Why does my dog whine and cry in the car?

Car journeys are simply a fact of life for most dogs, whether you take your dog out in the car every day or just rely upon the occasional lift or taxi to get you to and from the vet or visits to friends’ houses. A lot of dogs really enjoy going out in the car for a wide variety of reasons, including the potential that they are off to do something fun, the interesting view from the window, the smells that they take in as they pass things, and the captive audience of people!

However, not all dogs enjoy car journeys and some actually find them stressful and frightening, or simply uncomfortable and unpleasant, and if this is the case, they will likely let you know all about it by crying during the journey. Dogs whine and cry for a lot of reasons, and not all of them indicate distress-so if your dog cries or whines in the car, learning to identify why this is and what the problem is can help you to address it, and hopefully, lead to quieter future journeys!

In this article, we will look at some of the reasons why a dog might cry in the car, and what to do about it. Read on to learn more.

Excitement

Dogs don’t always cry because they are sad or upset-some dogs will cry and whine because they are excited to be going out and want to know what is in the offing! If your dog is very excited about going out in the car and associates it with going to cool places and having fun, their crying or whining might be the canine equivalent of “are we there yet,” which can make longer journeys rather noisy!

Try to condition your dog to calm down before getting into the car and settle them in for a quiet journey by placing them in a secure crate with a favourite toy or a treat, or enable them to look out of a forward-facing window and take the air to provide a diversion to entertain them on the way.

Travel sickness

A large number of dogs suffer from travel sickness to some extent, and this does not always mean that your dog will actually be sick-they may simply spend most of the journey feeling nauseous.

You can address travel sickness and make journeys easier by allowing your dog to face forwards and see out of a front window, cracking a window to provide some airflow, and asking your vet about supplements and travel sickness remedies for dogs to settle their stomachs.

Frustration

If your dog makes a big fuss as soon as they are in the car and wants to get out, or if they get restless on all but the shortest of journeys, they are probably suffering from boredom and frustration.

Often, allowing your dog to sit by a slightly open window will be enough to entertain them as they will be focused on the huge range of scents passing by as well as the view, but giving them an interactive toy or a toy that they have to work at to get a treat from can give them something to do-much like setting up a DVD player for the kids!

Fear or anxiety

Many dogs get used to car travel when they are very young, and simply see it as a normal part of life, but some dogs that don’t go in the car very often or that have had a previous fright or bad experience in the car may associate car travel with bad things, and so, get anxious and nervous about traveling.

Try to condition your dog to being in the car and settling down calmly in between trips, and look at ways that you can support and reassure them about getting into the car and being on the move-before you have to make a big journey.

Bathroom breaks

Your dog might cry or whine on a journey if they need to go to the toilet, just as they would at home when they need to go out. Try to make sure that your dog has the chance to go to the toilet before you get into the car, and stop every ninety minutes to two hours and let them out for a few minutes to stretch their legs and do their business.

Food and water

It is not a good idea to give your dog a meal immediately before a journey, as the chances are that they will need to go to the toilet within an hour or so. However, travelling should not mean that your dog misses a meal or loses their regular routine, so try to schedule trips and breaks to take into account your dog’s normal feeding and toileting schedule, and of course, make sure they have water available during the trip.

Too hot

Finally, your dog may get too hot in the car, even if the people are comfortable-car heaters, closed windows and fur coats all add up to a lot of warmth! Always ensure that your dog doesn’t get too hot and that they can get enough fresh air if they are panting, and try to keep the car temperature ambient and not stiflingly hot, even when the weather outside is very cold.