[nvnvgirl]

I would be interested in what other people think about this situation. Of course, the obvious solution is to leave them at home. But I know in Max's case, he hates for me to be gone from him, which is the main reason I take him with me. I can't even imagine leaving him for more than several hours, like when we go away for a week (which is rare)...even when we go somewhere and we stop to go to the restroom or something, if I leave Max with my dh, Max starts whining and shaking, so the thought of leaving him with anyone doesn't appeal to me. Along with the fact, that almost everytime I've left any of my animals in someone else's care, something (bad) happens, and I'm just not really very willing to take anymore chances esp. with Max. But that's just MY story. I know Max does not even enjoy going to Petco or Petsmart...he hates being in the basket even in his carrier and whines and tries to climb out and onto me when we go there, so I have stopped taking him with me there.
Do you think it's harmful to them to be taking them in the car when they seem so scared or anxious? You would think that if you took them places freqently that they'd get used to it, but that doesn't seem to be working for us. Do you think it's a manipulative behavior, ie: "if I do this and she sees me so miserable, she won't take me anymore"? I only mention that possibility b/c I KNOW my one parrot was like that. I really would like to know what other people think and/or what they've done to accustom their Yorkies to the car (besides a carseat...that doesn't work either, and in fact, it seems to make Max even worse when he can really see what's going on). I want to do what's best for us all, but I also want to try not to make Max into a spoiled rotten little beast who is afraid of everything, you know what I mean? I'm just afraid if we don't expose him to the outside world that he'll be ill equipped to deal with any stress at all and I don't want to do that to any animal.