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trydare · 09-16-2011, 05:30 PM

I have a 16 month old yorkie who has major anxiety issues that started in the car. Elevated heart rate, panting, screaming and general unhappiness being the issues we're currently dealing with. He has the misfortune in the fact that my family lives 7 hours away, so he HAS to deal with cars. I have been medicating with Gravol for long journeys, which I have no issue doing, and do seem to help.

For short rides, we've tried many things as I have a rule that he must be secured in the car. We've tried to booster seat, crating, the backseat hammock, the harness that clicks into the seat belt. The booster seat and crating are about on par for alleviating his symptoms, and that simply means he's not as loud with the whining. The other methods made him horribly upset.

He will NOT take any sort of treats, no matter how awesome he thinks they are in the vicinity of his own home, nor any water if he is he experiencing any sort of anxiety.

As of lately, we had an incident following a visit home (7 hours away) in which he was very, very sick in the days following our return. He was then diagnosed with acute colitis and I've become terribly concerned about travelling with him as it is most likely caused by the stress and anxiety of the car ride.

The stress in the car has moved (or maybe has always existed) to anxiety in new places and on the leash. While going for walks are awesome and we are all very excited to hear the word 'walk', if we were to try and stop at a park bench and sit during our walk, all of the anxiety issues reappear as well as racing back and forth on the leash. He also cannot handle pet stores, nor people stores that allow dogs. We do MANY fun things, he sees lots of friends on his walks and due to his car rides, we did agility for 6 months..all of these are FUN and AWESOME things and he should love cars. Alas, he does not.

Our most recent issue was the vets. Mind you, the vet is never a fun place to go, but he has never been this wild there before. The vet could not even hear a heart beat over his screaming and panting. He recommended a natural remedy capsule for him to take daily. While I'm sure it might help calm him, the $2 a day cost leaves me feeling a little unsure. If that were to not work, he would want to look at alternate ways of medicating him.

We have a Thundershirt, which is OK, and we've tried Rescue Remedy, which is also OK. Nothing makes a significat difference with his anxiety.

I'm concerned due to his health now. I just have run out of ideas and am looking for any tips or suggestions or even personal experiences that can help me help him.

Thank you!

09-16-2011, 05:30 PM	#1
trydare Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: North America Posts: 42	Anxiety Issues I have a 16 month old yorkie who has major anxiety issues that started in the car. Elevated heart rate, panting, screaming and general unhappiness being the issues we're currently dealing with. He has the misfortune in the fact that my family lives 7 hours away, so he HAS to deal with cars. I have been medicating with Gravol for long journeys, which I have no issue doing, and do seem to help. For short rides, we've tried many things as I have a rule that he must be secured in the car. We've tried to booster seat, crating, the backseat hammock, the harness that clicks into the seat belt. The booster seat and crating are about on par for alleviating his symptoms, and that simply means he's not as loud with the whining. The other methods made him horribly upset. He will NOT take any sort of treats, no matter how awesome he thinks they are in the vicinity of his own home, nor any water if he is he experiencing any sort of anxiety. As of lately, we had an incident following a visit home (7 hours away) in which he was very, very sick in the days following our return. He was then diagnosed with acute colitis and I've become terribly concerned about travelling with him as it is most likely caused by the stress and anxiety of the car ride. The stress in the car has moved (or maybe has always existed) to anxiety in new places and on the leash. While going for walks are awesome and we are all very excited to hear the word 'walk', if we were to try and stop at a park bench and sit during our walk, all of the anxiety issues reappear as well as racing back and forth on the leash. He also cannot handle pet stores, nor people stores that allow dogs. We do MANY fun things, he sees lots of friends on his walks and due to his car rides, we did agility for 6 months..all of these are FUN and AWESOME things and he should love cars. Alas, he does not. Our most recent issue was the vets. Mind you, the vet is never a fun place to go, but he has never been this wild there before. The vet could not even hear a heart beat over his screaming and panting. He recommended a natural remedy capsule for him to take daily. While I'm sure it might help calm him, the $2 a day cost leaves me feeling a little unsure. If that were to not work, he would want to look at alternate ways of medicating him. We have a Thundershirt, which is OK, and we've tried Rescue Remedy, which is also OK. Nothing makes a significat difference with his anxiety. I'm concerned due to his health now. I just have run out of ideas and am looking for any tips or suggestions or even personal experiences that can help me help him. Thank you!