Dutch Shepherd Forum

Stella was TERRIFIED of the car at first... now she loves going for rides! (And she's a 3 year old rescue)

I agree with everyone else about crate training. Stella was crated at first at night and while we were gone... then we stopped crating her and she did great for like 2 months then started chewing on stuff and even pee'd on my carpet! We're back to crating her at night and when we leave. It'll be awhile before she can try being out again. These dogs need to have limits or they can be awfully destructive. And my DS is pretty mild compared to most.... she isn't as drivey as what others have described but can still turn my house upside down if I don't keep her exercised and in her place!

Thank you John. I had not even thought of the car ride info and it is very helpful. I am a runner, but I hurt my foot early in the fall when the kids went back to school and I had planned on daily walks/jogs. W live in coastal NC and she did not like the heat in the summer, so I really looked forward to getting out more this past fall. It has been frustrating, but we do walk twice a day for at least 2 miles each time. You are correct in that we do not have a fence, so I have to keep her tied when we work on recall. Most of her yard play time now is short periods working on her training. today when all of the kids ran around the yard I focused on trying to get her attention and getting her to sit/stay, which was very hard. I recently started taking her periodically to a doggie daycare when I know I do not have time to play as much, when the kids are home sick, etc, at the recommendation of a trainer. She was coming home tired and happy and it was my new favorite thing, but yesterday she got into a scuffle when she would not back down from another dog who did not want to play, so I have spent all day reading topics here. We have a lot of neighbors with dogs and kids, as well as 3 small boys ourselves, so I am trying my best to train her up to be good around everyone. I thought that we were moving along nicely until yesterday. Your advice is helpful and makes me feel more hope that this will work out. She is our first family dog, and yesterday I felt like I had gotten a Problem Child report from my child's teacher.
I do think that I will add more car rides for her. She has finally stopped vomiting in the car for the most part but I think I will check into one of those slings you mentioned..thanks again

I know the original post is old, but if you want your dog confined, yet able to guard, look into xpen training. Odin is in an xpen when we're gone and the house isn't dog proofed. When we're home, he has a basket with all of his toys and when I need him to take a break, in he goes.

If a real intruder comes in, the dog can jump or push their way out. Odin has only jumped his once and that's when I had to crawl in the window because my husband took my keys to work, he saw my leg come in and came flying out barking. He stopped as soon as I yelled "it's me!" If your dog was truly going to protect the home, an xpen isn't going to hold him back.

Leerburg has a good free version of an xpen training video up on youtube.

Good to know about the xpen too...hmmm

I know the original post is a little old, but with regards to travel sick animals we are aware of the benefits of driving just a very short while even if it's just to the local park so that your dog associates car journeys with fun things then go a little further every time but always associate it with going somewhere you and your dog enjoy together and just deal with the being sick until it phases out it's great now I don't go anywhere without my dogs if I can help it!

Our DS destroys the post every day. He doesn't touch anything else that we know of.

He has tried to have shoes but they are in a different room with the door shut.

Toys last all of a few minutes so now they have stag bars (indestructible and great for the dogs worth every penny without any doubts!)

x

To chime in on the carsickness thread, thankfully, my DS puppy doesn't experience motion sickness, nor does my older dog, but I've had two dogs over the years who did.

One, my childhood GSD, Heidi, was carsick AND terrified of the car, she eventually outgrew the carsickness, but still hated the car even after she would no longer vomit... Poor girl would tremble and shake and drool all over herself and do anything to avoid going near it. My mom finally made the connection that, duh, the only time she was ever in the car was to go for a trip to the vet or some other necessary car ride... Because of the sickness and her misery, we'd avoided making her go in the car unless necessary, but then, she had only negative associations with it.

We started doing super short, fun rides.

Even if you just drive a few doors down, park in a neighbor's driveway (ask them, first, ) and then go for a walk. Start with super short trips, and make car rides always lead to something enjoyable. Then you can gradually go for further destinations, still to fun activities/destinations... And over time, they should start to change their impression of what getting in the car represents. I don't recommend treats, though, as if they are still prone to physical illness, having stuff in their belly just gives them more to vomit up.

My second carsick dog was my rottie/pit rescue, Cedar. He was 10-11 months old when I adopted him, and while he liked the car just fine, he'd always yerk while riding. He actually, on his own, made a connection between eating and getting sick while riding, and he would never accept treats when we were out and about. We'd go to a locally-owned Pet Supply store, (and all my dogs learn quickly that the people wearing the aprons are treat dispensers!) and they'd offer him a treat, he'd take it, out of politeness, and then as soon as they walked away to help someone else he'd spit it out on the floor and step away from it and my GSD Cory would happily gobble it on his behalf.

He eventually, too, outgrew his carsickness and if I fed him before we went somewhere, it wasn't a problem, but he never did change his mind about taking treats if he knew we were only somewhere temporary and would be going back to the car soon.

Most dogs, with experience and time, will develop out of the physical habit of being sick in a car, but until they have moved beyond it it's kinder to their bellies and your cleaning efforts if you make sure they aren't full of food before you do car rides.

If, for some reason, your dog ends up being one of the rare, rare dogs that never outgrow it, you can give them dramamine or a similar motion-sickness medicine to help when you know you need to travel. You can talk to your vet about options and dosages. This is rarely necessary, though, as most dogs will, with time and experience, get past the period of getting sick in cars.

I retract the comment on my last post about our DS eating only the post! He's just taken up eating any wood fittings and the carpets in our house!!!

LexMark wrote:I retract the comment on my last post about our DS eating only the post! He's just taken up eating any wood fittings and the carpets in our house!!!

It sounds like you have a very bored dog that could use some more mental and physical stimulation and crating while you are gone. Carpet makes for a very bad obstruction if it gets swallowed.

Thanks Johnny, I am a runner and thought that I would be running more with Callie by this past fall but I have been letting an injury heal. It has been frustrating because I want to run, but even more frustrating because I think that I would be having more positive experiences with the dog if her exercise was more vigorous than her walks. he is doing better now... riding in the car when we can't play as much, hanging out inside without getting into everything for short periods, and I am starting to be able to run again with her. The kids are taking more of an active roll too, only when the neighbor kids come over and run in the yard she goes berserk trying to run after them which is another thing since i am either holding her or with treats and trying to keep her attention on me. I am feeling more positive about the 2 year old countdown

Ozzy is almost 4 and I am just starting to leave him out when we are not there. So far we re up to 2-3 hours and he is good as gold. Although I do dog proof as much as possible before I leave.