When you are dealing with something that an animal is afraid of, the best approach is to find his "comfort" distance from the thing that scares him. A busy street makes this a bit more difficult, as you have to find a way to give him that "distance". If you have a car, maybe transporting him to a less busy area might make a good start. Perhaps a side street, where he is comfortably away from busy traffic. You could then walk toward the busy street, pausing as soon as you see some sign of anxiety, and retracing your steps just little until he is in his "comfort zone" again. Gradually…...with the use of bribery and rewards......ask him to approach closer to the scary stuff. Liberally reward him for being there, then retreat. The idea is to not force, let him decide when he is ready. If he feels he can retreat at any time, he will have more confidence. This approach may take awhile, but is less likely to create a permanent aversion. (it works well with spooky horses).
Long car trip - tips?
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I have a very long road trip coming up (LA to Portland) and I'll have my two pups with me, riding in the back seat. Any advice on car safety, feeding, breaks … ??
Thanks!
Lori
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I drove from Baltimore to Oklahoma City with two boxers in a Dodge Dakota, lol, for us we kept their feeding schedules the same. We stopped about every 2 hours to stretch legs and potty breaks, walk around a little. Our guys ate at 7 in the morning and 7 at night so it was easy to keep their schedule on track.
Are you stopping over night?
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I have a very long road trip coming up (LA to Portland) and I'll have my two pups with me, riding in the back seat. Any advice on car safety, feeding, breaks … ??
Thanks!
Lori
Back seat as in crated? or doggy seat belts? Please don't let them ride loose…
Feeding is not necessary, usually will cause more problems with motion sickness, mine that travel all the time to shows, I never feed them while we are driving, but I do give them bully sticks to chew if they want... normally they sleep the entire time (at least till you slow down to get gas or food for yourself..:D ... potty breaks at the same time that you gas or feed yourself...is fine... for me the faster I get there the better...
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Back seat as in crated? or doggy seat belts? Please don't let them ride loose…
I have a seat belt for the smaller one but not for the larger dog, and don't have a crate for either. Should both be put in separate crates? And if so, should they be Veri-Kennel (hard plastic) type crates? I was planning on buying collapsible crates.
Lori
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If you have a regular car I'd say just seat belt them both, thats how mine are. I don't like the idea of putting a crate in the backseat of a car (just me) because it limits visibility.
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Either or… but please make sure they are secure in a crate or seat belt... my personal choice would be each in their own crate.. I use the wire so there is not a problem with visibilty for them or me... And with belts you need to make sure that they don't chew their way out.
Regardless it is very, very dangerous to have an animal loose in the car... god forbid you would have an accident.. or stop someplace and have one of the bolt from the car...
I have traveled up and down the West Coast... and mine just sleep .....
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Mine just sleep also. When I stop for gas, they awaken and we take them out to potty. Otherwise, no stops…. they sleep the whole time, really.
