wonderful dog, JUST NOT IN THE CAR!!! AHHHH

[paulinanguyen2]

Hey Guys,


Wondering if any one else has this issue with their little yorkie. When Snickers knows we are going into the car he gets all excited and jumps in all happy. We start driving..then he starts shaking..whining.. it gets even worse when I turn off the car and take my keys, and seat belt off..he starts SHAKING LIKE CRAZY! and WHINING (its soooooooooo annoying) then when I leave, he starts barking and jumping at the car window, or he starts jumping everywhere and just ahhh!! I am trying to teach him how to not to do that..but its quite difficult. Overall he is a very good dog..his only problem is this. ANyone else have this problem and resolved it?

[RachelandSadie]

sadie has car anxiety, shaking and jumping all around so i put her in kennel instead of letting her run around in the car...problem solved. she's still got issues with being nervous in the car, she's on some anti anxiety medication for LONG car rides that she has to come along on, but for the most part crating is the only good way to help with it. dogs like that defin. should be loose in a car it can and will cause you to have an accident which if happens not only could you be hurt but the dog could be seriously injured from an accident that they are not crated away safely.

[2Morkies]

Do you have a doggy carseat? My two love their carseat because they can see out the window and see me when I'm out of the car. I usually put the seat on my passengers side so they're right next to me. They love long drives and sleep most of the way. Maybe try that

[QuickSilver]

That's interesting. Thor has the same problem. When his doggy daycare drops him off, I can hear him squealing in their van from a good thirty feet away. None of the other dogs are like that.

He also gets incredibly anxious when I park the car. It seems like he gets so excited that it's unbearable.

That being said, yes, you should make sure he's secured in the car, either with a kennel or car seat, or seat belt harness. Also, just in case you don't know, you should never leave him in the car, even for a minute. He can be stolen, or overheat way more quickly than you'd think.

As for actual fixing the problem... well, I've been working on it for two years, so I can't offer this as a perfect solution. I sit in the car and wait for him to calm down before I undo his buckle. Then I tell him to stay until I have unloaded the car and am ready to have him jump out.

His daycare takes a more rewarding approach. On the rare occasions he's quiet, he gets a big treat. Maybe combining those two methods would be most effective.

One thing Thor has taught me is that dogs really struggle with impulse control. Humans have a huge part of their brains dedicated to forethought and planning. Dogs have a much smaller part of their brain dedicated to this. So once your dog is fully triggered and going nuts, it's very difficult for him to calm down. If possible, try to get the behavior under control before all the adrenaline floods his system and shuts his brain down.

[paulinanguyen2]

well, i live in washington..so it doesnt get very hot here!! rainiest, wettest, state you'll ever come to, and i rarely ever leave him in the car.. but yeah..he goes crazy when i turn the car off. i make him stay, and sit as im leaving..but hes still freaking out, he was doing good for a little bit..then he snapped back into it!!

[Kirby]

Sydney barks in the car...while I'm driving. Not fun. I have her secured in her bag that's buckled into the seat. I use to use a car seat with her, but I would get the same result. At least this way I can cover her bag with a jacket when she barks. When she stops, the jacket gets removed. It's a slow painful process, but hopefully she will realize that barking while Mommy is driving is bad.

[Britster]

I got into an accident in June where my car was totaled with Jackson in the car and ever since, he's had major car anxiety. It's pretty much just shaking though and panting out of nervousness. He still will voluntarily get into the car... so I dunno. It's like, he knows we're going somewhere good, but he still gets nervous (he's probably honestly picking up on my energy -- I am nervous since the accident, too).

Anyways, I've always made positive associations with the car and that makes it better. I also make him get into the car himself (I know this is not always possible with the little ones) so that he is, in a sense, choosing by himself to get into the car. I also bought him a Snoozer carseat and he loves it. I think it makes him feel more secure, he hops into automatically now without me even asking.

[Britni]

I just posted a thread about this yesterday! It seems more YT's than we think have this strange car behavior.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ar-habits.html