My dog HATES the car - help please!

SeduLOUs

Where are you taking him in the car at the moment?

Mine hated the car and used to pee nervously in it, but we knew that practically he needed to come to terms with it for potential vet visits and camping holidays etc

We started out small. I would lift him into the car (after putting sheets down!) and literally drive 20 seconds down the road, then let him out and take him on his usual walk, so he would learn to associate the car with something fun.

After a few weeks of this and seeing improvement we tried driving a few minutes around the corner to the park for a week or so, and then a bit further afield and eventually he just started jumping in the car by himself.

He still won't sleep in the car, but is quite happy sat up looking around now and we've taken him on a 3 hr trip to a camping location, with a couple of rest breaks en route with no issues

Kit1

We used to train guide dog puppies and once had 1 that suddenly refused to get in the car which was a big problem as they all need to be able to travel in all types of vehicle without too much fuss.

He was about six months old when this happened and had been travelling in the boot on a quilt and we could attach his lead so he couldn't jump around. We found feeding him with the boot open made him less afraid of getting into the car and he was being rewarded with food when he got in (it did take a few attempts to gain his confidence) we started off playing first with toys and treats, then moved onto feeding and then short trips where he was rewarded with free running and within a few weeks he was back to getting in and out of the car and able to go on longer journeys much to our relief :j

Good luck

Beckyy

Try feeding him in the car and making sure some positive things happen in it, treats a few training sessions etc.

Then start by sitting in it for a bit with the engine on, not making a big deal out of it. Then go a short distance and back, gradually increasing it with time. Drive him to nice places, out for walks if he enjoys them. Just take it slowly and don't push it i he does seem to be improving, it's not something which is likely to come quickly but hopefully with time he'll become for comfortable in the car. Let us know how you get on