Lucas hates the car.
From the day we picked him up at the shelter – when he flattened himself into a pancake to avoid getting in the backseat – to the day he barfed into the side pockets on the door, Lucas has never, ever been good in the car.
He paces. He drools. He whines.
Cooper’s not great in the car either, though not because he dislikes riding in the car. In fact, lots of times he curls up and goes to sleep. He’s not great because he wants to bark at everyone and everything we pass. Oh, and God forbid a motorcycle pulls up behind or next to us. In Cooper’s mind, it’s like the zombies are attacking. And all that sudden barking? Great for the driver’s concentration…
Anyway, with my oncologist being so far away from me but so close to my parents’ house, we’ve been driving the 90 miles back and forth frequently. So I’ve been bringing treats and the clicker (disclaimer: I recommend clicker use only at stoplights and such…).
I think we’re making progress.
Here’s the scene from our last trip down from Indy. The little white head, by the way, is my mom’s dog, Otto, who came to stay with us for a few days.
Looks like a huge improvement, doesn’t it?
How do your dogs do in the car? Other than treats and the clicker – and tiring them out big time before the ride – what tips or tricks have worked for you?
We are lucky that ours are all great in the car! I did have a dog growing up that got car sick. Funny, I can’t remember taking her on many road trips as a kid…
That is lucky! It makes life much easier, though I suppose we’re lucky that we can get Lucas in the car even though he hates it!
The very first day, when we picked Shiva up at the shelter to bring her home, she refused to go into the car. Treats didn’t even work to entice her in – which shows how scared she must have been! After 30 minutes of trying, we eventually just gave up and lifted her in. I worried we were starting on a really bad note and she would always hate the car after that. Amazingly, she has loved going for rides every day since! She doesn’t even get car-sick. She did have her “Cooper” moments the first couple of years and used to bark every time she saw a dog or a person on the street beside us, but she has finally let go of that behaviour as well.
Congratulations on your success! I hope Lucas is one day able to relax.
You know, that made me feel SO much better! I’ve been worried that, since we ended up shoving him in that first day, we set him up to hate the car. Since that wasn’t your experience, maybe it’s just a personality quirk of his.
Sam is terrible in the car. She tries to push her way into the driver’s seat in the space between the seat and the door and she barks the whole time in my ear. If she puts her head out the window, she always brings it back in and sneezes on me. Thus, she doesn’t go for rides often. Cinny on the other hand is a very good passenger. When I take her up north – a four-hour trip, she is quiet and lays down in the back seat, often going to sleep.
Well your picture is evidence that you’re doing a great job so keep it up.
So far, I’ve been very fortunate that all my dogs have been good travelers. But I wouldn’t have thought of clicker training better behavior in the car. So I’ll definitely keep that in mind for the future. My luck is sure to run out one day. 🙂
Thanks, Pamela! Like with most things, it’s a work in progress… Glad yours have done so well! I’m jealous! 🙂
I grew up with a labrador that was insane, threw him himself all over the place, seemed to be off his head with happiness, in the car. Used to drool buckets of saliva down the back of the neck of the driver, my mother, but in those days, we seemed to just accept that was how things were. You had to laugh, and shriek, if you were hit with a flying gob of saliva… All my dogs are fine in the car. When my greyhound was alive, he couldn’t jump 2 feet into the back of my van and had to be lifted. If he was allowed to sit up the front, on the high front seat, he could jump 3 1/2 feet, effortlessly… Just recommended your blog to a lady in England, with pet dogs, on a dog forum, who has just found out she has cancer and is worrying about her hair. I do wish I could help, but I can’t. Big hugs to all
I’m so sorry about your friend in England. Cancer sure does suck. Sending lots of positive, healing thoughts!
We’ve been lucky, Cali has always been good in the car. It’s funny though, she won’t sleep and she won’t really look out the windows, she just hunkers down in the back seat of the minivan until we get to our destination. The poor girl has been from Oregon to South Carolina and back! We also were up and down the east coast while a lot while we were on that side of the country . .she’s a trooper 🙂 I think your dogs are doing great!
That’s so great for you and for Cali! Maybe all that driving has helped her feel comfortable? Hmmm… Maybe I need to drive them MORE places!
Hi Maggie,
I travel with my two girls quite a bit. I don’t have any problems with Kaci, my chocolate lab, but Ellie, my lab/greyhound mix is pretty excitable. She calms down on the interstate, but she can be a mess on surface streets. I’ve used Bach’s Rescue Remedy for pets before and it has helped. I do find that she drinks more water when she takes it but it helps. Hope you find something that works.
By the way, love your blog, and hope you are doing well. Recently started my own blog. You can check the girls and I out at http://www.kaciskloset.com.
Take care,
Stacy
Thanks for the kind words, Stacy. I’ll definitely go check out your blog!
I’ll give Rescue Remedy a try for sure! Thanks for the tip! I think Lucas does worse in town than on the highway, too. I’m wondering if all the stop-and-go makes the car sickness worse? Or if it’s just too much noise/activity whizzing past? Something to think about…
Marleigh loves the car. As a puppy she would get car sick, but now every time I open a door she flies in and refuses to get out, sometimes I just leave her in there with the door open so she will get out when she pleases. It is bad for me because she is a collie so the moment she jumps in my car I suddenly have a hair covered drivers seat. Needless to say she gets the entire back of my jeep with seats folded down and a sheet to try and keep all the hair out I can.
That made me laugh, Shannon! What a great image of Marleigh flying into the car! And I’m with you on the hair thing… I just vacuumed out my car this week, and it was appalling even with the sheet in place!
We have been really lucky with our dogs so far. Each one has loved going for their car ride and we had in particular who would push the kids out of the way to try and get in first. The problems arose on those occasions when he realized that he wasn’t going with us. He was a long haired German Shepherd who thought he ruled the roost and if he wanted to go out for a drive then we should jolly well should take him. Unfortunately this character has passed on and going on a trip never quite seemed the same for a while after.
Love your idea of the clicker for use at stop signs etc. Hopefully your dogs will settle down eventually.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Wanda! And thanks for the kind words! I’m going to keep working with them, and if Lucas never gets comfortable and cozy in the car I’ll be okay with it as long as he settles a bit!
Our little pooch is a great traveler. He got sick in the car once as a puppy, but now can ride with the best of them!
Aww! That’s awesome!!