storm my 13 wk rough collie pup hates travelling by car. we take him on short journeys to the woods or friends etc, we dont have roomfor a crate but use a doggie seat belt, he  starts to whine in the first coule of mins this rapidly turn into a loud yowling noise, the journeys end is always a nice experince eg walks, friends making a fuss ect, we have tried ignoring the noise and praising him in the breif moments he is quiet , mind you the kids get the giggles when he starts so im sure that does not help. but even when the kids are not in the car he still does it. any ideas anyone?

Did you start him off just sitting in the car for short periods of time. Going nowhere with the engine off. Then with the engine on, before actually driving anywhere. My bitch was not happy at first. So i'd put her in the car and just sit there for five minutes talking to her, sometimes with the engine on, sometimes with it off. After a week she was fine as she saw being in the car as a normal part of her day.

we got storm from a breeder in shropshire and we live in kent we had him in a crate for the 3 hour journey home   so i suppose his first experience of a car ride was not nice .

he is fine with the engine on and the car not moving but it seem to be the motion that sets him off cos if we stop at lights etc he  shups up

>>cos if we stop at lights etc he  shups up

My kai is the other way round.... starts whinning when we stop :D

:p

My girl is exactly the same :D

If you find out how to solve it let me know :D
Kai has never liked cars and he's 8mths old now. i still get howling occassionally regardless of whos in the car and he drools a lot too.
I have done and do what you do ... just ignore the howling, even though its loud enough for people on the street to hear :D and praise when he's quiet. I must admit its not nearly as bad as it used to be. 1 in 6/7 journeys he makes a noise but usually settles in about 5 mins.. unfortunately nothing has stopped him drooling so far...
hang in there maybe some one else will have some ideas to help :)

I've never had real problems with my dogs once they are in the car, but I have yet to get my puppy to try to jump into the car

If you have a dog that dislikes the car or is travel sick drools, first look at where the dog is tracelling. My dogs travel either in the luggage space in the transit box or in the middle of the car(in a crate).If I have a puppy who is upset in the back(my preferred place for them)then I move them nto the middle as when your car is in motion the middle moves less when cornering etc.

If this doesn't help then ginger, rescue remedy, rainbow remedies, homoeopathic treatments etc & also sitting the dog on brown wrapping paper(don't ask me why but it has worked), allowing the dog to see out, stopping the dog seeing out

One other action is to start by sitting in the car with the dog next to you for five minutes without the engine running, then with the engine running for a few minutes with play inbetween & treats for the dog being quiet & ignoring if it isn't.gradually increaing the times. If the dog is behaving  correctly then progress to the dog sitting where it will travel & you in the seat in front & do the same. Then you in your driving seat & the dog where it is too travel if this isn't behind the driving seat

Then you can go to actually driving to the bottom of the drive it you have one & a few years on the road if you haven't & always reward for good behaviour & ignore the bad

Giving a noisy dog a reward toy like a filled kong can prevent the noise from happening

Just a few options that have worked for dogs I know of

i will give those a try and let you know how we go

lots of good advice there MM :)
out of all those theres only 2 i havent done yet. the brown paper, but i dont think kai would sit on it more likely rip it up. shall try and see :D
and confining in the back of the vehicle, but as i have a pick up with as yet no top box i cant put him back there in a crate yet:( am hoping that that will work and if it doesnt then atleast i wont have a soggy back seat anymore :)

LOL there is one more T touch massage before,during(by a helper wearing a drysuit ;)) & after :D

LOL :D

The first car journey Nipper made was only a mile and a half from breeder to new home. Given that he was almost certainly baffled by the whole experience I wasn't surprised there wasn't a squeak out of him. A week later and just before his first vaccs I was keen that he didn't associate the car with trips to the vet (plus he'll be my "assistant" when old enough and will be travelling around in the car regularly) so I took him in his travelling crate to Brighton. It's a 12 mile journey and he chi'ked on the whole way! We ignored him and he was fine on the way back -probably chi'ked out!! But on the next car trip I put one of his favourite cushions in his travelling crate and haven't had any more problems. In fact as soon as I open his travelling crate he now rushes up, tail wagging, ready to go out in the car.

i dont know if this will help but twix our 18wk gsd used to be scared and cry in the car, when i first put her in it i turned the music down, thought it would stress her, but after a while (cant live without my music!) i had it on, it was same cd i had been listening to in the house. i also used to talk to her constantly from the minute we got in the car, either talkin to her or singing (to the music, yes im sure i look stupid) and everytime the car stops at lights i turn around and tell her she is a good girl, if quiet! now everytime we leave the house she immediatly goes over to the car wagging her tail to get in. ok we only do like 20 to 30 min journeys with her but im sure the only time she now cries is if she needs the toilet. u will get there in the end, being a first time puppy owner i keep stressing that she wont get used to things, but by the time i have come to accept her behaviour and have stopped stressing, she seems to get the hang of it.

Hello!

Our puppy hated the car to start with (1st journeys being vets visits and a VERY long one from the breeder).

We got over it by bribery! :) We fed her in the car and just took her into the car and made loads of fuss (when the car was stationary).

Then we started turning the engine on (but going nowhere). Still lots of fuss and treats/feed.

Then we progressed to REALLY short trips with lots of fussing/treats from me to distract her (OH driving). And the trips always ended at one of the fields around us for a lovely run around. Then a REALLY short trip home with mega treats at the end. We wanted her to associate teh car with nice things, lots of cuddles, and fun at the end.

The trips gradually got longer and longer and I started sitting in the front ... and gave her her favourite toy and blanket to lie on in the back (we use a car harness as she's still not keen on her crate). I would try doing all this without the kids to start with (enlist friends to help if you need to!).

Last week we did a 4.5 hour journey to North Wales ... and although we did lots of pee stops (for me as well as the puppy!) she was totally fine.

Hope this helps ... it took a while but worth it to stop her being sick/yowling all the time :) :) :) :)

Hi,
Does he actually 'hate' the car or is he just whining and winging out of excitement as he has learnt that car trip mean 'good' things at the end, my previous GSD would winge as soon as the car started moving and continue until we stopped, he got out & had a walk, when he got back in - silence. on a trip of 186 miles  - leave house, noise for 12 miles, stop 5min walk, back in car, remaining 174 miles perfect peace (apart from the odd conversation I had with him about traffic and other drivers !!!) Current GSD never makes a sound and you could almost forget hes there.
Chris

no he really hates it he uses his claws to cling on for dear life, a few times he has been on my lap he has not made a sound but his front paws are round my neck hanging on tight

Have u tried sitting the dog on the floor while travelling. We have a 10 week old siberian husky and i have found that if she sits on my lap she howls her head off but if she is sat on the floor she is fine and enjoys the ride. Obviously you wont be able to do this while driving alone in the car.