Car journey whining is so stressful

[musketeersmama]

Really hoping you all might have some advice & ideas to help! We have two gorgeous Working cocker spaniel bitches - mum 6 & daughter almost 3 years old. The mum always travelled happily in the car & rarely whined except when we were arriving at the park or beach & she was excited. The younger dog however starts to whine the moment she gets in the car and can relentlessly whine/pant/howl for the entire journey. I thought she might outgrow it but the reverse has happened & she is worse than ever! On the return journey, if she’s tired, then she may curl up and sleep & is then mercifully quiet.
It’s getting to the point that the kids & DH no longer want to be in the car with her & I admit it can be stressful to drive with that level of noise. We have a saloon style car - both dogs sit on the back seat with their harnesses & seatbelts secure.
What can I do to make it better? I don’t think she’s scared or car sick, maybe anxious or excited?
Please help!!

Back to basics. Can your ddog access the car at home safely? Door open let her sniff around it. Next day offer a few snacks from the driver seat. Next day have her sit in. Next day close doors... Next day start engine.
Or your ddog is going to whine for years...
Ime.

Thanks Santa - she definitely has access to the car at other times & hops in willingly. No signs of stress then or of not wanting to be in it. I think maybe she associates it with going for a walk & gets over excited. We live in the countryside so using the car is pretty non-negotiable.

Can you do drives that don’t always mean going somewhere? I’d go out for 5/10 mins then back home a few times a day so the car becomes less exciting if you think it’s excitement

I wonder how much movement they have on the back seats vs a crate in the boot which might be more stable? Is that an option?

As spaniels are prone to ear issues and that can cause travel sickness I’d also get the vet to check no issues there before trying any of the above x

Along with the other suggestions, is it possible for one of you to drive while the other focuses on training?

Basically, I'd train a phrase - like "settle down". KikoPup on YouTube has videos on settling, or you can look up the Relaxation Protocol. You'd start it in the home, then once she understands what it means and can settle when asked, you can move it to the car.

The benefit of this would be that it will shift her emotional state and help her to understand that she can lie down and relax. Rather than just teaching her a "quiet" cue, which might work but might do nothing to actually help her feel more relaxed, if you know what I mean.

"Settle down" has basically been a godsend for our Cocker. We use it when he's too wired in the house, when we're eating, when he's barking, and did use it in the car when he was having trouble getting over-amped.

Great ideas thank you.
@glassofbubbles25 Sadly the boot is not an option as we have a saloon car but I’ll definitely try the quick uneventful drives.
@dustofneptune The dogs understand ‘easy’ as a command to instantly calm when we’re outside but it doesn’t work in the car because it’s an ‘on alert, stay close & careful’ type command, so I’ll definitely try to teach a ‘settle down’ relax type command. To be fair that’d also be useful in the house too. Cockers can be hyper!
Thanks everyone

Sorry missed the part you said saloon car

I’ve just swapped my much loved two seater for a hatchback because of the same problem with my cocker spaniel! Tried everything with him - booster seat thinking he might be happier if he could see out, a non slip seat cover and crash tested harness, adaptil spray and collar, his bed in the footwell but nothing worked. Gets in the hatchback boot and goes straight to sleep now!

I totally sympathise, the constant whining is really stressful.

How are you sure it's not car sickness or anxiety? Those were my first thoughts when my ddog was whining in the car
You have my every sympathy because I find it nearly impossible to drive if he's whining too
I'm afraid what solved it for us was going in the boot. I think he feels contained but able to get up and down in there. We were wary of food rewarding him in case he was sick but in the end we gave him his favourite chews like pigs ears only in the car and that made him love it plus he also learned that going in the car usually means going for a fun walk (previously it often meant going to the vet). He's stopped whining in the car almost entirely now which is a huge relief. I still have to lift the massive great lump in there though as he refuses to jump in. Sometimes he's so happy in there after a walk that he curls up and refuses to get out too.

Covered crate in the back is the only thing that has (sort of) worked for me. Driving with that level of noise and with ddog trying her best to look out all the windows simultaneously and getting more and more stressed was dangerous really. Now, even tho she's still a bit noisy, she's not so panicked and is safely contained. I have to fold half the back seats down to fit the crate in my tiny car tho.

A crate could fit on the back seat maybe, or I've seen these kind of fabric crates, called Pet Tube, but then that doesn't leave much room for people!

Thanks for the sympathy @Iheartmysmart I’m glad your Cocker is happier now!
@CovoidOfAllHumanity I’m so glad you’re sorted now too, it’s so stressful! I don’t think it’s sickness because on return journeys she’s much calmer & quieter. It could totally be anxiety even though she appears to like the car.
@thevampirelestat I used to put her in a crate as a puppy with her siblings but when they went I just popped her in the back with her mum but she was never as noisy as she is now. Sadly we were hit by an uninsured driver who wrote off our (thankfully empty & parked) car so we had to get a new one in a hurry, hence the saloon shape, not hatchback and now we’re stuck with it. Argh. So annoying.

@musketeersmama ah, what a pain! I do have one other thing I do, which is... Just give up and put ear plugs in!

@thevampirelestat I think I might have to resort to ear plugs lol 😂

There was an episode of Dogs Behaving Badly recently which dealt with a similar problem, might be worth a watch?

I am watching this closely as our dog is a nightmare about riding in the car.

He literally knows the routes, and if we drive past a certain intersection out of our neighbourhood where family members live, he starts shaking, whining and ramping up completely. He knows the route to the groomer and the vet and he just gets worse and worse.

We have even tried giving him medication the vet gave us.

He shakes so hard I worry he is going to have a stroke or heart attack.
i have tried working with him on this without success.

He misses out on so much as no one can stand it for long, so no going on car trips for holidays.

Funnily enough he jumps into the car happily. He just watches where we go like a hawk and responds accordingly.

Aw @LoveFall it’s so difficult isn’t it, I’m sorry your dog is so stressed. I’m going to Google @ILoveToads suggestion of dogs behaving badly too, thanks for that idea.

Good luck @musketeersmama

My friend is a dog trainer uses similar techniques to Grahame Hall, she said his programme is so good that if all her clients watched his programme and followed his advice she would have no clients/dog left to train!

@musketeersmama

Thanks! The weird thing is it is only cars (and planes). He is a very, very clever boy and is usually very calm and loving. He has so many friends and family in the neighbourhood who love him, but cars are just a big no for the little guy.

I am going to see if can find the videos also, although at 11 I wonder how much change we can get.

I am sorry you struggle with this too! It just makes little sense. I really wonder what they are thinking!