How to Help Your Pet Get Over Car Anxiety?

Behavior -

How to Help Your Pet Get Over Car Anxiety?

The vast majority of pet dogs have not been trained to ride in a car, and they will experience tension and discomfort during the first ride, which is ride anxiety. Ride anxiety occurs when your dog is showing symptoms such as motion sickness, barking incessantly, pacing, scratching, and fidgeting. If just the sound of you inserting the key to start the car can make the dog tremble with fear, it means that the dog is very anxious, and the pet owner should take some measures to prevent the dog from this kind of car anxiety. By reducing your dog's ride anxiety, you and your pet can be happier and healthier. Here are some ways to reduce travel anxiety:

 


1. Let the dog learn to adapt to the environment first

Practice in the car at first, but don't start the engine and don't go anywhere. Try to make the dog feel comfortable in the car, and you can put some treats in the car for the dog to smell or eat. Once he's relaxed a bit, put more food in the car so the dog can hop in the car and eat it on his own. The purpose of this step is to make the dog feel comfortable in the car.



2. Keep the familiar taste

Anxiety about unfamiliar surroundings. Perhaps because of territorial awareness, dogs are always anxious about unfamiliar environments. Therefore, unfamiliar and small places like private cars will make them feel anxious. Clothes or toys that smell like them can be put in the car to give pets a sense of security in the space.



3. Do proper training

Get your dog used to riding in a car through constant training. When you have time, take the dog to sit in the car for a while, let the dog sit in the car, talk to it, play games, and eat, and the car can not start at this time. Go out to play with it and let it associate the two things of riding and playing, and the dog will not be so disgusted with riding in the car psychologically.



4. Reward continuous progress

Reward your pet once it shows confidence in stepping into the car, or if it starts to jump up on its own. Even if its front paws get on the car, a small reward can be given. Repeat this step until the pet sees the door open, jumps up and doesn't want to get out of the car, then it is successful.



If your dog can only get used to sitting in the car obediently at first, you can start with short trips and gradually increase their comfort with the car travel, gradually increase the distance, and slowly the pet will be less stress on the car , you can travel happily.