Hi

Harvey is strange when in the car, he drools terribly aswell as yapping and whining - by the time we get to our destination, his chest and ears are saturated - even just going to the park which is a 5 minute drive. Alfie isn't too bad, he sits looking at Harvey as if to say 'whats your problem' but he does tremble a little if the journeys over approx 10 minutes. I wonder if this behaviour is caused by anxiety or excitement? He doesn't appear 'stressed' - he gets all excited and can't get into the car fast enough. They travel securely in a crate fastened in the boot. I always drop the middle rear seat so that they can see into the car and I make sure that it is well ventilated and never too warm. Any ideas??

Thanks in advance

Hayley

Just a thought but you could try blanking out the windows around the crates so that your dog can not see where he is going, maybe he is getting stressed out seeing things go past the window?
Just a thought, but I am sure one of the experienced will be along to give you more ideas!

Thanks for your reply Gemini - should have mentoned that they can't see out of the window when in the crate but he does the same thing when he's wearing his car harness and can see out of the window. He goes in the car almost every day so is used to it.

I had the exact same problem with my pup, he'd also throw up, but mainly drooling all over the place (and himself) so if we were on our way to a show, it was a nightmare!! I guessed it was anxiety based, so started giving him Bachs Rescue remedy half an hour before we set off and some more as we were leaving and the result has been amazing! Just a little wetness around his mouth but nothing like it was before (and we just did a three hour drive to a show and he was dry enough to show when we got there :D)

Might work for you?

xx 

We found that Tara was actually frightened of the cage rattling - the massive drooling stopped the minute we stopped using the cage :)

Daisy

my dog is nearly 5 years old and still drools when she goes in the car.Doesnt matter if its a long or a short journey.She does not get excited when going in the car, so i dont know why she does it.

Jasper hates the car, he used to get very sick when he was a young puppy, and yawned and drooled and then threw up, he is never sick now, but he does yawn a lot, hates getting in unless someone is on the back seat he can throw himself onto and there is no way we can make him move until the car stops

He has a car harness which keeps him secure - I'm really hoping he'll grow out of this, he's just 1 year old and our last golden loved the car, I just assumed he would do - but we should never ass u me I guess!

I've tried some calming remedies but I think I'll give the Bach rescue remedy a try.

My dog has never been keen on the car. It made him very sick as a puppy. I made the car something nice to get into before walks. I'd ask him to get in with me, give him some sausage then we'd go for our walk without driving anywhere. I also moved his bag of tasty chews out to the car. When I want to give him a special munchy we get all excited about going to the car. If he jumps in he gets the treat, then we just take it right back into the house to eat it. We worked up to him feeling relaxed enough to eat the chew in the car. I would have fed him in there had he been more of an eater. It took a little time but I let him go at his own pace. He doesn't love the car but he doesn't drool, yawn or whine when he's in it. Just rides nicely in the back.

I've never had this problem but have heard that the DAP sprays (a spray version of the DAP diffusers) are very good for helping with anxiety problems when travelling. Have any of you tried them?

Our ESS was always very agitated in the car.  Heavy panting and back and forth, back and forth all the time.  No yapping or whining as she was a silent dog.  She was thirsty.  Car rides seem to dehydrate them.  She calmed down a lot when we made more stops to provide a drink.  Our Lab needs extra drinks in the car too.  Mind you, this is on drives of more than an hour.  Probably not the reason on your short trips but worth a try?