Westport Trainer Offers Advice to Help Your Dog Enjoy Car Rides
This morning on Michael and Maddie, I was talking about the fact that my dog can't stand riding in the car. He hates it. He whines and complains the whole time we are doing our errands. I really wanted these car rides to be a bonding time for me and Bo. I look around and all I see are people driving around with their happy dogs.
I was happy to hear that I'm not alone. There are, apparently, a lot of dogs that share this same problem. Stephen Davis from Fall River told us, "I feel your pain. One of our dogs cries the whole car ride. The other gets motion sickness and vomits every ride. Thank goodness for my plastic mat in my hatch."
We got some terrific advice from Westport dog trainer Eric Letendre. He told us that there are a couple of reasons dogs might not enjoy a ride in the car. The dog could have anxiety about being in the car. He also might get car sick.
"If you think about a dog's first experience in a car, you may have picked him up from the breeder," Letendre said. "He was taken away from his littermates, his mom, so the first experience in a car can be a little traumatic."
Letendre said the solution is to associate the car with a good thing. You don't even have to go for a ride; just let the dog explore the car and give him treats. Then, take him for a short ride with treats. Maybe take a ride to the park with lots of, you guessed it, treats.
Take a listen to Eric's full call into Michael and Maddie.