All of a sudden Charlie going nuts in car!

[SWOwner]

We take Charlie (9 month old Yorkie) everywhere we go without a problem. We have a carrying case for him that has been just fine since we got him. We place the case on the floor - he would jump in it and off we would go. We would zipper it up when we get out of the car (he has a hole to stick his head out) of and screens all the way around - no problem.

Now, he is fine (in his carrying case) until we pull out of the garage. All of a sudden he goes nuts just about jumping out of the carrying case. I tried holding him but can’t stop this behavior. It is though he sees a ghost! He barks, screams and scares us - we have tried to quiet him down without success. He gets so worked up that we are afraid he will nip us - his legs going 100 miles an hour, etc. If we can get him in the store - he quiets down completely - always loved going shopping with us. It all started recently when he would know we were going to stop the car to go into the store - he would go nuts until we got him into the store. Now – he just won’t stop the moment he gets in the car - we simply don’t know what to do and hoping that someone has gone through this. We take trips and this just isn’t going to work.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Cindy_17]

Hi! Charlie is being naughty, lol. Have you thought of a car seat where he can see where he is going in the car? We have one and it works great! The one we have is by Snoozer and it is priceless to me, my two go with me quite a bit. It also has a tether strap so they are not going all over the car. Maybe this will help, these little guys do have a mind of their own. I also might would just take a little ride daily just so he is used to the habit and a part of his routine. It's probably a phase he is going through and testing his boundaries maybe. Good luck, I am like you, mine has to be able to travel and ride.

[SWOwner]

Thanks Cindy for the quick reply. Would you believe the wife holds Charlie (in his case) on her lap and he has full view of the entire world. The top is unzip'd and he sits and watches. We have done this for over 4 months without any problem. This just started a week ago and we thought it was a phase. It started with him knowing we were stopping and now just putting him in the car and pulling out of the garage. It is getting worse now without any end of site.

Thanks again for your suggestions...

[Cindy_17]

My MILs poodle does that, she has her hands full with him. He scratches her all up but he is probably close to 14lbs. I would sternly try to correct him on this, it makes traveling a nightmare when they act like that. Has anything spooked him? Or has he just discovered a new way to yank Mom and Dads chain? Lol Presley is constantly looking to get into things at times I think he pushes the envelope just to see the reaction. Yorkies love attention, and they demand it. I would still look into the snoozers as mine fits right on my console, they are comfortable and so am I while traveling. I use to hold mine too, but wow how wonderful the seats are!

[SWOwner]

Just got back from buying a car seat for the little buzzard! We will give it a try tomorrow morning. IF he starts his stuff again - we plan on turning around and leaving him home. If he is playing us like a piano - maybe he will associate his acting up with staying home. Funny, we keep him in one room at home when we are gone and I have a camera running so we can access it on my smartphone. He howls like a wolf for the first 30 minutes or so - make ya feel bad but he does eventually stop. Will let ya know how it goes tomorrow.

[Jkpal]

Maybe try a few short trips that do not include stopping at the store. Perhaps your cute little guy (and he surely is...) will settle a bit if he realizes that the store is not always the end all.

[SWOwner]

He seems to love the attention but the way things are going - it will be less trips for him.

[MarkFromSea]

One of our 3 dogs just had to have free roam of the car, he found his spot and stays there the entire driving part of the trip. That's not what is usually recommended but it is what works for Zippy.

[SWOwner]

If all else fails (with new dog seat) - will give the roaming a shot. Thanks Mark!

[MarkFromSea]

Had another thought.... unconventional as it may be, with out actually going for a drive, bring the dog into the car with you and just read a magazine or have a picnic, the car's in a garage so your neighbors will be none the wiser.

Something got your pup upset about being in the car it sounds like, maybe spending a little extra time in there with out actually going anywhere will let him know it's a safe place again.

Picturing the car in the garage, you, your pup, your wife, a bottle of wine, some cheese and crackers all in the car for a half hour, see how that goes. Just a thought.

[matese]

IMO I think you have a precious spoiled little boy that just cannot get to the stores fast enough, it's like he's SCREAMING faster daddy, go faster, are we there yet, daddy, daddy hurry, hurry lol, that's what it sounds like to me lol, ya know, these little critters have us soooo wrapped around their little paws sometimes we just do not realize it. It's so easy to spoil them until we realize we have created a monster lol, but a cute little monster.
BTW I do like Mark's garage wine and cheese idea lol.
Ya just gotta love these little yorkies.

[barneysmommmy]

[QUOTE=matese;4608519]IMO I think you have a precious spoiled little boy that just cannot get to the stores fast enough, it's like he's SCREAMING faster daddy, go faster, are we there yet, daddy, daddy hurry, hurry lol, that's what it sounds like to me lol, ya know, these little critters have us soooo wrapped around their little paws sometimes we just do not realize it. It's so easy to spoil them until we realize we have created a monster lol, but a cute little monster.
BTW I do like Mark's garage wine and cheese idea lol."


Barney does this. If you didn't know better, you would think he hates the car. But he gets so wound up that he can't contain himself. Trips to the beach are a nightmare. 10+ hours of him looking at the window and yelling for us to see all of the great things he sees.

It's funny because he's the first one to jump up in that car seat. He sits so pretty, as if he will be the best behaved little man. But as soon as the car starts moving, he's yelling, "Look at that bird! Look at that house! Look at the park! Stop! Stop! You just missed the park!!!!!" The other two just lay there rolling their eyes at him.

[SWOwner]

Geeez, you all had the wife and I in stitches!

MarkFromSea – Charlie starts up now when we leave the garage – most of our neighbors already think we are crazy – could imagine us sitting out in front of the garage drinking! However, we considering just trying it in the garage – but the wife and I would fall asleep in a few minutes!

Matese – yuppa – he is one spoiled puppy. One of his screaming matches I stopped, picked him up and got out of the car – he stopped and looked at me like – hey, isn’t this fun! I tried it again the next day and he just kept on screaming and running – almost dropped him.

Barneysmommmy – you might be onto something.

[SWOwner]

Well, we tried out our new car seat - seems like a success for now. He screamed on and off until we got to the store. The wife went in and I just sat in the car with him. At that point in time he went into his non-stop scream mode. I ignored it for about five minutes and then decided to give it back to him. I started barking and whining at him. At first he stopped and looked at me. When he started up again - I started up again. Well, something changed at that moment - he acted like he was really getting pissed with me and seemed to go nuts! I finally decided that a 70 year old man barking at a dog in the middle of a parking lot was not good! I just turned up the radio and about 10 minutes later he stopped - just sat there looking at me like he was planning on how he was going to teach me a lesson. He would occasional bark and whine but not as bad.

The wife came out and we to another store. The moment we parked - he went into his non-stop scream mode. I just ignored it and in about 3 minutes - it stopped and sat there and looked confused. I finally felt like I was elevated to the alpha dog - I could see the tide changing.

The wife got back and he barked and whined a little and off to the next store. Same thing - non-stop scream mode for a few minutes and then defeat.

Next stop – get some coffee and head home. Same thing – pulled into the parking lot and he went into his non-stop scream mode for a few minutes.

I can see some light at the end of the tunnel but have this feeling he is just setting me up!

Will let you know what happens tomorrow.

PS - you will notice he is barking and showing his two rows of teeth - vet said he would remove them (baby teeth) when he turned a year old.

[barneysmommmy]

I want to see a video of you barking in the parking lot