Hello - I have a 6 month old pup who is very nervous in the car and we have tried Zylkene with no success.  Has anyone tried an Anxiety Wrap and if so what was your experience of it?  Thank you.

Hiya,

Anxiety wraps work for some and not others, but if they do work they can have an amazing affect.  When you say the ZYlkene didn't work, was this done along side a training plan to get your dog ok with the car/travel or did you just use it to see if it would help?  DAP is another thing that is worth a try but none of them will be a cure all on their own, they just give you a window of opportunity to make training more effective.  It helps them relax a little or just feel a little and feel calmer/more confident which enables them to learn more effectively and take in the training you do :-)

Hi Karen - thanks for that.  Yes, I'm trying to desensitise her by doing very short trips and also counterconditioning (by giving her treats in the car).  I've just started using a DAP collar too and I think she may be getting very slightly better (she just drools terribly, no vomiting or anything) so I may see how she goes in the next week or two and maybe try the anxiety wrap too.
Thanks!

Hi,

How long have you spent working up to doing very short trips though?  When you are working on something like this it is really important to start at the level the dog is comfortable with and not go passed this, and if she' drooling, then it's going to fast for her and she will have her negative feelings about the car reinforced.

When I got my girl that was terrififed of traveling, I spent a few days just feeding her by the vehicle, she had her breakfast and dinner by it and then treat time too.  I then moved on to me sitting on the seat with the door open and fed her from there, I did that for another few days and then moved on to popping her food bowl just inside the door, by the time I moved the food bowl inside enough that she had to put her feet in she was quite happy to do so.  Then we spent another few days with her in the vehicle and eating her meals and extra times for really high value treats.

Then I progressed to starting the engine but staying stationary, then I moved on to driving a couple of hundred yards and gradully built up like that.  After a month of work (and not driving her any where in the meantime so they she didn't get her fear of the car reinforced) she went from a dog that was sick, shook and drooled so much that she soaked through bedding to one that would happily get in the car and now snuggles up and goes to sleep in there :-) .

Yes, I know you're right, Karen.  I suppose up until now I have just been hoping she would grow out of it (as my previous pups have done), perhaps with a bit of help,  but I guess I have to bite the bullet and go right back to square one with her. Will start tomorrow!

Thanks very much.

> she just drools terribly

My Border Collie boy was exactly the same as a youngster.  I am sure that people thought I was exaggerating about the drool, but I took him to his first obedience class, and he almost crawled onto my lap from the back of the car.  My jeans were, quite literally saturated.

I really had to take it slow with him, and just sit in the car on the drive, he would tremble badly.  So it wasn't car sickness, it was definitely stress.  It took a long time (I put classes on hold.)  Now, although I don't think he will ever get excited about the car, like the rest of the gang, he will go into the down and travel reasonably well.  No drooling any more, although I can see that he isn't enamoured of cars.

Thanks, Jean.  Yes, it is literally huge puddles of drool if I take her out in the car - I can pour it out of the plastic tray in my boot.  My other 2 dogs are enthusiastic travellers so I'd hoped it would rub off on her, with a bit of help.

Will be happy if I can just get her to stage where, like your boy, she can travel reasonably well.

Thanks again.

Hi, have had similar problem with a GSD, when we took her on holiday everyone in the back had to wear a bin bag the drooling was soooooo bad, anyway by 10 months after doing all the hand feeding by the car hand feeding in the car, food in the car etc,  life really was no better.  Then we moved house, removal men were loading up, and dog was having a whale of a time generally getting in everyones way, so without thinking to much about it I put her in the back of the car on the drive, lots of activity around the car, people coming and going etc, probably an hour or more passed till we were ready to leave. Got in the car and the dog was fine and I do mean fine, she never drooled worried or anything again in the car.  Maybe it was just a fluke, maybe she just got over it, maybe she got her self all stressed as usual, and then no one came to sort her out so she coped,  anyway I have had this issue with some of her puppies (so her owners tell me) and have relayed this story to them,  and all have said that the dog is a different dog, the only ones it hasn't worked for are the ones who felt the puppy had been in the car long enough at 15 mins and was still upset, so they have got them out.  Think from this that the dog needs to work through it fear an anxiety, just like kids on there first day at school really. Just my experience and opinion.

Hello everyone

Just to give you an update - have been taking it very slowly and pup is now at the stage where she can get in the car and be driven for 100 yards without any drooling whatsoever.

Am very pleased!

Thanks for your advice all ;-)

That's brilliant news, well done you and that doggie, thanks for updating I was wandering how it was going :-)

Thank you, Karen - she's still doing really well, and we have moved up to short trips to a very fun place to walk.  Still without a single drop of drool!

Thanks again for your help, everyone :-)

Hi Amelia07. you can find a review of the Anxiety Wrap at http://www.agilitynet.com/