You might not know it but your dog or puppy may have a fear of cars, Read below to find out if this is the case.
Does your dog pant, Drool or vomit in the car. This could be down to motion sickness and can be easily treated by your local vet. If this carries on then your dog could have a fear of cars.
6 Steps To Get Rid Of The Fear Of Cars
1.
To help your dog get used to the car you can start by making them associate the car with something good. Start by having your car parked up, Turned off with your door open. Sit in the car and encourage your dog to get in giving them the option to leave if they get uncomfortable. Let them sniff around and leave and enter as they please to get them used to the car.
2.
After a walk take them to the car and give them a lot of attention and fuss them around the car. You can also give them their favourite food or treat in the car and use phrases like "In you go" to get into the car. When they get in give them a treat and reward them. Remember at this stage to leave the door open so they have the option to get out whenever they want.
3.
Use chew toys such as Kong or other toys that they can nibble on in the car. When they decided to leave the car then take away the toy so they associate the toy with the car.
4.
If you have a crate for your dog then leave this in the car and over a few days let them get in and out as they wish. They will associate the comfort of their crate with the car and will become desensitised to it.
5.
When your dog starts to show signs of comfort and relaxation in the car then have somebody turn the engine on whilst your are still siting next to your dog. If they show signs of fear then just encourage them with positive words but do not stroke or reward your dog as they will associate this behaviour with reward. Keep doing this until they get used to the engine being on and try some of the previous steps while keeping it on.
6.
You can now take drives around your neighbourhood, Try and drive slow if you can and just do short drives to begin with. Remember to end the drive with a reward or a walk so your dog associates your car with nothing but good times.
This method is known as fear desensitisation and works on the principle that you introduce the fear to your dog in small amounts and then build on this until your dog gets used to it. Remember to do this slowly as rushing the process will only strengthen the fear of cars. If your dog shows any signs of fear then you need to go back to where they were comfy and start again.
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