You have to take your dog to the vet. You fight with them and fight with them, to get into the car. You finally get them in the car. They won’t settle. They pace and pace, bark, whine, maybe even vomit. You get to the vet they get their shots. You fight with them to get back into the car. You say man that was too much trouble and your dog doesn’t get back in the car till they have to go back to the vet or groomer, for six months to a year… Sound familiar?
Dogs are creatures of habit if they never do anything fun when they get out of a car. They will never want to get into a car. Simple as that. They will try to avoid both experiences and move on with their lives. Now how do we fix that? Again, simple you take them somewhere fun.
1: Take Your Dog Somewhere Fun!
Find what your dogs like to do and take them to it. My Dogs love to swim, so we go to the lake, and they get to swim. They enjoy going to the dog park and run around off leash. They like to hike and explore. They love to go to Grandma’s house. They have fun at doggy daycare. If you take them to places, they enjoy once a week or once every other week. You will never have a problem taking them to the vet or the groomer because they don’t know what’s going to happen when they get out of the car. They’ll take the 80% chance they’re going somewhere cool over the 20% chance they’re not.
2: Mix It Up!
My dog Harper loves going for car rides I used to take him everywhere with me. One week I took him to the vet and the next I took him to the groomer. The following week when we were going to go somewhere fun he refused to get into the car. Which brings us to our next point, if you are going to bring your dog somewhere not fun; try not to make those trips consecutively. Throw in a trip to the dog park, or the lake, to mix it up.
3: How To Get Them In the Car
Now that you know where you’re going; let ’s take two steps back you still have to get your dog in the car. Now if you have a 20 lbs dog or less, the answer is simple, you pick them up, put them in your car, give them a treat, and go on your adventure.
However, if you have a massive dog, this is no easy task. So here are some tips you may have to use one, maybe you need to use 2, or all of them together it’s okay.
First, try to use treats to get them to jump in or at least their front paws and lift their hind end in the car. If they put their front paws on the seat, use a marker word such as “YES,” then give them a treat. If they climb in the car or let you lift them in the rest of the way; give them another treat and say “Yes.” Then make them lay down or sit to let them know that’s the position you’d like them to ride in. Sometimes, jumping into a car is too much to start. Once they begin to get into the car confidently, you can start to take the treats away and only use your marker word. Make sure once they’re in you emphasize how much you like that behavior.
If you have a second person available, have both doors open and have the other person sit on the back seat and call the dog into the car with them while you block their backward movement. During this pet them, tell them everything is fine, and make a production out of praising them when they’re in the car. It might be helpful for that person to ride in the back seat to wherever you’re going but not necessary.
Feed them in the car. Let them know that it’s not the car they don’t like it’s the vet or the groomer, or whatever the situation. When they’re hungry, it will overcome the anxiety to get into the car. Now, make sure the weather isn’t too hot, and the windows are down. Take them out shortly after they are finished. Also, make sure you take them out before they start to get stressed again.
4: How to Deal with Motion Sickness
Now if your dog vomits in the car try making them lay down and stay down. My rescue dog, Riley vomited in my back seat the first ten trips I took him on. However, when he finally laid down on the back seat and relaxed he did not. When he would stand up and start to pace, I would make him lay down before he got sick. Now he loves car rides and knows he lays down and takes a nap till we get there because he didn’t like getting sick either. I recommend laying down a towel or a waterproof seat cover if you have these issues or just in general to protect your car.
5: Start With Short Trips
Also, start with short drives. Think of where you can take your dog, less than 15 minutes from your house. Knowing they won’t be stuck in the car for 2-3 hours right off the bat also helps reduce the overall anxiety. Once they’re good with the shorter distances, then you can take them for longer.
Also, say your dog isn’t scared of the car but gets too excited and drives you crazy for the whole ride. Work on your basic obedience at home for 10-15 minutes. Sit, down, stay. Then translate that work into the car. They’ll know their job and have a place to direct that extra energy.
It is effortless to have a bad experience, and both of you avoid dealing with it again until necessary. However, that does both you and your dog a disservice because you miss out on numerous fun experiences you could be having together.