How do I keep a dog calm in the car?

Most car problems in dogs start as motion sickness, which is very common in puppies, and then become anxiety because the dog has learned that the car makes it feel awful. By the time an owner asks about it, both are usually present. That is why the programme below deals with the physical side and the emotional side at once, and why the timescale is weeks rather than a weekend.

Safety

What you'll need

• A secure restraint or crate
• High-value food
• A crate cover (optional)
• Window shades (optional)

Step by step

1. Work out which problem you have.Drooling, lip licking, repeated swallowing, yawning and then vomiting points to motion sickness. Barking, whining, panting, pacing, refusing to get in and settling only after the engine stops points to anxiety. Many dogs have both — deal with the sickness first, because you cannot counter-condition a dog that feels ill.
2. Talk to the vet before starting if there is vomiting.There is licensed anti-sickness medication for dogs, and using it during the retraining period means the dog builds a positive association instead of another bad one. This is one of the cases where medication makes the behaviour work possible.
3. Stop taking non-essential journeys for a fortnight.Every bad journey undoes the training. If the only place the dog goes by car is the vet, that is what the car means. For two weeks, do only the journeys you genuinely cannot avoid.
4. Week one: feed the dog in a stationary car with the engine off.Doors open, dog free to leave. Meals in the boot or on the back seat, several sessions. You are looking for a dog that jumps in willingly, not one you have lifted in.
5. Week two: engine on, still parked.Dog in its restraint, engine running, a lick mat or scattered food, thirty seconds, engine off, dog out, praise. Build to a couple of minutes. Do not drive anywhere yet.
6. Week three: very short journeys that end well.To the end of the road and back. Then round the block. Every journey ends somewhere the dog likes — the park at the end of the street, not the vet. If the dog drools or whines, the last step was too big; go back one.
7. Week four onwards: extend gradually, keeping the ratio right.For every journey the dog does not enjoy, do several it does. That ratio is what maintains the association. A dog that only goes to the groomer and the vet will slide back.
8. Set the car up to reduce nausea.No food for two to three hours before travelling, though water is fine. Position the dog facing forwards, low in the car, where it can see out of the front rather than the side windows flashing past. Keep the car cool with fresh air, and drive smoothly — braking and cornering are what provoke it.
9. Use a covered crate for a dog that is over-stimulated.Some dogs are not sick or frightened but wound up by the world going past. Blocking the view with a crate cover on three sides, or window shades, settles many of them within a journey or two.
10. Get help rather than persisting if it is severe.A dog that panics, scrabbles, hurts itself or cannot be got into the car after four weeks of careful work needs a qualified behaviourist, ideally through a vet referral so anything physical is excluded first.

Tips

• The single most effective change for many dogs is that the car stops predicting the vet. Ten short trips to a field will do more than any equipment.
• Pheromone sprays applied to the bedding half an hour before travel help some dogs modestly. They are worth trying alongside the training rather than instead of it.
• Many puppies grow out of motion sickness by around a year old as the inner ear matures — but only if they have not learned to dread the car in the meantime, which is why doing this properly early matters.

Common mistakes

• Pushing through with long journeys to get the dog used to it — Repeated exposure to something frightening or nauseating makes it worse, not better. Flooding is why so many dogs get steadily worse over a year.
• Giving a human travel sickness tablet — Human doses and some human drugs are dangerous to dogs. Vets can prescribe licensed alternatives designed for them.
• Only driving to the vet or the groomer — The dog learns exactly what the car predicts. Without a majority of good destinations, the association cannot change.
• Comforting frantically or telling the dog off — Neither addresses the cause. Calm, matter-of-fact handling plus a properly graded programme is what actually changes it.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask