How to Get Your Dog Used to Riding in the Car

When we first got our German Shepherd puppy she was terrified of the car. She would sit shivering in the floorboard in the backseat and would get sick. We wanted to carry her on family vacations with us and take her with us on general errands, so we knew we would have to break this terrible fear of hers. We taught our new dog how to love car trips in just a matter of a few short days. We've had our beloved dog now for three years and she has been a constant source of companionship for us even in the car and she hasn't gotten sick even once.

The first thing we did was to get her accustomed to the car. We took some old clothing of ours that we had worn and put it in the backseat of the car. Every day for about a week one member of the family would take her out to the car and put her in the backseat with a favorite toy while he or she sat in the front seat for at least thirty minutes. We would shower her with praise and pet her and scratch her and help her to connect the car with enjoyment. Once she started getting accustomed to the car while it was still stationary we began the next step.

The second week we took her car training to the next level. Because she was still afraid of movement in the car, we would get her in the car and play with her for a moment, and then turn the car on. While the car ran, we would continue playing with her until she became accustomed to the sound of the car's engine and was at peace with it. This took about 4 or 5 days. Once we felt assured that our dog was content at this point we began driving small distances with her. It really helps in this step to have at least one more person in the car: one to drive and one to comfort and play with the dog. We did this for another week driving only about a block or so for each car trip.

Over the next week we began driving further and further distances until, at last, we took her on an extended 4 hour car trip with us. Just to make sure that all would be well we stopped by the vet and purchased a mild sedative to help her remain calm for such a long trip. She slept for the first three hours, and then seemed to enjoy the last hour without any problems. We made sure to stop once she woke up fully to allow her to "do her business." The trip back we chose not to use a sedative and stopped again once to allow her to use the bathroom. She did wonderfully well and was a treat to have in the car with us.

All in all it took approximately a month of working with her every day to get her from terrified and sick to eager and jubilant to each car ride.