Scared of riding in Van..

[luvnatur]

Hello everyone;

Hubby & I are a retired couple that just adopted a rescue dog that's afraid of riding in our van. He shudders & pants the whole time. We started out w/short rides, (couple of mi.) to a half hr. ride. Still doing the same thing..We've had him about 2wks.

He's a 3yr.old Bichon/Poodle mix & is neutered, calm in nature, housebroken, all shots up to date, etc. He follows voice commands, ie; up, down, stay, come, etc. He's a real peach about staying at home alone. Doesn't disturb anything in the house at all. Glad to see us come home, but just the one thing about riding in the van...

We want to take him on 2 -4 & a half hr. trips to visit relatives about 3 or 4 times a yr. but I'm afraid this would be too hard on him. Are there any suggestions as to what we might try?

We're willing to try most anything that is reasonable. Any help would be greatly appreciated..

Thank you;
Luvnatur

[Doberman's]

I heard valerian helps to calm, I would ask my vet about it before I gave to my dog.

I know you can also use Gravol but I have no idea how to dose it out for a small dog. My dogs get the children's dose, they are 75lbs. :)

I would ask the vet about that as well.

We have a dog that does that too and the only way we got her to stop was to take her everywhere we could in the car :) eventually she calmed down. She is better now but on ocassion she still shakes and pants. We basically just ignore her now. Works for us.

[Doberman's]

BTW.... sorry I forgot to welcome you to the forums :)

WELCOME!!!! :D

[skunkstripe]

Hi Luvnatur,
I wonder if your doggy had some bad experience in a van? Like our Sophia associates a crate with the long ride she had from North Carolina to New England? Or maybe he gets sick?
It is great that you are taking him on short rides to get him used to it.......are you also taking him somewhere fabulous so he might look forward to the car ride?

[MrsRottie]

Can you put the van inside your premises with all the doors open?

Spend a day in and around the van like this, maybe hide her favourite treat inside the van. Every time she even sniffs near the van, praise and treat her. Make it so that she realises that the van is not going to harm her. It may take a long time, but eventually she should realise that it's OK....

Freeze some water in a plastic bowl with a few drops of Bach Rescue Remedy in and let her lick it during the journey - dunno why but it helps!

[AnimalHouse]

Along with some of those suggestions of meds, there is something i use when my old dog got freaked out, called rescue remedy.. *for people or pets* it is a natural liquid that u give a certain amount to calm down a dog with anxiety and stuff.. Dunno if u have that where u are, maybe try that as well.. :D good luck!

[luvnatur]

All your suggestions will be pondered upon. We took him for another short ride today & same thing going on. He's so excited to go, but once the motor starts, that's it, he's quivering & panting away. We plan on a 2hr. trip in about 3wks. Maybe I should consider taking him to the vet & ask some questions about all this. He's due for a distemper shot the middle of Aug. I was going to wait til the beginning of that month to take him, but perhaps they will give it a little early if I take him next week or so?

A dog I had b4 did the same thing, & eventually did calm down after many short trips. I'm hoping this will be the case here. He's such a cutie, I sure hope he settles down w/all this.

Thanx all, for your concern. It's nice to have a place to come to for some answers from fellow fur buddie owners.

Blessings;
luvnatur

[Maisie's Mom]

When we adopted our dog, she did the same thing. Now, we find that if she can lay down in the back under the seat, she's fine. For whatever reason, she does not like looking out the windows!