How to move coast to coast with a dog who HATES car rides? (airline, shipping)

[brightdoglover]

P.S. I've seen "thunder shirts" for dogs who are afraid of thunder- weighted jackets- seems to calm them despite thunder. I think it has an effect like swaddling. Maybe that would help his nerves?

[suzy_q2010]

Good points by Montana.

Could you make the van a place that your Pup actually loves?

Hang out in the van. Just sit there and read or use the computer. Eat there. Pup gets high value treats there. Maybe even camp out: get a sleeping bag and spend the night, even if it's only in the driveway. Make the van an extension of home. Carry him with you as often as you can. Use the Van to take him to places to explore and play. Don't just put him in it to go to the vet! Make him see the van as a desirable place to be.

I second the point about securing the crate. You do not want a sudden stop to turn the crate into a flying object. Just sliding off the seat would frighten, if not injure, your pet. Another option is a harness that fastens to the seat belt.

Ruff Rider | Dog Seatbelts | Car Safety Harnesses and Pet Safety

The panting and whining may not be due to stress or distress. My elderly mixed breed does it because she is excited about going for a ride. She likes it. Does your dog actually not even want to get in the car?

[JustSomeGuy73]

Wow, thanks again for all of the excellent responses! I'll try to address each one:

Bongo, good idea on the "pill pockets" - I've seen those too, though I don't want to give my dog sedatives for 5 days in a row. Maybe for the first day or two though. And I'll be sure to check out Hotel 6 - nice to know they're pet-friendly and don't charge extra for pets. I think my dog is up to date on all of his shots, but I'll check that just to be sure.

AnywhereElse, I have a crate, but I'm not sure if it will fit on the front seat, or even between the seats. I may have to get a different one that will fit up front in the van. Or a travel harness like you suggested. I had never heard of "Rescue Remedy" but I just Googled it and read up on it - a very interesting product! I might just have to buy it. Good point on the dog picking up on vibes - I'll be sure to keep a positive attitude so it transfers over to the dog. I usually end up taking the dog in the van once or twice a week, but I'll try to take him out more often. There's supposed to be a dog park in my city, but it's kind of far away, so that might be a good time to take him for a ride. At least he'll have fun when we get there!

MontanaGriz, thank you for that excellent checklist! It should be made a sticky. In fact, this thread should be made a sticky - so many good tips. Like you said, I've got about 5 months to get the dog ready. It's been ages since the dog used his crate. In fact, he never ever willingly went in there. When I first got him, he would go in his crate if I asked him to, but never on his own. He's gotten so accustomed to sitting on the couch or my bed (I know, bad idea, my fault), I don't want him to think he was bad and has to go in his crate now. After some strict dog training I got (the lady was really strict), he was peeing and pooping all over the place for a week. I don't want to go through that again.

Good idea to feed him at the end of the day. Currently I give him a small meal in the morning or closer to noon and another small meal in the evening. If he goes more that 24 hours without food, he throws up a gooey bile (stomach acid, I hear, and apparently it's common among some dogs if they don't eat often enough). Maybe for the trip out west, I could feed him once a day. I don't want him throwing up (although he never has due to motion sickness in a vehicle). He's microchipped, I just have to update my contact info with the microchip company. He's got a good collar with a tag that's got his name, my address and cell phone number, and a separate tag from the microchip company. I should look into the tags that are riveted to the collar - might be more secure. I'll ask the vet about what type and what dosage of sedative he should have for the trip. I never thought of brining my own water along, but that's a good idea - he can have a "taste of home" as we travel. And for all of the reasons you and others have mentioned, not to mention the added cost for a potentially inferior trip, I'll skip the flying idea.

I touched on the crate above, but I just wanted to mention that in the past, I have put the crate in the back of the van for long road trips when I've travelled alone. I'm not sure how well he could see me, but I know he would have been able to at least see my head, and I kept talking to him a calm, soothing voice. But, that crate is too big to fit up front - I'd have to get a smaller one, or at least one that's a different shape. On road trips with other human passengers, he usually stays on the back seat next to a human. Sometime he lays down, sometimes he keeps standing. For local trips, he always gets the back seat, occasionally the front seat.

BrightDogLover, yes, given the choice of flying or nothing at all, I'd take flying. But I think in this case, since I have the option of both, I'll take him with me in the van. And I could not bear to give him away. He's a rescue dog, abandoned by his first owner when he was 10 months old. I've had him for two years, and it did not take long at all to get very attached to him. Sure, having a dog poses a few challenges, but I'm committed to finding a way around any challenge. No worries here - that dog will stay with me until one of us passes away (which hopefully not be for a LONG time for both of us)!

And that Thunder Shirt sounds like another excellent idea! I had not heard of it, but I Googled it and found their website. Looks like something worth getting even before the move out west.

Suzy_q2010, I could try sitting in the van with my dog, maybe bring a book to read or my laptop. I've noticed that when the van is not in motion, like if I take a while to get going, or we have to wait a red light for a long time, he gets very anxious and starts whining, panting and maybe even crying. Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to turn that experience around 180 degrees! If I end up getting a crate that fits up front, I'll be sure to secure it - both for my safety and the dog's safety. Or the harness. Thanks for the links to that. I already have a harness, but it's kind of a cheap one. Those Ruff Rider ones look way better.

Interesting you mention about the panting and whining in your elderly mixed breed dog, but it's because she gets excited about going for a ride. I wish I could just ask my dog what he's feeling! My guess is that with my dog it's fear, because (and I didn't mention this) but he starts shaking even before we get into the van. He's been like this ever since I adopted him when he was 10 months old, but he's getting better. He will usually get into smaller, lower cars willingly now, though not always. And he NEVER did that for the first few months I had him - I always had to lift him in. He resisted at first, but eventually let me. But my van is quite high. I've seen him jump that high many times before, in the house and outside, but he will never get into my van on his own. I always have to lift him in. If I put him half way in, he usually hoists himself up the rest of the way. When we get to our destination, he always gets out very promptly. While we're driving, he continues to pant and whine/cry, usually accompanied by shaking which I interpret as fear. Though the degree of all of these vary - for familiar, short local trips, he's pretty quiet, but never sits down - he keeps standing. For longer trips and in unfamiliar areas, or when I pull into a parking lot, he instantly starts being very vocal and (I think) stressed out. I'll monitor his behavior in the van and other people's cars more closely now. Seems very interesting - maybe I'm missing something.

[Jkgourmet]

Do not put him on an airplane! The brachycephalic pets (short nosed dogs and cats) have a 50% higher death rate. Several airlines do not allow them in cargo at all anymore, as they consider the risk too high. Your dog is too large to fit under the seat of a plane, as you already know.

We have a hyper dog in the car too, behaving much as you describe. He stands for 45 minutes, then lays down for an hour or so, eventually putting his head down too. But he NEVER sleeps in the car. I'm convinced that we could drive 24 hours and he would simply not go to sleep. We hit a hotel room, he smells the corners, has a snack, and is asleep in minutes.

He has done better as he has gotten older. We stop only when we really think he needs to pee or drink, as disrupting him starts the whole cycle over again.

Our dog is crate trained - it's a happy place for him even when we leave home. Sometimes he goes to the crate, sometimes not, but he's always happy to go there (treats are wonderful things, you know!). So, we transferred that idea to the car. And finally realized that the one who was most uncomfortable with Riley's behavior was us. He isn't happy, but he adjusts better than we think. I am quite convinced that our stress over this communicated itself to him, and once we stopped behaving like there was a 'problem', the problem itself lessened.

Now, Riley rides in his crate, the same one we use in the house with the same familiar pad, in the back seat of the car. If I could fit it in the front seat and he could see me, that might be better. But I truly suggest that you buckle the crate in using the seat belts.

We have used the sedatives, too, but prefer not to. We keep the day's driving down to a limit of 8 hours, for us and for Riley.

[cassy1]

As someone who moved with a lab who hated the car I agree with the sedatives, the Pet Rescue never worked for my dog, but she was quite a bit bigger than your little dog. The water from home is an excellent idea, but if you do change the water (say day 2 or 3 of the trip and you run out of your home water) give him bottled water. Change in water always gave my girl the runs and you don't need that in a van with the little guy. I had my dogs toys with her, of course she would not play with them but all her loves were right in the back seat with her, I had her favorite blanket, and some little treats to let her know she was a good girl. One thing make sure he has his leash on before you open any door (car, hotel room), they run fast and our girl tried making a run for it once before I found that securing her to the leash first was the best option.

[JustSomeGuy73]

More great ideas, thanks! I think I've decided against putting my dog on a plane. I'll buy a new crate that can fit either between the front seats in the van (and can be secured with the passenger seat belt), or on the front passenger seat itself. It's been a while since my dog has used a crate, though I know he was crate trained from when he was a puppy, as well as for the first few months I had him (he was 10 months old when I adopted him).

Maybe I'll keep some "pill pockets" and sedatives on hand just in case I need to give him some. But I think that's a good idea to keep a positive upbeat attitude about it. The dog can sense it. And maybe driving 3 or 4 hours before taking a break is good, so it doesn't restart the cycle of him going through that ritual. Sometimes he will lay down, but lately he remains standing on the back seat the whole time. Good thing is that I've got a few months to work on this.

Lately, I've noticed my dog remains standing on the back seat the whole time. The odd time, in the past, when my dog has settled down and actually laid down on the back seat, I'm convinced that he was not actually asleep. If he does that, at least I know he'll be tired enough to sleep when we get to the hotel!

I'll order the Pet Rescue and Thunder Shirt just in case either of those work too. As for toys, he has never played with any of his toys in the van or a car. But maybe just having them there would be comforting for him, along with his blanket. Sometimes he eats treats in the van, but he usually refuses them until he's outside or in the house.

He usually has the same kind of water - tap water filtered through a Brita filter. On occasion (usually when traveling) he gets bottled water. I have not noticed if that gives him the runs. He occasionally gets the runs, but it's usually when he's stressed out or eaten some out-of-the-ordinary food. Not sure if a change in water would trigger it. Or I could just get him used to bottled water a week or two before the trip and just keep giving him bottled water. Once I'm settled in Victoria, I can switch him back to tap water filtered through a Brita filter.

[Ellwood]

You have gotten some great advice from the C-D posters. My golden HATED to get in the car after she was spayed. I would have to stop every couple of miles to calm her down and let her out, where she would proceed to throw up.

To solve the problem, I bought "gingersnap" cookies. Since ginger settles the stomach I gave it a shot. I would give her one before we left and continued to take her on short trips for about two weeks. TA DA!!!! It worked, and now she is eager to go in the car and lays right down. I switched to smaller dog treats after the crisis was over.

Not sure if this is applicable, but I would definitely try the sedative route. My son was moved all over the country and the only way they could move their animals was with sedatives. They wore off once they got to their destination and went back to normal.

[JustSomeGuy73]

Yes, I have received some great advice. Thank you everyone!

Elwood, I'll keep the gingersnap cookie idea in mind. My dog does not really have an issue with throwing up - it's quite rare. But that's a good trick to remember if it becomes a problem.

I would use the sedative if it were just for a day, but I feel bad keeping the dog sedated for 4 or 5 days in a row. It may not be good for the dog to do it for such an extended period of time. But I might try it for the first day or two of the trip.

[Ellwood]

A sedative doesn't necessarily knock the dog out, just relaxes him. If given the correct dosage, it shouldn't be a problem for a couple of days. Good luck!

[cassy1]

Just remember at the end of the trip he will settle down, once he is familiar with your new home and your activities.