# Too Excited in Car Crate - Whining



## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Will he chew something? What about a stuffed Kong? Chewing releases tension so if he will chew/lick something yummy in the car it may help. It's interesting that he jumps right in then whines the whole time. When my dog went through a stage of disliking the car she didn't want to get in at all. Interested to hear what advice others offer.


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

Oonapup said:


> Will he chew something? What about a stuffed Kong? Chewing releases tension so if he will chew/lick something yummy in the car it may help. It's interesting that he jumps right in then whines the whole time. When my dog went through a stage of disliking the car she didn't want to get in at all. Interested to hear what advice others offer.


Totally disregards every yummy thing we've given him... bully sticks, kong, etc.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Mini456 said:


> Totally disregards every yummy thing we've given him... bully sticks, kong, etc.


My dog won't chew things in the crate when left alone either. I think she is stressed. When we let her out she grabs her kong or bully stick and takes it somewhere to chew. She will chew in the crate if we are there. Maybe we can both start a strategy of training them to chew the kong in the crate with someone right there, and then gradually add in the separation or new context (like being in the trunk).


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

Oonapup said:


> My dog won't chew things in the crate when left alone either. I think she is stressed. When we let her out she grabs her kong or bully stick and takes it somewhere to chew. She will chew in the crate if we are there. Maybe we can both start a strategy of training them to chew the kong in the crate with someone right there, and then gradually add in the separation or new context (like being in the trunk).


Interesting and sounds good. Just to clarify, he's in the back seat, not the trunk of course lol.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Is your dog always going somewhere exciting in the car? Like, you only go on car rides to fun places like the pet store and training classes? If that's the case, your dog is anticipating something fun and whining in anticipation. 

Where are you usually going? That will help me make a training plan.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

Try taking him for multiple very short car rides during the day. Go around the block, back home, around the block again, etc. Short, non-exciting rides that don't really end up anywhere but back home.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Mini456 said:


> Interesting and sounds good. Just to clarify, he's in the back seat, not the trunk of course lol.


Oh sure, we have a hatch back so that’s what I meant when thinking of a trunk.


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

Click-N-Treat said:


> Is your dog always going somewhere exciting in the car? Like, you only go on car rides to fun places like the pet store and training classes? If that's the case, your dog is anticipating something fun and whining in anticipation.
> 
> Where are you usually going? That will help me make a training plan.


Yes, usually always going somewhere fun. Pet store, coffee shop etc.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Yup, car rides to nowhere. You don't have an excited demeanor outside of the car. You don't charge up the dog by saying, "Oooh, we're going to class! Let's go to class! Do you wanna go to class?" Silently clip the leash on, go for a short walk, turn around, get in the car, drive out of the drive way, drive back in, go in the house. Repeat, driving around the block, return home. Make getting in the car a non-event. Do it so often that the dog just thinks, oh we're going home, who cares.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

I'm glad it's just excited whining and not fear. Excitement is easier to tamp down. Take your dogs on a twice daily trip to nowhere. Ignore the whining. Eventually your dog will realize nothing exciting is going to happen. 

When you are going somewhere exciting, act as if you're doing another drive to nowhere. Same routine. Walk, car, drive, arrive. Keep your demeanor as calm as possible. The more boring you are, the more your dog will feed on that calmness.


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

Click-N-Treat said:


> Yup, car rides to nowhere. You don't have an excited demeanor outside of the car. You don't charge up the dog by saying, "Oooh, we're going to class! Let's go to class! Do you wanna go to class?" Silently clip the leash on, go for a short walk, turn around, get in the car, drive out of the drive way, drive back in, go in the house. Repeat, driving around the block, return home. Make getting in the car a non-event. Do it so often that the dog just thinks, oh we're going home, who cares.


Excellent idea I would've never thought of. Will try it!


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

Click-N-Treat said:


> I'm glad it's just excited whining and not fear. Excitement is easier to tamp down. Take your dogs on a twice daily trip to nowhere. Ignore the whining. Eventually your dog will realize nothing exciting is going to happen.
> 
> When you are going somewhere exciting, act as if you're doing another drive to nowhere. Same routine. Walk, car, drive, arrive. Keep your demeanor as calm as possible. The more boring you are, the more your dog will feed on that calmness.



Good stuff. We already do stay calm when going for a ride - we even try to be quiet grabbing the keys because he knows what that means lol. But definitely need to try the quick rides to nowhere!


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Poodles are excellent at learning through association. It's one of the things that makes their intelligence seem almost psychic. They pick up on the most subtile cues and put them together a lot faster than many breeds. So, you need to make trips to nowhere part of your daily routine. That way the association between car and WOW will be broken. Also, the more you surround the whining with, "Stop! Knock it off! Quiet!" the more you are adding to the situation. Your dog is already feeling excited. And your voice also sounds excited. 

Turn up the music in your car and silence the dog. If you want to really be clever, put the same playlist on the stereo when you do drives to nowhere. Your dog will associate that music with a boring ride. Poodles are smart. It's what makes them so darn hard to train sometimes.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I take my dogs with whenever it is safe to do so - on quick errands, occasionally longer journeys, quite often on outings when they don't even get out of the car, or where there may be several stops before we go for a walk. Anything that breaks the link Car=Imminent excitement. It is not a complete solution - Poppy knows the 2 hour journey to my sister's house so well that she wakes up and begins to get excited when I slow down and leave the motorway, and really revs up when we go round the roundabout at the bottom of my sister's road, but it certainly helps!


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

fjm said:


> I take my dogs with whenever it is safe to do so - on quick errands, occasionally longer journeys, quite often on outings when they don't even get out of the car, or where there may be several stops before we go for a walk. Anything that breaks the link Car=Imminent excitement. It is not a complete solution - Poppy knows the 2 hour journey to my sister's house so well that she wakes up and begins to get excited when I slow down and leave the motorway, and really revs up when we go round the roundabout at the bottom of my sister's road, but it certainly helps!


Yes, we notice he knows when we get close to fun destinations too.


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## Mini456 (Sep 23, 2021)

Click-N-Treat said:


> Poodles are excellent at learning through association. It's one of the things that makes their intelligence seem almost psychic. They pick up on the most subtile cues and put them together a lot faster than many breeds. So, you need to make trips to nowhere part of your daily routine. That way the association between car and WOW will be broken. Also, the more you surround the whining with, "Stop! Knock it off! Quiet!" the more you are adding to the situation. Your dog is already feeling excited. And your voice also sounds excited.
> 
> Turn up the music in your car and silence the dog. If you want to really be clever, put the same playlist on the stereo when you do drives to nowhere. Your dog will associate that music with a boring ride. Poodles are smart. It's what makes them so darn hard to train sometimes.



Related issue: his whining turns to barks when we pull up to a drive through and I speak to someone through the window. I assume the rides to nowhere may help this issue a bit too but any advice on specifically making him behave at a drive through?


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Click-N-Treat said:


> Poodles are excellent at learning through association.


They really are. Oona listens to what we are saying to predict what is going to happen. Once, when my family were away and she was looking out the window, I told her without thinking, "they'll be back". She started climbing all over me and giving me anxious kisses because it sounded very similar to what I tell her when I am leaving, "I'll be back" and she thought it meant I was leaving. I need to be more careful about what I do and say that predicts things for her. 

She also has an annoying habit of hassling my daughter on the landing when she's going up stairs. She can predict based on what we say when my daughter is going to go up stairs. I only have to use a sentence involving the word "go" or "up". The longer we argue with my kid about getting ready, the more sure she is that hassling her on the stairs is going to be the best thing ever. The tension amps her up. We've been putting her in the crate or on her mat, and getting my daughter to train her on and around the stairs, but with two young independent creatures who use language in totally different ways, and who feed off of one another's naughty behavior, it gets challenging!


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## WinnieThePoodle (Sep 1, 2020)

Click-N-Treat said:


> I'm glad it's just excited whining and not fear. Excitement is easier to tamp down. Take your dogs on a twice daily trip to nowhere. Ignore the whining. Eventually your dog will realize nothing exciting is going to happen.
> 
> When you are going somewhere exciting, act as if you're doing another drive to nowhere. Same routine. Walk, car, drive, arrive. Keep your demeanor as calm as possible. The more boring you are, the more your dog will feed on that calmness.


I'm going to try this with Winnie too. She can't wait to get in the car but then spends most of the time whining. She won't chew anything long lasting but will take small treats that she can eat on the spot. I did mention to my husband that I would try driving around not going anywhere but we were not sure if that was the way forward so good to hear this is a good thing to do.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Click-N-Treat said:


> If you want to really be clever, put the same playlist on the stereo when you do drives to nowhere. Your dog will associate that music with a boring ride. Poodles are smart. It's what makes them so darn hard to train sometimes.


Pogo and Snarky listened to my Waze app, which I habitually run for traffic updates while driving. They usually fell asleep when we were on the highway. They would wake up and start whining with excitement as soon as Waze announced the highway exit number for the barn where I keep my horses. Announcements for other things, like speed traps, provoked no reaction.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Mini456 said:


> We have a wonderful 8 month old mini. We've used this forum for lots of help along the way, but have had trouble calming him when we go for car rides. He is SOOOO excited to go on a ride, happily gets in the crate in the back seat, but whines uncontrollably for almost the entire ride. We've tried the blanket over the crate - both to calm him the whole way, or to cover only when whining and take off when he's quiet - but these haven't been successful. We are going to try a quiet command with treat as soon as he does quiet down. Any other successful solutions people have experienced? Thanks!


Honestly I talk to my dog, Leonard cried and howled every time we went in the car, so I just quietly interrupted him every time he started basically telling him no... eventually he caught on.


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## Deere (Jun 25, 2021)

Mini456 said:


> We have a wonderful 8 month old mini. We've used this forum for lots of help along the way, but have had trouble calming him when we go for car rides. He is SOOOO excited to go on a ride, happily gets in the crate in the back seat, but whines uncontrollably for almost the entire ride. We've tried the blanket over the crate - both to calm him the whole way, or to cover only when whining and take off when he's quiet - but these haven't been successful. We are going to try a quiet command with treat as soon as he does quiet down. Any other successful solutions people have experienced? Thanks!


Have you tried turning the radio on or playing something relaxing on a cd and does he have a favorite or special toy that can go into the crate with him?
I would definitely not cover/uncover the crate because he is already excited; with the crate covered he can't see anything so he would become frustrated.


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

Time and repetition helped us with Normie. As a puppy, he'd get excited and whine and wiggle when he thought he was going to puppy class or on a walk. When he got older he learned how long it takes to get to certain places (dog school, dog playgroup) and he's now quiet on the way. He whines to get out when we park.

He learned through experience that whining when we're stopped in traffic does no good, so he stopped on his own.


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## Tulsi (Jun 8, 2021)

Just today Rusty started whining with excitement as we walked to the playing fields near our house where I play frisbee and tennis ball throwing with him!


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

"Car rides to nowhere" worked for Topper. So did moving him into a plastic (not wire) crate into the way-back part of the Honda CR-V. Eventually he stopped crying during car rides, and he learned to "puppy up" - jump into the car. I needed all of the space in the cargo area when we started going to the "cabin," so I got a car seat that straps in to the seatbelt. He seems to like it because it's cozy and secure. On our least trip, he climbed out of the car seat and stretched out on a duffle bag right next to it. It's great that now he's making the choice to be out in the open. We'll try a longer tether that clips onto the seatbelt that will give him a little more room to choose where he wants to sit.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

PowersPup said:


> "Car rides to nowhere" worked for Topper. So did moving him into a plastic (not wire) crate into the way-back part of the Honda CR-V. Eventually he stopped crying during car rides, and he learned to "puppy up" - jump into the car. I needed all of the space in the cargo area when we started going to the "cabin," so I got a car seat that straps in to the seatbelt. He seems to like it because it's cozy and secure. On our least trip, he climbed out of the car seat and stretched out on a duffle bag right next to it. It's great that now he's making the choice to be out in the open. We'll try a longer tether that clips onto the seatbelt that will give him a little more room to choose where he wants to sit.


Sorry to hijack the conversation to inject some safety concerns. A loose dog in the car while driving is dangerous both for the dog and anyone inside the car. Even at a 30mph crash your dog is a flying projectile that can hit anyone in the car or be thrown through the window of the car.

here’s a link to an old post … there’s more if you want more information. I just want everyone and their pets to travel safely in the car. 









Have to share about a poor dog killed due to being left...


I was just on another forum and came upon a very detailed post about a poor owner who lost her beloved dog in a car accident. It brought me to tears. I thought I would share some details to hopefully instill the need for specific and serious consideration when travelling with your puppers. I...




www.poodleforum.com


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

Normie's harness keeps him in place. He can sit lower, but he can't move around. The other day I picked him up from daycare in a true downpour. The dog minder tossed him into the backseat and he obligingly took his usual seat. I couldn't get to him to buckle him in, but he sat calmly in place all the way home. It wasn't ideal, but when is life ideal?

Given time dogs do learn what's expected.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Gracie developed a low whine after something scared her in the backseat. I think something rolled across the floor of the trunk and made a big thunk.

I say “developed” because it didn’t seem like a conscious thing at all. No more conscious than when I hold my breath while watching a scary scene in a movie.

Nothing we did seemed to make a difference. It was like a kettle slowly letting out steam. The only thing that stopped it was sleep, which would eventually happen on long drives. Has your mini ever been on a long drive? Sometimes those are monotonous enough to defuse the excitement.

Peggy’s car vocals, on the other hand, were much easier to address. Hers were the product of excited stress rather than anxious stress.

She was getting treats from the cashiers at every drive-thru so we immediately stopped that. They could hand _us_ the treat, but it didn’t go to her unless she was quiet. We also started consistently treating for calm. She figured it out pretty quickly, that good things happen to quiet dogs, but it was definitely a two-person job. Not safe—or especially effective—to train and drive at the same time.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

If I didn’t have space in my back seat I would get one of those special crates that passed all the tests for car safety and not some random crate I bought in a pet store. 

Sorry this is not right side up, but here is Babykins in her Sleepypod. Theo has one too and normally I have both dogs in the back seat. 









Here you can see how the seat belt threads through the harness. There’s no tether. My dogs usually lay down and sometimes sleep although they can sit and change positions to be comfortable on long drives.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

When I saw this thread getting started I thought to myself that I had a tale or two to tell here.

Well, as Click well knows, this is an area of great challenge for Javelin. We have discussed all sorts of ideas for getting him to not be a wild man on car rides (barking, guarding against nearby pedestrians...he does it all). I recently did a Fenzi webinar on getting excited car rides and related behaviors under control. There was really helpful stuff in there and I am getting things to settle down.

One thing I recognised in what happened with my young man was that I was getting him excited before we even got to the car (not needed he is almost always excited by the idea that we are going somewhere). I used to talk to him in a very upbeat bright way asking him if he wanted to go to school while I put his collar and harness on. Now I just quietly tell him to come get dressed and quietly walk out to the car. I have also started having him sit while I open his door. He has to check in with me and give eye contact attention before I release him to get in. Once in, I have him lie down while I hook the tether to his harness and before I close the door he again has to give me an eye contact check in.I then get in and start the car and make sure he is settled before I leave the drive way.

I have to traverse a couple of neighborhood streets to get out of my immediate neighborhood. There are often people in the street. He usually wants to chase them off when they are close to the car. I tell him to lie down and leave it as we approach and pass. He used to go crazy, but now will generally give just a couple of reasonable barks and then settle. The quicker he settles the better and if he doesn't bark at all I toss a piece of chicken jerky over my shoulder for him. I like using it because he has to find it and then it takes time for him to eat. This still can get better, but it is getting better.

He is also a very good evaluator of when we are getting close to the places we commonly go: my obedience club, my trainer's building and another training venue where I have started renting once a week too. I am not sure what his navigational aids are based on (distance, time, counting turns, air scenting, maybe all of the above or something else) but I have taken to varying my routes to regular places so that he can't rely so much on his own predictions. So as an example he used to start barking as soon as I exited the Long Island Expressway to the service road at the same exit every time I went to my trainer's building. Now I sometimes get off onto the service road one exit sooner or later than the normal most direct route and then double around through surface streets. This morning I went the most direct way and there was no barking until I arrived at the building to turn into the driveway. That was a huge improvement and is becoming more and more consistent every trip we make.

When I pull into my destination parking spot I wait for him to settle until I do each step of turning off the engine, getting out myself, taking out equipment and so forth. If he settles during any part of that with no barking he gets another piece of chicken jerky. He is catching on reasonably quickly. He also used to bark non-stop while I would go inside to talk with my trainer about what we were going to do that day and now he stays quiet while I do so. He still barks when he sees me come back out to get him. There isn't much I can do with that right now, but we will cross that bridge as needed when we get there, but I suspect when the other steps are all accomplished in a quiet relaxed state this may take care of itself. When I open the door to allow him out of the back seat we do calming routines with eye contact and gentle massage on his face. He likes it very much and it does settle him very well.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

lily cd re said:


> . I recently did a Fenzi webinar on getting excited car rides and related behaviors under control. There was really helpful stuff in there and I am getting things to settle down.


Smart choice. And if I have trouble, haha, I know who to call. Thankfully my Theo has stopped barking randomly, but you never know if he’ll start up again and make it a hobby… then I’ll have you on speed dial. I do like the idea of tossing a treat when he’s good to reward him for what you want. Good for you for getting him quiet in the car when you leave to go inside. 

I think dogs air scent different locations. We moved around a lot and no matter where we lived it was always a 5+ hour drive to visit my mother coming from very different routes, My tpoo was scared for the first 15 minutes of the trip because that could mean a vet visit. Then she settled down for the long drive. An hour before our arrival she would get excited. Doesn’t matter if we came from the south or west, different highways 10 hours or 6 hours, she knew an hour before our destination. Has to be air scent because we didn’t have any routine in the car. Sometimes kids were napping, other times we were snacking or playing games. The dog knew and this pattern lasted her whole long life.


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

lily cd re said:


> When I saw this thread getting started I thought to myself that I had a tale or two to tell here.
> 
> Well, as Click well knows, this is an area of great challenge for Javelin. We have discussed all sorts of ideas for getting him to not be a wild man on car rides (barking, guarding against nearby pedestrians...he does it all). I recently did a Fenzi webinar on getting excited car rides and related behaviors under control. There was really helpful stuff in there and I am getting things to settle down.
> 
> ...


What a wonderful visual - owner taking a circuitous route to confuse smarty pants poodle. 

I'm constantly amazed at what a great command 'leave it!' is.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

"Leave it" is one of my most multi dimensional orders. I use it for Lily when she is in the midst of stealing paper towels, napkins and tissues; for any dog who is about to be a pest to one of the others; for barking at any random passing person/dog combinations and for barking at people passing by.

Javelin used to consitently bounce around so hard while barking that he would make my car rock back and forth (Volvo xc90, mind you). That has only happened once recently when there was a road crew worker walking right next to us at a red light. Between the hard hat, reflective safety vest and him carrying a set of huge traffic cones it was more than he could take.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

lily cd re said:


> Javelin used to consitently bounce around so hard while barking that he would make my car rock back and forth (Volvo xc90, mind you). That has only happened once recently when there was a road crew worker walking right next to us at a red light. Between the hard hat, reflective safety vest and him carrying a set of huge traffic cones it was more than he could take.


 That’s impressive to go from such high energy barking to under control.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Skylar I think you are very generous in your evaluation of my success since we have ups and downs still. Yesterday he was awful. Today he was almost a gem.


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