How to calm an overexcited dog in the car?

To calm an overexcited dog in the car, teach your dog to ride in the car calmly and comfortably so your travel companion becomes a first-rate passenger. This can be achieved through desensitization and counter-conditioning, which changes your dog’s emotional response from negative to positive by having great stuff happen near and inside the car. Depending on how severely your dog reacts, you might have to teach your dog to ride in the car starting from 10 feet away, while the car is parked in the driveway. You can also start with your dog on the back seat. At each stage of the process, give your dog something beloved like a special toy, delicious treats, or a meal. Only move closer when your dog is completely relaxed at the current stage. If your dog stops eating or playing, you’ve moved too fast. Be patient and move at your dog’s pace. Once your dog is comfortable in the car, you can add motion to the mix, starting with short distances and building up the time spent driving by short increments, making every trip as pleasant as possible. Praise your dog while you drive and use encouraging cheerful banter. For dogs that still experience motion sickness or anxiety, keep the temperature inside the car cool, lower the windows for fresh air, and limit your dog’s food and water for a few hours before the trip. Exercise your dog about twenty minutes before your trip to decrease stress and consider using dog pheromones to relax your dog.

Consider your car setup. A covered crate will make your drives safer because they can’t climb all over you and cause a crash. In a smaller car, you can use a barrier to keep your pup safely in the backseat. A covered crate will be especially helpful if your dog is excited by visual stimuli, like passing cars or other dogs. Ensure your dog’s life is adequately enriched elsewhere. In many cases, your dog is SO EXCITED about the car ride because it’s the most exciting part of their day. One of the simplest ways to reduce their excitement in the car is to add more enrichment during the rest of their day. Practice calm behaviors elsewhere. Honestly, none of this is going to work if your dog has no self-control. You’re going to have to teach your dog to calm down and regulate themself around the house first. Take lots of short, boring car rides. Once you’ve implemented all of the steps above, it’s time to actually take your newly enriched and trained dog on a few car rides. Simply get your dog in the car, turn the car on, then turn it off and get out. Do that a few times until your dog is bored by that exercise – yes, we want boredom. Then pull out of your parking spot, go around the block, and come back. Repeat until your dog is bored.

To calm an overexcited dog in the car, you must be in control of the direction of your walks - you go first and the dog walks behind. The dog must see that you are in the decision-making process of where you go and are headed. I like to start off training the dog when the car is not moving in the driveway. So first you need to teach the dog to stay in the back seat behind you. Once the dog understands he is not allowed in the front seat, we need to teach him to lie down on the back seat. This can be the challenging part. Sometimes getting a doggie seat belt and attaching him to a harness can be very helpful. After you have been able to keep the dog in a down stay position while driving in the empty parking lot or deserted street, its time to take him for a short ride. Now try driving to his favorite destination like the dog park. Once you get there, park the car and wait until he is quiet and calm before you let him out. You see, don’t reward him for being crazy and whining. Only let him out when he is in a calm state of mind. If you only put your dog in the car when you are taking him to a dog park or fun place, it can many times aggravate this behavior. In this case take him in the car often, but don’t let him out when you get to the destination. He will soon realize that the car ride does not always mean we are going for fun somewhere.