Bad behavior in the car

[Teagan]

Hi there,

Since a while now, our boxer has some problems when we take him in the car. He starts acting really stressed, starts barking and stuff.
The wierd thing is, he never used to do that.
Ever since he was an 8 week old puppie he traveled in the car. From the breeder to his new home was a 1h30 drive. And after that we regularly took him on a 60mile trip.... in a loud and uncomfortable mini! And he never behaved like that.
Now he's nearly a year old, and traveling in a comfortable estate.
Would anybody know why he makes such a big deal out of it these days?? I really dont understand...
Even when Sarah sits in the backseat with him, he'll start chewing her arms and will ocasionaly bark as well.

He'll only does it on trips that are over 10minutes though, the really short ones he doesn't mind...

Anybody who can help?
Thank you!

 

[Lael]

It might be that he is just excited. But you don't want him to get in a habit of behaving this way in the car when he gets excited. Maybe try to teach him an alternative behavior, like laying down, when he starts to act up.

Just a thought. Good luck.
Cat & Lael

 

[gmacleod]

Originally posted by Teagan
He'll only does it on trips that are over 10minutes though, the really short ones he doesn't mind...
/B]

Sounds to me as though he's getting carsick. It's possible

 

[Teagan]

It sertainly looks like he's getting over excited, and i tried getting him to sit and laydown and gave him chews to keep him occupied. But's not helping...:(
It could very well be that he's getting carsick. It helps to calm him down to open a window, but that only helps for a couple of minutes.

Is there anything that helps for carsickniss?? (like adjusting drivingstile )

Thanks a million for all the replies so far!!!

 

[gmacleod]

Hmmm - well that's a difficult question really... I've never had a dog who really suffered from carsickness. Usually it's young-ish puppies, who just seem to gradually outgrow it, but it would appear to be the opposite in your guy's case. Don't suppose you've still got the mini?? (just kidding )

Well, I would imagine that the causes of carsickness are pretty much the same for dogs as for people. So what's likely to help is reasonable ventilation, and a reasonable view of the road ahead (which he probably had in the mini, but maybe not in your new car?).

There's probably a good chance he'll outgrow this, just as young puppies generally do. So I'd try taking him on frequent short rides, not much longer than the 10 minutes he's OK with. You could gradually increase the distance he travels, and stop to let him out for a minute or two anytime he shows signs of distress. With time, his tolerance to car travel should increase but you don't want him to start hating the car/associating it with feeling ill, so it's really worth taking a bit of time now to re-aclimatise him gently. That method generally works with puppies, and with people too for that matter Good luck!

 

[Teagan]

I think you have a verry good point there according the view of the road ahead. That was no problem in the mini of course.

Well, I'll keep taking him on short trips, and leave him at home for a while when it comes to longer trips.
Let's hope he gets used to the car soon enough so that we can take him for long walks and stuff again!

Thank you very much for all the advice! At least I have something to start with now, because we were reacting in a completely wrong way lately because it started to annoy us.