dog noise in car - how to shut him up

Harley is quite well behaved on the whole, i dont have many complaints and he quite obediant, his one bad trait however which is very annoying is he is very vocal when we go out in the car. Never barks its more of dog talk, yowl yowl yowl almost like wolf howling, only more up and down. I think its excitement as he loves going out in the car and journeys to places are very noisy but much quieter on the way home. Ive tried giving him loads of attention when his is quiet. When we went to the vets he drove me mad, i was trying to park in a very restricted parking area, and needed to concentrate on what i was doing, and the noise was umbareable, i considered throwing him out of the car at one stage. Ive never known a dog talk like it.

This is my Abbey too--when I park the car people are looking at us and its embarrassing. I hope you get an answer to this question. Even before we leave she is doing it. Calms down in the car until we get where we are going and then look out. lol.

[deleted by admin -- I don;t support approaches involving punishment!]

maybe one of these will help?

I will be interested what people suggest in this thread, Jasper has always loved the car and is so excited to get in and does settle eventually but we find that, when we are in town and we have to stop at traffic lights for instance, he barks like mad and we get strange looks and when we finally stop to get out of the car `LOOK OUT` he is barking and pulling me out of the door, when we go to the vets he barks all the way there more out of agitation as he seems to have cottoned on to where he is going, he has to go again tomorrow afternoon, but my husband says he may walk him as I can`t go and as you say it can put you off driving with all that noise going on in the back.

How do you transport him?

I would suggest crating him in a plastic crate and covering that with a dark blanket or towel. And every day or several times a week, practice driving somewhere with him. Ignore the noise. If he gets used to regular travel he is a lot less likely to get overexcited. If you only sometimes take him in the car, then he wont learn to be calm. Many dogs are much happier and less stimulated if in a crate (which is also mush safer!) and if the crate is covered so they don;t see out. This is how I transport rescue dogs.

Karlin does have a point, we dont drive with him very often, and usually when we do its to some exciting long walk.

Karlin has a good point - when we're away at our caravan and they're still excited after their walks, we pop them in a couple of crates and cover the crates with a blanket, so they get no visual stimulation.

When we're in the car, there's no getting away from them hearing the handbrake tho .

Murphy so calm in the crate

I got a plastic crate for Murphy to go travelling in the car and he is so much calmer.

He snuggles down and goes to sleep.

If dogs are taken to parks and exciting places in the car they are more likely to get excited.

You could try taking them on some boring journeys with a safety harness on if not crated and they won't get so excited if they are just taken for a little ride and brought straight home again.

Having said that I would really recommend the vari kennel which is light and airy, lovely windows which the Murphster likes looking out of, but doesn't get as excited as when he had a better view of the road.

He is safe and there is no worry of him chewing the seats or gearstick when he is crated either.

Thanks for that advice Karlin - have had some really nice journeys with Murphy ever since.

Mary

Putting a towel or blanket over the crate is just what our groomer did with our 7 month old yesterday at a grooming session. She put the towel on when Abigail barked; removed it when she quieted down.

I only wish there was a simple solution when she barks outside the crate. I've tried being stern with a quiet but that doesn't get to her

Heather R

Lucy's doggy seat belt harness prevents her from jumping up and looking out the window. It has a much shorter loop than the other types I have tried and this has cut WAY down on the crying and barking. I also have spent a lot of time rewarding her with treats when she is quiet and have been making a point of taking her out on a lot of drives so that she is somewhat desensitized to it. The car harness we have is the Easy Rider Car Harness. I think I bought it at PetSmart.

Our yorkie used to drive us crazy in the car. He barked and barked. For 14 years he did this. We stopped taking him in the car unless we had to because of it.
Maddy however is perfect. She sits in her car seat and puts her little head on the cut out part and is just very quiet.
The only time she makes a noise is when my husband is picking me up at the airport.
She "talks" out of excitement. She recognizes the airport and it starts.
Pam