Car Seperation Anxiety

[katemacca]

Hi all,

We have a 18month old Westie. We take him out in the car every couple of weeks. He is fine and more than happy to travel in it. The problem is when he senses that we are stopping, he goes mental and starts whinging and getting very panicky. Now the most he has ever been left in the car is 5mins on his own (pls note this is very rare, if we take him in the car its usually to take him to the park or someone nice for him!).

He is more than happy for us to go out at home, he has a cube that he chases around full of his dry food. So at home the seperation anxiety is not an issue.

Can anyone suggest a way for us to get him to relax when we stop at our destination and make him realise we are not going to leave him??

Thanks in advance

K D

[Aidan3]

Are you sure that he isn't just excited to be at his destination?

[katemacca]

We are pretty sure its not excitment, its too whingy and panicky. He also whinges when we dont hurry up enough to take him for a walk....

He can be a little anxious/impatient at times.

[Erny]

You stopping the car and preparing to alight has possibly become a fairly predictable precursor that you will be leaving him behind. He throws himself around, becomes agitated etc. and you let go to the back door and let him out (because you were going to the park anyway - but he doesn't necessarily think as you do), which of course reinforces his behaviour.

So from his point of view :

• You will be leaving him behind in the car; or
  
• Him thrashing about in the car has a chance that it will make you let him come with you.
  

See the connection?

Try doing lots of stopping along the way on a drive - doing the same things exactly as you would if you were going to leave him in the car (dogs are experts at picking up differences when we don't carry with us the genuine intent - our body language changes, our facial expressions change, etc) without actually getting out. If this has him settling down, try some more of the same but this time get out but don't leave the car. If he's thrashing (or whatever he does) wait for him to settle and get back in the car. Repeat, repeat.

This is just a guess at what might be happening. May be worth thinking about and trying.

[Aidan3]

We are pretty sure its not excitment, its too whingy and panicky. He also whinges when we dont hurry up enough to take him for a walk....

Is it a similar sort of whinge?

Personally, I find it very difficult to tell the difference between anxiety and excitement from vocalisation. Add the physical constraints of a car messing up body language and movement, and the two are hard to tell apart. If he doesn't suffer from SA at home, it is highly unlikely that he suffers from it in the car.

[Nekhbet]

that is not separation anxiety, it's drive. The dog is excited because car trips = social times and he's simply built himself up to an absolute froth :p Dogs have high pitched screaming vocalisations when they're excited too.