my dog is scared of the car?

Question

i dont no why my dog spencer will not even go near i car i dont no how to fix this when he is in the car he pees and poops everywhere and gets shakey like he is scared how do i fix this

Answer 1

any dogs experience fear and anxiety when placed in a vehicle, and unfortunately, not many know why. Part of it may be that the only time your dog enters a vehicle is for a trip to a stressful location (veterinarian's office, shelter, a place he dislikes for whatever reason). The key to removing the anxiety is a fairly lengthy desensitization process. As with all desensitizing attempts, things must be taken slowly. Each step should be taken over the course of a few days. This allows your dog to get used to a non-threatening environment enough so that he or she will learn to associate the car with good times, rather than stress-inducers.

Step One : Arm yourself with treats and goodies, and walk your dog around the car with the doors open a few times.

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Let him or her sniff wherever he likes, let him stick his head inside. If he handles this well, give him plenty of treats and praise. Do not treat if he shows anxiety, just continue to circle the car until he relaxes, then treat and praise.

Step Two : After a few days of circling your car (yes, I DO realize how silly you may look doing this, I've done it too), your dog should be relaxed in the presence of an unmoving vehicle. Today you once again arm yourself fully with drool-worthy treats, and leaving all the doors open and the car engine OFF, coax your dog trough the doors of your vehicle.

This is not as easy as it sounds by a long shot. While many dogs have no trouble actually entering a vehicle, some will be stressed out by the mere thought of being put into a car. If your dog is one of the latter, try these methods to find one that works for you. Also try to avoid forcing the dog into the car as this will set you back to Step One.

Lure her into the vehicle using mouth-watering treats
Throw a favourite fetch toy into the vehicle for her to retrieve
Walk her through on a leash if she is well-trained to "heel" wherever the leash goes
Have a favoured human sit in the vehicle and call her name
Sit in the car yourself and wait until she's ready to enter on her own
Leave the doors of the car open so that your dog may leave at any time. Let her explore the vehicle at her own pace, making sure to always leave her exits open, and treat lavishly for every time she is in the vehicle. Ignore all anxiety from her. Do NOT coddle her, or try to reassure her, as this only reinforces the fear.

Step Three : Close the car doors when your dog is inside, but leave the windows open, and the car engine off. Pet her through the window. Talk to her. If she shows anxiety, ignore it, but if she sits calmly, reward her. Don't leave her in there long, just a few minutes at a time. Join her in the car too, but continue to leave the engine off.

Step Four : Start the car with your dog inside (who should now by calm inside, as well as outside). Don't leave the car, and don't leave the driveway, simply sit there with her a few times.

Step Five : By this time, your dog should be behaving calmly and relaxed inside the car with the engine running, and yourself in the driver's seat. After sitting in the car for a few minutes, take her for a short drive around the block. Just a short one though. Reward her relaxed posture, ignore any drooling and shaking. When you've returned to your home, lavishly reward her for a job well done. Repeat as necessary, this may be a short step, or a long one, dependent upon how quickly your dog realizes that the car is not delivering her to a place of terror.

Step Six : Take her someplace FUN. A dog park, a beach to run and swim at, somewhere fun for HER. It is very important to remember that dogs tend to associate delivery methods with the end result. If the end result of a car ride has always been a stressful vet visit, the association must be changed or your dog will never learn that the car delivers to fun places as well. I strongly recommend repeating this step at least four times a week, for the rest of your dog's life.

Happy travels!

Answer 2

First, don't force the issue. You may want to try giving him a relaxer before you travel, as he's obviously scared. Right now, I am fostering a dog, that is also terrified of cars - parked cars, but once he's inside, he settles down. For your dog, I would every evening, just sit outside the car, pet and love on him. Maybe you sitting in the car, and him outside, just so he sees that the car isn't a bad thing. Then as he warms up, just go around the block, nothing more. Make if fun for him, have a special toy or blankie, so that he can feel safe and secure. Keep the windows up and the radio down at first. While dogs enjoy the air in their face, sometimes the sounds of the road are strange and frightening. There is no "instant" fix to this, it is going to take time for you to build up his confidence and make him feel okay in the car. Don't only put him in the car when the end of the trip is a negative one - say a vet visit - then he associates the car rides with bad things. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

The size and noise scares them to start with. He pees and poops and shakes because he is terrified. I've never had this problem but maybe if you just get into the car with him but don't turn on the engine. Just sit there a couple of minutes and see what happens. Do that a few times before you turn on the engine and maybe he'll be ok. One thing you should never do with a dog is tell them that it's ok and try to reassure them during a thunder storm as then they think it's something to worry about. This could be the same in the car. Maybe trying to give him treats in the car a couple of times so it tricks him into thinking it's a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Well, he's obviously frightened. A lot of dogs (mine included) get very nervous and/or scared when they are taken in the car because it usually means one of two things: 1. They are being taken to the vet, or 2. They are being taken to the groomer. Since neither of these experiences are necessarily pleasant, your dog has associated riding in the car with having an unpleasant aftermath.

A couple of things that seemed to help me were to start taking my dog more places and to reward him with treats. It's easier to get dogs used to the car when they're puppies, but if your dog is older, he can still learn to get less nervous. Try giving him a treat when he jumps into the car and then take him somewhere nice, like a dog park, to play. With time your animal should start to realize that not all car rides mean they will be facing immunizations or clippers.

Just continue to be loving and patient, you can't blame the poor guy for being scared. Good luck!

Answer 5

Either the Spencer has a up close and personal experince with a car, and gotten hit....or it just doesn't know how to handle a car... one day take the car and open the doors and just let the dog explore and get use to the car...Start off with the radio off and then turn it on to let him get use to the noise...
or
just put Spencer in a carrier to ride with plenty of newspaper lining the bottom, or just make sure he already has handled his busniess, before going anywhere...
or
if all fails just do not take him in a car...or if you have a truck tie him in the back and let him have all his fun back their..

Answer 6

Put Spencer on his leash and lead him onto the backseat of the car . Sit back there with him . Give him tons of positive praise . When he starts to get upset make a high pitched noise to distract him . Do this over and over until he responds the way you would like . Rub the top of his head to calm him as you two sit together in the back seat . Stay calm - he will sense your mood . Work on this daily together . It should break him of the behavior . If it doesn't - speak with a dog shrink or read a book for my ideas .

Answer 7

When we first adopted our dog last year, he wouldn't go anywhere near our car, it scared the bejeezus out of him! We had no idea why. My boyfriend would pick him up and put him into the car, then we would drive to our local dog park or the pet store (his two favorite places to go). After a while, he associated car rides with fun places. Now he runs straight to the car without any hesitation.

Answer 8

some dogs are just like that my dog did the same thing but instead of being scared he just got car sick alot...so i tried puting him n the car more often so he would get use to it, that didnt work. i tried not feeding him b4 we'd go out so he wouldnt get sick but that didnt work either so he just wasnt mean to be in cars. the only thing he was scared of was the vaccum cleaner and even attacked it one time when i was vaccuming the house,

Answer 9

Well maybe u should let him get used to the car after awile he might act better if if doesnt work then say no in a stern voice whenever he goes in the car

Answer 10

Something has happened to make him this way. Just accept it and be glad that he won't ever get run over. Depending on his age, it could be a behavior that will always be.