When Dogs Are Stressed in the Car!

Dogs sometimes feel stressed in the car. They pant, salivate, bark and tremble. I recommend getting your four-legged friend used to it early on, proceeding extremely slowly and giving it a sense of safety in the vehicle. For example, you can first get it used to a crate at home, where it finds support and feels safe. Once we have achieved this together, we get it used to the crate in the car. Here too, you should proceed very carefully. The training corresponds to the approach for the back seat or the boot.

Continuing to learn playfully with the dog

As a next step, open all the doors and bring along something very tasty. A meat sausage or something comparably good is ideal for this. Lure the dog into the car. If it eats the sausage, that is a great success, because stress and eating are hardly possible at the same time. Rewards are given even for smaller steps – for example, when the animal places its paws on the boarding ramp and thus makes its first contact with the car. We advise you to spread these exercises over a weekend or several days.

It is helpful to have the dog walk or jump through the car, both in and out. When it does this happily, open a window and close a door. The meat sausage is then passed through the open window. When it takes it, open the door again immediately. This usually does not work the first time. If we go too fast, the dog becomes stressed and we may have to start all over again.

• Slowly getting used to a transport crate in familiar surroundings
• Positive association through particularly high-value rewards
• Gradually increasing the stimuli, such as closing the doors
• Relaxation through scent work after the training sessions

Recognising signs of stress and reacting correctly

A dog is stressed when it no longer takes any reward treats. Only once you can close the doors and the animal stays sitting, for example on the back seat, do you sit down with it and feed it. If that works well, start the car and switch it off again straight away. The dog should accept this calmly. When it stays sitting relaxed in the crate, on the back seat or in the boot and takes treats, try to set off very gently. It is best to first roll a short way onto the road and then directly back again.

Then open the door and play a little game with the dog. For example, let it search for a treat. Scent work is relaxing and makes them tired. Ginger can ease dizziness during car journeys. Perhaps the animal will drink ginger water or accept globules. My best advice to you: train a lot in a playful way. Once the dog has understood that car journeys lead to play and fun, you will soon have made it. I have seen many dogs that were absolutely crazy about car journeys and jumped straight in as soon as a car door was open.