Hi, We have had our dog Lola (cross between a chinese crested + yorkie) for nearly 2 years and she is terrified of going in our car. At fisrt she runs around it shivering like a lunatic and panting hard, then after about 15 minutes of this she will cower in the foot well shivering and in shock for the remainder of the journey, I dont know why she is like this as we have had her since a pup and always had nice walks or places at the end of every car journey. My problem is we now have to start visiting family 4 hours away, can anyone give me any advice on possible herbal calmers just for the car. We have tried treats, toys, crates, she is just hysterical. Any advice would be good.

have you asked your vet if he can give you something to calm her?

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Hi, Ive not registered her yet as we have just moved from southampton to liverpool (hense the new travel situation), although i did call 2 vets yesterday to ask for advice and they wouldnt give me any unless i registered her with them. I am going to register her next week, but we go away this weekend. I may have to look into trying to get her in to a vet earlier.

Have you tried a crate covered?

I would be putting her in the car in a crate,without going anywhere at first.

Get her settled into just being in the car then progress to starting and then popping down the road.

Try some Rescue Remedy, Valerian/scullcap or ginger biscuits.

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I was also going to suggest a crate. Get her used to it in the house, pop her in, cover her up & start off with small journeys. I have just bought one for Tilly, not for the same reason though. She loves the car, but won't sit still. She is also destructive in the car. The other week I visited our local GSD rescue with a cheque from our training club. The lady from the rescue had come to the car to say hello to both the dogs. Afterwards, I was only standing 10 feet away from the car & Tilly shredded a whole pack of poo bags in the back, just because she wanted to be the centre of attention, as usual. Thats put a stop to her little exploits

Hi, Thank you all for your help, I think in future i will try the crate again but cover it, she is such a lively little thing, im not sure i havent left it too late to get her used to it now for fridays long trip. I am actually thinking of leaving her with my mum now for the weekend until i can get her used to the covered crate although it is a shame as were off to norfork and i know she would have a lovely time once were there..

Try the coverd crate thing.
Try putting her in the car without it moving first and see if you can settle her.

Ive heard wonderful things about the DAP collars.
We had a sample wipe which we used in the car and our pup did lay down and sleep.

Little steps and dont rush.

I would def try the collar and just settling her while stationary.Take her for a little walk first to settle her.

Mel

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My old dog was exactly the same except he used to be violently sick aswell.

I used to feed him in the car every day without the engine running for a few days,then gradually start the engine and then just drive 100 yards down the road and so on until he used to just jump in as soon as you opened the door! Takes a while , but be patient.

Whilst on the subject, know this is not the question, but ginger helps with travel sickness,
regards
sue

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Hi, Yes she used to be very sick in the car too but she seems to be over that now. We have decided not to take her on the long journey (5 hours) as feel it would be unfair on her so my mum has stepped in to look after her.

Thank you all for your advise, and we are at present getting her back into using her crate and covering it up when she's relaxed. Hopefully its the way forward.

Thanks again