Practice relaxation techniques for your dog
Most dogs get anxious or uncomfortable when they are not being able to run around or play with them anymore. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that your dog is comfortable driving them everywhere.
If you want your dog to be able to relax and drive calmly, you need to work on relaxing and calming your dog down now so he can take such good breaths while driving.
Practice these things every day before letting him back in the car.
Some of the things you could do are talking to your dog, playing a game with him, giving him a treat etc. Make this as fun and entertaining as possible for both yourself and the puppy.
Now let’s talk about how to help your dog breathe during driving. A lot of people forget to give their dog enough breathable air.
Never put an unhinged lid onto a gas can or any other container of gasoline. If you don’t have one at home, buy a small squeeze bottle filled with gasoline.
Then again, always make extra room for mistakes. You would never intentionally drink coffee after chewing gum because the caffeine can irritate your throat, right? Likewise, making a mistake while mixing drinks can hurt your cocktail! So keep your eye out for those little details.
Give the dog treats
Of course, you should give your dog treats when they behave themselves while being driven in the car. But you can also try giving them a bit of extra attention that will make going to the vet more fun for them.
Not all dogs enjoy taking cars trips – it takes time to find out if the dog is sensitive to the environment or not.
If you notice your pet is feeling stressed or uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to stop the trip and turn back. Many times, pets are so concerned about traveling that they ignore their surroundings.
Once home, animals need to be handled gently and with care. If you have a fearful or aggressive dog, take this opportunity to socialize him properly.
Dogs who are scared of cars or something else related to age (such as other passengers) may benefit from desensitization therapy. This helps them better handle these situations gradually instead of having a full-on panic attack.
Count your breaths
Even if you are running late, don’t jump out of your seat immediately. Your first move should be to try to calm down your dog.
If you notice that it is anxious or worried, then take the time to talk with it and reduce its stress levels.
But don’t wait for it to start whining before you do anything. It may help to count our breaths to let everyone know you are okay.
Also Read – How To Stop Dog Whining
Once you stop shaking, you can think about how to soothe the dog. You can gently remind yourself over and over again that everything is fine until you feel ready to get back into the car.
The goal is to re-establish control over your body language while you drive. Hopefully, after some breath taking deep breathing, you will no longer need to use the brakes!
Count your clicks
There are only so many times you can listen to music, watch TV, or talk with others before you start barking your head off. If you’re already in a bad mood, all the frustration from the trip will come out through your nose when you drive.
If you’re feeling annoyed or upset by the situation, time is of the essence. Why? Because it’s hard to calm down once we are into that motion mode.
That’s why it is important to register what is happening as soon as possible. And the quickest way to do that is by counting things.
In this case, count the words you use to describe your feelings. The more terms you use, the easier it will be for you to get control of yourself.
And the better controlled you are, the less likely it is that you will yell or scream during driving. Both those actions make you lose focus and, more importantly, feel disorganized.
Focus instead on filling your mind with positive thoughts to achieve emotional balance.
Think a happy thought
Now, if you want your dog to be able to relax in the car, you have to understand what causes their stress. Most dogs get tired and nervous after being in the car for a long time. If you are driving with a constant stream of jerky gestures or loud noises, it can hurt your dog’s experience and feel very stressful to them.
If you need help taking care of the pets while you drive, hire a pet sitter or ask a friend or relative whether they would mind looking over the animals. This way you can take them out for a walk or lunch every now and then, but without adding too much time into your trip.
When you return, spend some time making sure the pets are comfortable and ready to go back inside. Sometimes a pet that seems calm is really just nervous and upset. It’s important to recognize when an animal needs some attention or comfort.
Try giving them a few hours to adjust from around two days going forward. You can also try walking the dog and putting him or her up for adoption before heading out again.
Tell yourself to relax
Your mind and body want you to feel relaxed. When you are excited or anxious, your heart rate speeds up and your metabolism slows down.
Your skin doesn’t have as much moisture, so you can get dry later in the day. If you don’t give your body all of the oxygen it needs, you will pay for it later.
When you were a child, you may remember having hot flashes after being scared or worried. You would then be able to cry easily, but as you grow up, these bad feelings stick with you all night long.
You also lose important things called minerals when you whine. No one wants to hear you complaining about how hard life is or how unhappy you are.
Also Read – 7 Things To Do If Your Dog Whines All Day Long
People do not need to know that you are feeling this way. It does not help you nor them to see you crying or whining.
You are playing a role here- we call this self-created suffering “whine pain”.
It’s time for you to take a stand against complainpain. Follow what I say above – exercise, eat well, make sure you sleep at a reasonable hour, and keep taking showers.
If you’re going to talk about your problems, do it during lunch break, after work, or while people are watching TV or eating dinner. Don’t do it whenever they are trying to enjoy their coffee or
Tell yourself to calm down
Believe it or not, you can teach an old dog new tricks. With enough time and patience, you can get your canine companion to obey commands like other dogs.
The first step is to catch her bad behavior. You need to recognize and mark whenever she shows signs of aggression or whining.
Then put her in her crate so she cannot move but instead is held back by the leash. If she puts her paws outside the crate, they can still roam around but she will be inside the crate.
You want her mind and body focused inside the space that she is constrained from leaving.
Also try playing games like fetch or tug-of-war because these are activities that require energy and were you not to focus on them, would cause your dog stress.
These tasks also require coordination – if you force your dog to play, he will perform randomly, without understanding how things should happen.
Coordination is another word for control. Only give orders once you have checked what your pet is willing to do.
Try saying “Do this” or “Put that away”, giving him something small he could hold in his mouth and then telling him to take it off the table or throw it out of sight.
If your dog needs instruction, remember to use happy voices when you ask for help. In any case, never blame or punish your dog for problems resulting from transportation
Tap your fingers
If you are driving with an angry dog, try playing some tapping music.
Have you ever seen someone riding a bike and texting? It’s pretty dangerous. The same can be said for people texting while walking or running.
There is a reason we don’t do things like that. No one feels safe when they are being chased by a car or person on foot.
If you need to talk to someone, better yet if you get to listen to something fun, turn off the warnings and alerts on your phone. You will feel less distracted and focused enough to concentrate on what you want to say and where you want to go.
Also, working out before going somewhere may help calm you down faster. Having more physical activity usually helps out mental fatigue from overworking.
Finally, learning how to quiet your mind once in awhile is good for your health and well-being. You should do this more often than just before getting into the car.
The next time you are waiting in line at work or have to make a business call, set aside a certain amount of time to dial away the hours. Or perhaps you share responsibility for childcare with another parent? Set up a time to speak with them about their day.
It’ll give you both a chance to relax and recuperate. After all, you need to put our best faces forward.
Rub your hand through your fur
Whenever you are driving, try running some errands or taking a trip somewhere, etc., make sure that you have contact with your animal somehow (don’t just leave them in the car!). When you come back from your trip, give yourself enough time to relax and then say good night once you get home.
Then, if you need to go out again, let your dog out so they can follow you around the place until they feel relaxed enough to stay at home by themselves.
Never force your dogs to interact with someone it does not want to know, however. It is possible for your dog to become severely depressed due to an experience in its life, and I would never recommend doing this as it may be harmful to the pet.
