Advice welcomed, travelling with 5 month Whippet Puppy (1 Viewer)

kglblue

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Our Whippet Puppy Jesse, came to live with us a month ago. He has taken everything we have thrown at him in his stride, except car and Motorhome travel. We've taken him for short trips in the car in a fabric dog cage, he goes into the cage quite happily in the house, and we have left him for 2 hours and there has been no noticeable separation anxiety. In the car he won't get in the cage, once in he howls pitifully and is always sick. It's worse in the Motorhome, we have another dog a collie 9 years old who loves to travel in car and motorhome.
We leave for a 6 week tour of France in 5 weeks, any advice will be welcomed.
 

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Hollyberry

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Might be worth seeing a vet for advice? Cass used to get in an awful state in the car. She even frightened the vet in Cyprus once when I arrived with her foaming at the mouth ( stress, not rabies!)
All her car anxiety stopped as soon as Holly came along and she's been fine ever since. But as you've already got another dog.....

Limiting stimuli might help. In the crate with a blanket covering it.
5 minute trip, add a minute each day?
Try sitting with him in the car ( not moving and all doors open) each day, just fir a minute or 2, giving him a treat at same time?

I used Feliway for my cat. Dog equivalents here
 
Jan 10, 2013
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You can get travel sickness medication for dogs although not had to try it on any of our dogs as they were great travellers. Here is a link to some on Amazon - mixed reviews.

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Feb 22, 2014
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Can you let him travel with just a seat belt? It may be he needs to see out. Otherwise, a daily tiny trip to the end of the road and gradually build it up. Good luck.
 

ebo

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We had same problem with our Jack Russell when she was a pup, kept being sick when travelling in the car or motorhome, went to the vets who recommended this
didnt have to use it for long and now she loves travelling.
 
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I agree with Cat53 - especially if he can't see out of the cage at all. Like people they need a point of reference outside the vehicle to help control travel sickness.

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kglblue

kglblue

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All good suggestions, We have been sitting in the MH for an hour a day for a week now and he's getting used to it. The harness attached to the seat belt anchor, we will try this too. I wonder if it's a good idea to have a drive with him on my knee if he's well secured? At least until he's used to the travelling. Poppy our collie is a seasoned traveller. We leave for the tunnel on 23rd April, I will post how we get on. He was terrible this morning, we took him to one of our favourite places, an open field with a stream, he tried to walk on the water and sunk, the water well over his head. Not a happy dog, but he's got more of his mojo back this afternoon.
We will try adaptil, I agree with him needing to see where he's going, I feel queasy if I can't see out of a vehicle. He's young but he's a confident pup, he'll get over this I'm sure.
I found all your comments encouraging.
 
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colinw

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We were new dog owners last year and the information I gathered was :-
Don't travel on full stomach if prone to being sick .
Sit dog in vehicle for a minute first , then build up duration over time .
When they are comfortable with being in vehicle , close doors and check reaction
If they are still happy , start the engine and let it run a while .
Move vehicle a short distance at first then build up duration over time .
Always use rewards for the behaviour you are after .
Always have the car journey result in a good time for your dog , nice walk in park etc.

All of this advice went out of the window for us , as it was a 5 hour drive home with our new pup !

Hope this makes sense , I've been up all night with our dog who was speyed yesterday and was very sad all night . there is lots of helpful information out there to help owners get the best from their new family members . enjoy .
 

awg

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I have always had springer spaniels which I work and 2 dogs ago my bitch pup hated travel and was always sick every time she was in the car.

My approach took quite a lot of time but worked very well. I started by putting the pup and older dog in the car and driving only 100 yards before getting them both out and continuing with our normal walk. After the walk I went and brought the car back home without the dogs. After doing this morning and evening for a few days I started to go a little further before starting the walk and also using the car for the last bit of the return journey. The pup soon started to associate getting in the car (cage in boot area) with nice things like going for a walk. In the early days I even took her for a 200yard drive from the house and back before feeding her. Over a few weeks I built up the distance until the problem disappeared. Took a lot of time/effort but worked in the end. Sadly lost her nearly 10 years ago. Now have to suffer my wife’s lapdog (shih tzu) along with my current springer.


Allan

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DBK

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I think a gentle building up plus medication if required as recommended above is needed. The main thing is to avoid him thinking he is being rewarded for being sick or howling. If he does this and you stop the journey (a reward) then this is what he learns to do. It's a bit like dogs starting to whimper as you drive in a car to a favourite walking spot. The dog begins to associate their noise with being taken for a walk. It can be very hard to break this habit once learned.
 
Nov 6, 2013
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We don't crate our dogs. Our two have the dinette bed, so just lay on that with enough movement to both see out the window or see us.
Chances are the pup will take notes from oldie, and soon realise that the car / MH really isn't so bad after all.

You could also try Rescue Remedy - a cure for many anxieties (for your dog, not you !)
 

CWH

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Have you tried living in the moho with the dogs for a few days at home, with no travelling attached? - so sleeping, watching TV, your meals, their meals - whatever you'd be doing if you were away - as well as some substantial time with yourselves in the travelling seats & dogs first loose, then confined as for travelling. Then add in a few short drives etc as everyone's suggestions above, but coming back to the moho as your home.

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We took our 8 month old Cocker to France at New Year and again in February and he was fine. We didn't use a cage though - just a harness and seatbelt clip. We just let him lie down with our other dog (20 month old Springer) and they usually just curl up and sleep most of the journey. They love going in the MH as they seem to have it associated with lots of extra walks.

If he's got negative associations with the cage in a vehicle you need to stop using it completely in the car and MH as it will only get worse. You need to let him reassure himself that good things happen when he travels, make sure he can see everything that's going on and then do something he likes i.e. walk or play with a ball as soon as you get out of the vehicle even if it's only for a couple of minutes. Driving with him on your knee isn't good idea. It may well calm him down but Mr Plod will take a dim view.
 

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