Excitement levels on car journeys

Ashbx

Hi all

I have a border collie and a border terrier who both get so overcome with excitement when riding in the car. At the start they are fine, but as we get closer to where we are going (which could be the field for our walk, the beach, my parents house, my friends house - once they recognise where they are) they bark like mad. I cant put up with it!! Regardless of which way I exit my estate, there is a trigger for the dogs in either direction so its not something I can avoid. They usually ride in the boot. And its during the car journey that the excitement begins - not really before we leave the house.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can stop this? Personally I think if I can stop them seeing outside when I am driving, I think their excitement would reduce significantly. Provided they fit in my car, I was thinking of crate training them and putting them in their crates when we travel. Any ideas or advice?

If you do think putting crates in the boot would work, does anyone have any advice introducing a 6 and 4 year old dog to crates for the first time, and how do I go about moving the crates from the house to the car?

Thanks in advance!

Ashbx

Hi Mods, just wondering if you could close this thread. Plenty of viewings and no replies so I don't think anyone can help.

Thank you!
A

Springwell

Thunder shirt hood/cap might help?

Dubl07

You had quite specific parameters so I was hesitant to give advice from my limited perspective.

My previous dog needed a second human in the car for a few months to calm him and reassure him after which he was a very good traveller. My current situation with my young dog makes a second person's presence more difficult but I've found that a bandana with Adaptil, an open window and suitable safety restraints combined with many, many boring rides have helped. By boring I mean alternating going halfway round the m50 and home with going around some of the more winding local roads and then home. It means that the car doesn't always equal the vet or the park. There is still a level of over-excitement when we get close to home, so I sometimes drive past the house and return after a short while.

hardCopy

This isn't something our dog does so I'm not commenting from direct experience. I did read the Happy Puppy Handbook which had a section on excitement on arriving at a destination. The advice was basically to bring a coffee and a newspaper and wait in the car park until the dogs are calm before you get out of the car.

Excitement = Stay in the car
Calm = Get out to play

tk123

Could you maybe try something like kids sunshades on the windows or something to block their view first and it might give you an idea if a crate will work? I'd worry if they're really really excited that they might hurt themselves in a metal crate. I actually have a plastic car crate which I think would be better and less chance of injury compared to a wire one - originally bought as a second crate when Bailey was on crate rest and is now their kitchen crate/bed which they love! I removed the doors and have vetoed coming over the front so they can rest their heads lol http://www.zooplus.de/shop/hunde/hundetransportbox/hundetransportbox/grosse_transportboxen/392241

FrostyJack

I still have this problem with my one, have tried sitting in the car until she calms down. After a few minutes of being quiet she kicks off again because she is harnessed in. I have tried taking her on fruitless journeys like driving around the block or to destinations where she never gets out. Still it makes no difference. The only time she is quiet is when she was sick for a week and when she has the legs run off her. She is the most excitable dog ever. She wouldn't have the energy to jump up on the couch but once you produce the lead her energy comes back and the excitement starts again. Very annoying on long journeys.

guerito

I have the same problem with one of my dogs. They ride in the boot of my car (hatchback with the parcel shelf removed). Blocking him from jumping up on the back of the rear seats helps, so if you have the space you could look into a dog guard.

Crate training is great for calming them down, but if they aren't crate trained already you might have to wait until they're fully crate trained at home. Otherwise you could ruin all your good work by creating an association between the crate and them going doolally in the car.

You could also try using a D.A.P. spray in the car. It contains pheromones from a nursing bitch and it calms them down. Might be an interim solution.

Ashbx

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

I do try bring them to the shops with me in the car or if im going to pick someone up so they do get some random car journeys but not actually a walk. I might do this more regularly and try desensitise them a bit.

I have tried putting up the child sunshades but as they ride in the boot, I cant put them over my back windscreen so they still manage to see out. I have also sat in the car until they calmed down but the moment I move, or reach for the handle, or reach for the door, they go wild again. So I sit back, I wait another 10 mins, reach for the door again and they are off again.

Im glad im not the only one who deals with this though. Im mortified when I drive up to the park because people can hear the dogs whining and barking in the back! I will try a few ideas suggested and hopefully find something that works.

Thanks all!

Buona Fortuna

We have the same with our rescue Collie/Lab X.

I tried the pointless journeys. When we got home, he wouldn't get out of the car

Ashbx

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

We have the same with our rescue Collie/Lab X.

I tried the pointless journeys. When we got home, he wouldn't get out of the car

Ha ha, too smart for its own good!

Ken.

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

We have the same with our rescue Collie/Lab X.

I tried the pointless journeys. When we got home, he wouldn't get out of the car

I am genuinely laughing out loud.

Buona Fortuna

ken wrote: »

I am genuinely laughing out loud.

We did the first time.

He loves the car. He wears a harness in the back seat (Hilux) but whenever he sees somewhere he like to get out he pokes his nose through the gap in the front seats and pucks your elbow.

Anytrip that doesn't result in him getting out - he stays in the car. He'll stay there until he gets hungry. He's a big lad and the only way to get him out otherwise is to bring the quad up for him to chase.

stevire

Have had this issue before with a GSD, you deffo need the help of someone else. Black out the windows and then cover their view from the front window so they cannot see a thing (duvet cover hanging from the roof). As you're driving and they're quiet - have your friend reward them by letting down the duvet bit by bit. If they react, the duvet goes back up, if not the duvet comes down even more.

Eventually after a few trips you can phase out the blacked out windows too.