Petting a dog is a beautiful experience. The best thing you can do is, travel with the dog wherever you go. But some dogs don’t feel comfortable sitting in the car because of anxiety, motion sickness, or a past bad experience. The unpleasant behavior of an anxious dog can spoil your traveling mood. This guide will help you to understand why it happens, suggestions, and how to calm the dog.
Dog anxiety in car symptoms
These are some common signs and symptoms which appear in the dog.
1. Dogs do continuously whine (a long high-pitched crying sound)
2. Dropping a large amount of salvia (Drool)
3. Vomit
4. Yawning
5. Shivering
6. Trying to jump out of the car’s window.
7. Pooping and peeing
Anxiety and motion sickness has the same symptoms so before giving the treatment you should know the problem you are dealing with.
What can I give my dog for car anxiety?
To make your dog calm, you can provide his/her favorite stuffed toys, tasty treats, or delicious food. This trick works well for a short car ride.
How long of a car ride is too long for a dog?
How to help dogs with car anxiety
We compile a list of natural remedies and effective methods that helps dog anxiety on car rides.
1. Don’t overfeed your dog and give only those foods that are easy to digest.
2. Airflow – Slide down the window a little so there is good airflow inside the car.
3. Pheromones – Usually, mother dogs create a special pheromone to calm their puppies. Dog Appeasing Pheromone are synthetic hormones that imitate the same. These products are easy available online and nearby pet store.
4. Compression Jackets – These clothes put mild pressure on the dog’s torso and help in relaxation.
5. Identify Triggers – Sometimes recognizing and eliminating triggers can be helpful. Car noises, music system sounds, and many other factors can be possible reasons for stress and anxiety. Fixing, repairing, or not using are simple solutions.
6. Counterconditioning is a pet behavior transformation method from negative to positive. For instance, a feared dog turns into a playful one. To make it successful, toys and treats are used by the owner or trainer.
7. Desensitization – It refers to slowly familiarising the dog with the environment or object which makes it nervous. For instance, normally walk around the car and sit inside but not start the engine or move the car, etc.
Training takes a lot of time to show results, so it is recommended to provide trainings at early age.
Medication for dog anxiety in car
Before giving any kind of medicines, you must consult with the vet. Overdosing can be harmful to a dog’s health or cause sudden death. A vet may suggest medicines to treat motion sickness first, and if it doesn’t work then antidepressants. Benadryl is a well-known OTC medicine used by many pet owners. Like every medicine, these also create some side effects.