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My Pet World: How to get your dog familiar with car rides

By Steve Dale, Tribune Content Agency on

These reader questions about dog behavior were answered by veterinary behaviorist Dr. Debra Horwitz in St. Louis, an editor (with Dr. John Ciribassi and myself) of "Decoding Your Dog," authored by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. In the book, common behavior problems are explained with techniques to avoid problems, and there's advice from experts on how to change unwanted behaviors using science-based methods.

Q: Until two weeks ago, our Chihuahua/Terrier-mix rode in our car with no problem. She gets excited when we ask to if she wants to go "bye bye," but she pants as soon as she gets into the car, climbs on our shoulders and yawns a lot. I've tried to take her only for short rides to the park -- but that hasn't worked. We don't drive any long distances with her because we don't want to upset her. Do you have any advice? -- H.A., Las Vegas, NV

A: Horwitz says to begin by changing her immediate association with the car, offer cookies for merely jumping into the car -- but go nowhere; don't even start the engine.

Once you can do that with no sign of stress, go down the block, make the ride so incredibly short that your dog won't get upset. Return home, and then offer her a meal. The idea is to associate car rides with something she likes -- her food.

Some tools you can use to potentially lessen anxiety include an Adaptil collar, which emits a copy of a calming pheromone, and/or Anxitane, which is L-Theanine, a calming nutritional supplement.

However, it's possible that your pup is suffering from motion sickness. If that's the case, behavior modification won't do much good alone until she feels betters. Ask your veterinarian about Cerenia, an anti-nausea drug.

 

Horwitz says some dogs feel more comfortable being confined in a carrier or a in a safety seat behind a seat belt.

If all goes go well, the short rides will gradually become longer.

Q: Buddy, is a 2-year-old adopted Chihuahua, and he quickly became our buddy. However, he's not everyone's buddy because now he howls at anyone who comes into the house and doesn't stop until they leave. We try to distract him with toys and treats, but that doesn't help. Do you have any ideas? -- A.W, Cyberspace

A: "It's not unusual for dogs to take some time to show their real personality after being adopted," says Horwitz. "For whatever reason, it seems your dog is fearful."

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