Motion anxiety???

[Mad Murphy]

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Its George. things are going pretty well with George hes doing well not barking to greet other people or dogs, his recall is getting better by the day (practised in an enclosed field) and he is generally getting a lot easier to handle but....
To get to the dog playground or a decent walk we have to go in the car, he gets in , his sits he is ok. We turn the engine on hes ok. But as soon as the car moves its whooooo whooooo and he wont sit still he twists and turns and whines like a mad thing.

Weve tried talking to him, stroking him and we tried turning on the radio and that helped slightly but you need it so loud it gave us brainache. So has anyone got a tip apart from not taking him in the car which would seriously limit our walks...

btw
He isnt sick doesnt drool or refuse to get in its more as if he gets over excited by the car

 

[JudyN]

Is your gut feeling that he's anxious, or excited at the prospect of a walk? Does he stop whooowhooing when you stop at traffic lights or junctions?
Something that might help with either, is regularly loading him in the car, driving it a yard, then back again and back in the house. If you can feed him treats while the car's moving, this could help if it's anxiety. The car moving beomes boring and not predictive of fun (if he's overexcited), or rewarding and not scary (if he's anxious).

Then when he's 'meh'/'yum' about driving a yard, you drive two yards... rinse and repeat, until eventually you can get somewhere worth going!

If he's anxious, ideally you wouldn't take him any further than the distance you're working at till he's 'fixed', or any distance might be a predictor of something scary.

I've worked Jasper through car anxiety a couple of times, and it's worked pretty quickly. I can also hand him treats while I'm driving (straight slow road with good visibility, I don't do it at junctions), and whether he'll take them or not is a good indicator of his anxiety levels.

One final thought - has this just started recently? J absolutely hates it when the car's misted up - we have to demist it before loading him up.

 

[JoanneF]

Can he see out? If so it might help to cover his car crate (if you use one). Some dogs seem to feel better if they can't see. That would also help if it's anticipation rather than nausea.

If you think it's nausea a ginger biscuit or some cold ginger tea before the journey might help too.

 

[JoanneF]

Look what we did again @JudyN!

 

[Mad Murphy]

So...I think its excitement. You see he didnt do it when we first picked him up or for a few days/a week after that but I think that once he got the idea that car means nice walkies in the woods or fields, now also the playground he is getting too excited.
He is quieter at traffic lights but as soon as we pull into the car park and switch the engine off he is silent.. He will just sit and wait.. Most times hes quiet on the way home too so thats why I think its the excitement of walking, bear in mind he didnt get out much except when he escaped!

I tried putting him in the car and just sitting there he will sit and eventually get bored either lie down or try to get into the front.. ( we use a harness and seat belts for the boys )

 

[JudyN]

In that case making all the drives really boring (pull into the road & go back again... drive round the block and go home again) for a while might work, but then you might have to keep that up for a long time. Stopping every time he howls and pulling off when he settles down could work, but could really annoy the drivers behind you! Is there anything he might like chewing on that might distract him? I'm trying to think if there's any activity food-dispensing toys that would work in a car.

But you are of course up against his breed/type... they don't need a lot of excuse to sing to you