Unsettled in the car

[Frankie]

Me needing help again ..... does anyone have any suggestions to stop Fergus from crying his little heart out when we go anywhere in the car.  We have bought a small crate (same as his big one in the house that he sleeps in at night and sometimes through the day.  We're hoping to take him out in wee short bursts to get to him used to it.  If he sits on my lap he is sleeping within minutes of leaving the house but he doesn't seem to like being in the car and away from us.  Any ideas would be much appreciated - please note ear-muffs could be a last resort!!

[Happygal]

Well I think I would start by putting his food in the car (while car stationary) and sitting in there while he eats it. Once he is ok with this I would move on to putting him in the cage with a treat a few times, then progress to him in the crate on short journeys etc and build up from there.

At the moment Wispa (11wks) is travelling in her smallish pet carrier but will eventually be put in a bigger crate for travel and I've been doing this with her since I got her.

Is he ok when he is away from you at other times then?

[mooching]

How often do you take him out in the car? When we got Alfie I was advised to take him out in the car at least once every day if that's an option, right from 8 weeks, to get him used to it as soon as possible.

I'd recommend that you take Fergus out in the car as often as you can, even just for short trips. Make it a matter of fact, "this is what we do" thing, with as little fuss as possible.

How do you react when he whines in the car? The advice I read here (and which I followed!) was ignore him when he whines, and praise him when he is quiet, ie not to give him any attention at all when he whines. I took Alfie with me every day as I gave my daughter a lift to school, and, at the start, Alfie would whine for the first 5 minutes, but within a few days he wasn't making a peep.

[jessandme]

What mooching said!  Because it works!

Our Lucy was wonderful in the car and we very much wanted Jessie to be the same, so we took her in the car at every opportunity from the day we got her.  At first she did cry all the time and it was heartbreaking, but we ignored her and just talked normally to each other.  We knew she was comfortable and safe after all.  The crying lasted about ten days and then stopped.  She is now perfectly happy in the car, just curls up on her vetbed and goes to sleep. 

[Frankie]

We only got the car to take his cage yesterday.  When we took him out before (first week) he lay on my lap and slept the whole time.  Then we bought a wee harness for him in the back but he didn't really like that and he was managing to twist himself around and when I sat beside him he then fell asleep - he is scared really that is all.  Just wondered what we could use to take his mind of it.  We have only been able to take him for walks this week so hopefully he will be able to connect going in this dreadful monster but getting a nice walk at the end of it.  We have been ignoring him but so hopefully eventually he will settle down.

I wrote on here before about his "answering back" but that seems to have subsided a good bit lately.  He's a wee darling who absolutely loves getting to sleep on our lap ... so I think eventually he will love his new mode of transport too.

[kaylaneville]

When I first got Alfie I took him in the car every where. Even if I was just popping to the shops. Then I'd take him out of the car so he could greet people and go for acwalk or to see friends and make it that going in the car was a good thing sometimes we just sat in the car and didn't go anywhere
I plonked him on the front seat and that was that. Now 2 years later he presumes it his seat so when anyone else gets in the car he looks at them with disgust     

[LottieLu]

Perhaps even just sitting him in the car without starting the engine. Lots of getting in for a few minutes, maybe sit him in the crate with the crate door open, bit of calm, gentle chat to him and stroking, getting out and going indoors. Maybe move on to clean the car windows or something while he's there with the crate door shut and can see you. Do this maybe for a few days and weeks rather than only the actual trips out in it. Perhaps it's still a fairly unfamilar territory for him and that makes him nervous in itself. It has to become ' everyday', 'ordinary', 'part of daily life' like everything else and just like learning to be away from you sometimes in their crate in the home.

I'm sure it'll come. Good luck.

[mooching]

When we took him out before (first week) he lay on my lap and slept the whole time. 

This may be the root of the problem. I know you meant well, but that will have got him used to being in physical contact with you when he was in the car, and, quite apart from that, he was not safe.

Then we bought a wee harness for him in the back but he didn't really like that and he was managing to twist himself around

It honestly doesn't matter that he didn't like it, it was for his own safety. If he was managing to twist himself around then a better-fitting harness might have worked better. Alfie chewed through the first harness we got him as it was quite silky - thankfully the shop refunded the money!

Just wondered what we could use to take his mind of it. 

A nice comfy blanket or towel and a familiar toy should be just fine. And perhaps a few bits of kibble whenever you put him in it.

Just keep on ignoring him when he is noisy, and praise him when he is quiet. If the noise gets too much, perhaps have some music on. 

[karen488]

Am taking Darcey on the school run every day. Monday very tremble, better at pick up. Slightly improved tues. Today I put her in a medium height box on the front passenger seat. This worked much better than the crate she was much more relaxed and went to sleep.

[Sarah1985]

I tend to take my dogs in the car when I knew they were already tired so they fell alseep straight away. The strong association I built up means its now completely natural for them to sleep the min the engine starts 

[jessandme]

It is really not a good idea to have your puppy in a box on the front seat.  First and most important, they are not at all safe there.  If there were an accident then the puppy would hit the dashboard and that's not a nice thought.

Although the puppy may have slept well in the box this first time, it doesn't mean that will continue.  What if they wake up and want to climb on your lap whilst you are driving?  Accident waiting to happen.

There may well be a bit of complaining for a while about being in the crate in the car, but they are safe in there, and if you ignore the complaining and praise the silence, then things will very soon settle down.

[karen488]

My box isn't a long term plan. She will ultimately have a harness but is only just used to the collar. Maybe a bit of a risk but strapped the box in etc.