We rehomed a 4 year old male shih tzu two weeks ago. On the way home with him he was shaking and panting a lot in the car, which to begin with thought he was scared. Almost every day he has been in the car with us since we had him and each time he has trembled and panted throughout the journey. Today, the shaking seemed even worse. We e-mailed the previous owners a few days ago to ask if he was like this with them, and they said it had only recently started. Any ideas what it could be and what we can do to calm him?

It can be excitement as my youngest two cavaliers can get very excited especially if they know they are going to a show

I give them Rescue remedy & it calms them down I also don't make a fuss about it

Well it seems pretty obvious that he doesn't like the car and I doubt that it is a recent thing.

You'll probably never know why he dislikes the car so much, so now you need to concentrate on calming him as you quite rightly said. Little but often to start with, short car journeys that lead to somewhere that is enjoyable for him, ie, going for walks to the park, woods, fields, etc. Any thing that he likes, ie, chewing a bone, playing with toys, being stroked, feeding, all of this in a stationary car with the door or tailgate open so there is no pressure on him and he doesn't feel the motion of the car. He needs to associate the car with good experiences.

HTH

Sorry must disagree without seeing the dog you cannot tell if it is fear or excitement with my two it is definitely excitement

Guest
just start by putting him in the car and not going any where.Do this several times a day for a few days and maybe give him some treats while hes in there.Then do the same but start the engine for a few days,then just back off the drive for a few days and so on.He just needs time and patience and lots of love and you'll get there.
Archer

When we collected Rosie she was fine in her previous owners car but not good in ours - so we left one of her unwashed blankets in it, together with her favourite toy, thoroughly 'aired' the car (previously had air freshners it in), and placed a really tempting treat that she'd never had before in it (liver ). This created some level of interest - and as the others have already stated - related the car to being a 'good' thing - we repeatedly did this without even going anywhere for a few weeks. The fortnight was a successful investment for us! So hope you experience the same in time :D
Good luck Guest
Jo