How do I shut my dog up in the car?

SnoozySuzie

I was wondering if anyone had a similar problem and how they fixed it?
I have two yorkies one of which (Buster) barks his head off in the car every time we bring him out. We know its just the excitement because he shuts up on the way home. We have tried everything, bringing him for a walk before he gets into the car, giving him chews or toys in the car, talking to him, ignoring him, having someone sit with him in the back, Nothing works. Its that bad that if we have to bring them on a long drive we sedate them.

Any suggestions on what I can do?

Skillie

have had the prob with a collie and never fixed it! absolutely drives me nuts but nothing i tried worked in the long term. short term sometimes but always faded fast. tried toys in the car, tastey chews, running the legs off her with her tennis ball thrower gadget before a trip, walk before a trip, calming tellington touch band, blindfold, lead going from me all the way back to her, someone sitting with her, squirting water at her (not proud of that one as its cruel really but was pretty desparate), had the best behaved calmest retriever in there with her and she didn't help her calm down. Tried stopping the car everytime she barked and not going again till she stops, tried not letting her outta the car till she stops etc etc etc etc

it was pure excitement at going for a walk she was so happy and like you shes fine on the way home cos the walks over. i feel your pain it really ruins the whole heading for a walk thing and puts you in bad form before you even get goin, esp if its a loud annoying bark! her mother was a neighbours dog and shes not the full shilling, barking the whole time at nothing so an amount of maternal imprinting there i'd say. such a pity cos shes the sweetest cleverest dog is really well behaved and fantastic on her walk etc she just loves it so much she can't shut up shouting about it.

biko

Maybe some of these things can help:

1. The first thing you should do is be the role model of the behavior you wish your dog to have. In other words, if you would like your pet to chill out and stop barking so much inside of the car, keep calm yourself and maintain a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. This is especially important when your dog starts to get excited and begins barking. Trust me, you'll be surprised at just how well this works.

2. To better enforce the rules of barking, do not be afraid of using the old trusty water squirt gun. Most animals cannot stand the feeling of being spritzed in the face with water. In fact, this is a great training tool for many situations. When your dog starts barking like crazy, a few shots of water right in between the eyes is enough to make even the largest of dogs to completely stop whatever it is they are doing and eventually associate that behavior with the unwanted feeling of being sprayed in the face.

3. A third solution that works well is to place your dog inside of a crate within the car whenever you need to drive somewhere. A crate will allow your dog to sit comfortably inside of your vehicle, yet it sets limitations of what he can see and smell from the outside. This may be difficult for larger dogs, but for small and medium-sized dogs, a crate can do wonders when it comes to barking incessantly while driving. **

cowzerp

I'm going to get shouted down for this but why dont you try filling a bottle, like a dettol bottle type with water and spray them in the face when they bark, i'd guess that once they associate the spray with barking they will realise that barking is not what they should do, and they will be unhurt.

My Rotty constantly jumped up on me and my family till i started doing this and stopped after about 3 times,i carried it with me for a few days just to keep the habit from coming back and now he knows its not allowed, i done this after he knocked over my 3 year old niece and she had a bad bang.

Skillie

Tried them all over a couple of years the best we got it to was no barking till we arrived at the road leading to where we walked and this was just due to the fact that she was heading there everyday so didn't get too excited till she had the walk in sight

SnoozySuzie

Oh no dont say that Skillie?? Is your dog neutered? I wonder if that would make a difference?

Skillie

SnoozySuzie wrote: »

Oh no dont say that Skillie?? Is your dog neutered? I wonder if that would make a difference?

she is and the answer is no neutering won't help. obviously some dogs respond better to certin techniques but she was just steadfast through it all and unwavering in her ability to keep that barking goin, theres nothing she loves more than barking!! i don't walk her anymore shes my fathers dog and used to take her with us but we have another dog now as well and 3 was too much so he just walks her himself locally

Skillie

cowzerp wrote: »

I'm going to get shouted down for this but why dont you try filling a bottle, like a dettol bottle type with water and spray them in the face when they bark, i'd guess that once they associate the spray with barking they will realise that barking is not what they should do, and they will be unhurt.

My Rotty constantly jumped up on me and my family till i started doing this and stopped after about 3 times,i carried it with me for a few days just to keep the habit from coming back and now he knows its not allowed, i done this after he knocked over my 3 year old niece and she had a bad bang.

i tried the squirting in the face with a spray bottle but just ended up with a wet car and dog, a few near RTA's and still barking. i did feel guilty for this as its a negative form of training and i'd prefer to use something better but nothing worked. i know its not exactly shock collar territory but its still a form of punishment

SnoozySuzie

We tried the whole staying calm but after about 15 mins of him barking in your ear I lose all patience and let a roar at him. Ive even tried out barking him??
I cant imagine he would go into one of those crate things. I think he would just bark more and he doesnt like to be away from my other dog.
I've never tried the water but dont like the idea of soaking the car?
I worked in a vets years ago and saw dogs vocal chords being removed because neighbours had reported the dogs to the Gardai. Do you think this is really cruel? He barks so much I have to admit I have considered it before?

Skillie

SnoozySuzie wrote: »

I worked in a vets years ago and saw dogs vocal chords being removed because neighbours had reported the dogs to the Gardai. Do you think this is really cruel? He barks so much I have to admit I have considered it before?

Yes it is cruel really but can understand you considering it cos its such a frustrating and infuriating predicament to be in. have you tried a behaviourist someone like dog training ireland should be able to help, hope you have more luck than we did

SnoozySuzie

I'm too much of a softie I know I wouldn’t be able to go through with getting it done. I was looking into the courses at dog training Ireland before I should ring them up and see if they could help. I think he's just a bit crazy, we even brought him to the vets before because we thought he was blind only to be told by the vet "he's just a bit mad and all over the place".:D

andreac

Try a crate, if you put them in a crate in the car it should really help as they will be all comfy and secure in that and wont be able to out of the car to bark.

SnoozySuzie

andreac wrote: »

Try a crate, if you put them in a crate in the car it should really help as they will be all comfy and secure in that and wont be able to out of the car to bark.

We strap them in the backseat on harnesses. Is it ok to put two dogs in the one crate because they dont like being seperated?

az2wp0sye65487

Very helpful that.Consider this a warning.Next time its an infraction.

Noopti

I think if none of the suggested techniques work you are better off just going to a specialised dog trainer and see if they can help.

SnoozySuzie

Please dont respond--just use the report button.

Zuisse

I've the same problem with a German Shephard, except he lets out a high pitched yelp rather than barking, usually directly into my ear which can be deafening.

Some of the views expressed seem to be a bit extreme, although I don't like the yelping I can put up with it for a few minutes until we arrive for our walk.

MissyN

I think if you try to somehow cover the back windows so that your dog can't see anything outside mite help. My dog does bark on the drive to the beach but its mostly when she can see other dogs walking past the car so if you restrict the dogs view he may be less inclined to bark (obviously keep safe and you must still be able to see well enough to drive )

bnagrrl

My dog gets very excited in the car and makes a lot of noise. I've found putting the heaters on to make the car nice and warm just sends her off to sleep after a few mins.

sorella

Just talked with our own expert on this.

Three ideas.

- make a peppermint spray; a little toothpaste in the bottle and shake. Works better than plain water. Need not soak them or the car. A little will avail.

- put coconut cream hand cream on your hands; seems to shut them up.

- a crate should work fine also.

Or stop taking them in the car!!!

I gave up with our wee one. Just too hair raising.

spurious

When he was younger, my guy used to shout like billy-o in the back seat whenever we went anywhere. Eventually we worked out that if we left the window open and he could stick his head out he was happy (and quiet).

All those lovely smells I suppose.

andreac

Yes you can put them both in one crate as long as its the right size for them.

SnoozySuzie

spurious wrote: »

When he was younger, my guy used to shout like billy-o in the back seat whenever we went anywhere. Eventually we worked out that if we left the window open and he could stick his head out he was happy (and quiet).

All those lovely smells I suppose.

Yep he likes sticking his head out of the window but if he see's another dog or a bike he gets even worse barking. He also tries to jump out everytime we stop. He strapped in so he cant go anywhere but its still not the safest.

Might try the peppermint spray or the coconut hand cream at the weekend and see how they work.

I dont want to stop bringing him out in the car because where we live there is no secure parks so I like driving them somewhere so we can let them off the leads for a run.

boomerang

Please don't let your dog stick his head out the window when you're driving. It's very dangerous. He could easily lose an eye from a loose stone thrown up from the road or even a stick from a hedge.