trips (100yds at first). The whole thing took about a month and during that time I didn't take her anywhere in the car: if you do then the effect of reinforcing the fear by making her travel in the car outweighs the benefit of feeding her in the car, etc. My pup travels quite happily now - it takes a while but is worth doing. You need to monitor him very carefully at each stage and don't move him on to the next one until he is totally comfortable with the present stage.

Am sure Minimu will come along and put it much more eloquently!

I have a friend whose dog chewed her way through the seatbelts on one occasion, and the parcel shelf the next.

She's grown out of it now, but it was v expensive to put right.

I crated mine in the car when they were pups!

Watching this with interest as my pup (well, older pup now) used to be OK in the car but has got worse. She is not a barker but she cries constantly and is clearly quite stressed (cowers when we pick her up to put her in boot etc). She goes in the boot with dog guard because we don't have a crate small enough for the boot.

Woofa/Bella's advice sounds good.

I have a friend whose dog used to spin round and round and try to jump up when they used the seatbelt harness - I guess if they don't like being in the car they will not be keen on harnesses either?

Definately have the dog crated or behind dog bars in the car. Personally I prefer crates. The damage the dog can do to you or children in the car if not restrained is horrific even with a little bump in the car.

I would get him used to the box outside of the car. Just like you did the crate. Personally I would use a crate just like the one in the house as he already loves this. If he does hate seeing things you can just put a towel over the cage.

When he is happy with the cage as Bella says feed in the car but only when he is calm. Any jumping about ignore him and take away the treats. My dogs have to sit or lie in the car standing is not allowed!

Then take for literally 100 yards in the car you may need someone in the back seat to keep him in a sit position. Then stop the car and have a great walk or game. Gradually make the journey longer but it must always end in something fantastic so a walk or game.

Two reasons for this one to make sure he associates the car with fun and also if he can be calm when he is going to have fun he will always be calm in the car.