Help! Puppy that screams in the car..

[Alibobo]

My Basenji doesn't scream but he often cries in the car. Only when he's in the boot behind the dog guard, not when he rides up front with me. I'm not in the car as much now because of lockdown, but I did find that when I was taking him out regularly and putting him in the boot, the crying would reduce the more he got used to it. I would give him lots of praise when he's quiet. Also I think having something fun at the end of the journey helps, so he actually looks forward to getting into the car. He's 15 months old and I think we're getting there slowly. Yours is still quite young so keep the faith. Hope this helps!

[Isabob]

My basenji is 8yrs and still screams when we go in the car because he had a very bad experience at a vets. When I first took him there I didn't know that the vet tech there hated basenjis and when we would go he would get so upset the whites of his eyes would turn blood red. We have been going to a different vet now for some time , but he still screams all the way there. On the trip home he is perfect. So hopefully your pup don't associate car rides with a bad experience.

[Tony]

Our mother and daughter used to whimper in their crates when we went to the vet. Eventually they got over it to the point that they voluntarily enter their crates for their trips. We make sure they can see each other and usually one of us.

[Basenji_Ulf]

@alibobo

Yes, we try to make car rides a fun experience for him, and we’re making sure that we always do something he likes afterwards. Hopefully this will help in the long run

[Basenji_Ulf]

@isabob

So sorry to hear that. We have only taken him to the vet one time since we got him. So all the other car rides has been to some place fun/nice. I hope that if we stick to this for some time he will calm down in the car.

[Basenji_Ulf]

@tony

This started the day we brought him home. So long before his first vet appointment. But hopefully if we stick to trying to make every car ride a fun one he will eventually understand that car = fun

[Jagali]

Hi, I really appreciate your question and am keenly awaiting suggestions also. My 10 month old girl toilets (both weed and poos) every time we take her in the car. We’ve tried someone holding her (hmm very unpleasant outcome), having our adult basenji next to her (he loves car rides), very very short rides with fun rewards at the end. All to no avail. She doesn’t scream but she trembles and is clearly very reluctant to get in her crate in the car. She’s fine with her crate at home and has never had a bad experience in the car....

[DonC]

If you come up with something please let me know. We have an 11 yr. old who howls. Not a scream but not a whole lot better. If the ride is long enough she'll quiet down but we're talking about a pretty long ride. Not sure when it started but sometime in the last couple of years.

[Dagodingo]

@basenji_ulf

You do have age in your side, so that is a bonus. Sounds like he does not like the car, so anything you can do to distract /divert helps. Your idea of short drives sounds like the best idea as it tends to work well with crate training as well. A matter of getting past the initial objection.

I have never had a problem (with three basenjis) on the car rides as it usually means we are headed to a park. However if we pull into the vets....all three have protested verbally and loudly lol.

One idea which works sometimes, (distraction) is that if the scream or howl at you, then mimic the same back to them. If it just ends up being a howling match, then no good. Sometimes they will just look puzzled at you, which distracts them.

[eeeefarm]

Actually I think long rides may sort this quicker than short ones. If the pup screams from one end of the ride to the other, there is always the possibility that stopping reinforces the screaming. I would want to drive until the screaming ceased, then as soon as practical pull over for a break, take the pup out for a walk, whatever. Reinforce the silence, not the noise!

[Bumblebpete]

Our Basenji mix hated car rides as well, when he was young. We put a crate in the back seat and left it open. When we put him in the car he would immediately go into the crate where he felt safe.
Eventually he started coming out when he felt secure, and now he just loves car rides, and we don't use the crate anymore.
I believe, that Basenjis are so intelligent that anything new becomes a danger to them. Sometimes, it can become hilarious when he sees something new in the house that he hasn't seen before.
Do whatever works with your Basenji, eventually he or she will realize that car rides are an adventure.

[helle devi]

@basenji_ulf
Of all the dogs we have fostered and boarded over the last decade, only one gets car sick. He is now 12 years old and his parents ferry him to the vet or other absolutely necessary trips in a basket on a bike.

Car ride issues are on the check list of rescues that are listed on BRaT (Basenji Rescue and Transport, https://basenjirescue.org/dogs/default.asp ). I am not sure if it is a more common predicament with Basenjis or with rescues in general, about 10-15% of BRaT listings mention car ride aversion.
Apparently some dogs will never be comfortable riding in cars, crated or not.
Good luck with your B. boy!

[Zande]

In all these years, I have only ever had one Basenji boy who didn't like the car. Basenjis are usually speed merchants, they love driving fast on a straight road but not so much twisting and turning on country lanes in this part of the world. They like to be able to see out - and I insist all dogs be crated in the car.

So wire crates, in the back of my station wagon (estate car in UK), keep windows cleaned, put a comfy piece of bedding in along with a 'coop-cup' of fresh drinking water and make sure the crate is big enough for the dog(s) to sit up and watch the passing scenery, or lie down at full stretch. Of even stand up if they want to.

The one boy who didn't like to travel in the car I spaced out on Rescue Remedy, a herbal which comes with a dropper in the lid. Obtainable from Health Food Shops as it is a human preparation. A dropper full into the side of the mouth about 30 minutes before getting into the crate. He was fine then. No need on the homeward trip. They all always slept the entire way home !

I use Rescue Remedy on Bonfire Night too. Means the bangs are totally ignored.

Mine scream when I turn into the Vet's carpark. But otherwise they are fine.

[elbrant]

@basenji_ulf said in Help! Puppy that screams in the car..:

we have tried having him ... in the trunk

In the U.S. a car's trunk is where you store the luggage... which made this particularly funny!

I typically talk or sing to doodle... I've assumed that she just doesn't like the way I drive.

[Zande]

@elbrant over here the luggage compartment is called the boot. So if not trunk what do you call the back bit of an estate car - sorry, station wagon ?

[elbrant]

@zande I've never thought about that... it's generally considered a "cargo" area. hmmm, Any hatchback drivers amoung us?

[Kembe]

@elbrant
“The trunk (North American English) or boot (British English) of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. In Indian English the storage area is known as a dickey (also spelled dicky or diggy), in South-East Asia a compartment. A tailgate, or sometimes the hatch, is a hinged board or door at the rear of a vehicle that can be moved up or down during loading and unloading. Also called a tailboard, it is commonly found in pickup trucks or hatchback vehicles.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunk_(car) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunk
I was also curious to know what we call the “cargo” area in an SUV, hatchback, or station wagon.

[tanza]

I have very rarely had a screamer in the car? I have an SUV with crates in the back. As babies they might get a bit upset or "car sick" but that doesn't last long, couple of car rides cures that... and I am on the road with mine all the time... they fuss when we first leave the house for amount the 1st 1/2 mile then off to sleep.... If getting car sick, you might want to try something for motion sickness? When I had a RV they were also fine, up to five or six at a time traveling.

[Basenji_Ulf]

Thank you all for your replies. Today was a liiiiiiittle bit better than the previous car rides we have done with him. Not constant screaming. But he still screams, and it’s a scream that can make ears bleed... But anyway, a little better today. He lied down and stayed quiet for about 5-10 minutes of the 20 minute ride. On the way home.

Hopefully if we keep up with daily car rides where he always gets his toys and treats with him, and as long as we go someplace fun every time this will help getting him calmer in the car.

I will also try the Rescue Remedy, it can’t hurt I guess