# Screaming in the car



## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

hmmmm well i'd give her something to do (kong) 

and if that didn't work? i'd be sticking a spray coller on her for the trip...

my aussie also gets like this OOH OOOH we're almost home OOH OOH OOH so i get out do a bunch of things and once she's quiet she gets out- it's nipped it in the bud mostly- the spray coller would be my next step but this dog barks through them *L*


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Yes, I was thinking I may need to pull over and wait her out a few times - not easy on the motorway, of course! Don't think I could use a spray collar on her - I am not keen on them, and it would hit Sophy, too, who is curled up quietly minding her own business. Perhaps I need to invest in some loud CDs, and drown her out ...


----------



## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

I would put them in separate crates. The Kong toy with treats stuffed in it might work.


----------



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

It is hard to correct this if in a crate in the back.

Can poppy sit in the seating area, where you can touch when the screaming starts? 

I wonder if something changed to suddenly make Poppy do this now? Seems like mild anxiety and or excitement and I am all for kongs stuffed with treats but me personally I might not do it in this situation because to me, it may encourage the behavor. Instead I would treat when the screaming calms after a correction or distraction by you. 

My dogs know when we are close to the dog park and home. They will wine a bit and if at the DM they bark out the window to let everyone know they are coming.


----------



## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Your car sounds like my car. Matrix gets very anxious in the car, thankfully he no longer drools EVERYWHERE...but the whining and crying is SO distracting, and Mitch is just sitting beside him looking out the window or sleeping.

Sometimes I just sing silly made up songs like "Matey moo, and Mitchy too, im going to take you to the zoo" and say things with his name to distract him. It kinda works...


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks for the ideas, folks. I think it is excitement stress rather than fear - Sophy was very anxious in the car as a pup, and we spent several weeks working through it, but Poppy's crying is much more "Are we there yet?!!". She is having a late adolescence, and is throwing several obnoxious brat behaviours, in between being her usual sunny self!

I think I shall take a few trips when I know they have just peed and pood, and keep stopping and starting and circling round - with treats for quiet dogs. I'll let you know if it works.

Locket - I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that. My sister gets horribly embarassed by it though!


----------



## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Vasco does this too ... we call it The Screech of The Gutted Goat . His trigger is the selt belt unclicking.

I haven't solved it yet, but when we stop in motorway services, we unbuckle and then sit silently until he stops, then we take him out.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

JE-UK said:


> Vasco does this too ... we call it The Screech of The Gutted Goat .


That describes it exactly!


----------



## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

You could just stop indicating  ....

No, wait! Then you'd have to move to France, where they are apparently illegal ....


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

JE-UK said:


> You could just stop indicating  ....
> 
> No, wait! Then you'd have to move to France, where they are apparently illegal ....


Or Harrogate, where I suspect they were discontinued because 8 out of 10 drivers indicated the wrong way!

Well, I spent the afternoon driving from pillar to post, indicating merrily, stopping the car and switching the engine off if she squealed too much. Fitted a long riverside walk in at one point, and a visit to the vet to be weighed, plus bank, grocery shopping and dog meat shopping. I did try not to be randomly indicating if there was another car in sight, but think I still managed to confuse one or two with my weird manoeuvres. It does seem to have tired her out, though, so I may keep it up for a few days and see if we can push for an extinction burst on the behaviour before I get an eardrum burst from the noise!


----------



## Desiree (Feb 14, 2010)

You might try to find a special chewy that is only given in the car to keep her occupied. I used to give pig ears for long car rides. When they got tired of chewing they'd fall asleep


----------



## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

How old is Poppy? You mentioned late adolescence, so I'm guessing maybe 6 -7 months or so?

I'm remembering now that my first poodle Bounder developed some strange car behaviors at that point. When he was a small puppy, he traveled beautifully just curled up in the seat of the car. But when he hit about 6 months, suddenly he was tall enough to sit up and see out the window. That made him nervous, and he developed a terrible habit of drooling and whining. Yuck! Thankfully no screaming, though.

He just grew out of it eventually. I got smart enough to start using a seat belt on him, and perhaps that made a difference, I don't know. But he went through the drooling/whining thing for a few months. It was a messy period while it lasted.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Beach girl said:


> How old is Poppy? You mentioned late adolescence, so I'm guessing maybe 6 -7 months or so?


She is actually 15 months - she sailed through the 6 - 7 month stage with no problems at all, but seems to be having all her isms now, which feels very late for a small dog. My theory is that it has taken her this long to feel confident enough to do her own thing, so it is only now that she is testing all the boundaries. Fortunately she is a very fast learner - typical poodle!


----------



## flufflvr (Mar 20, 2010)

Cosita is 8, and she started doing this at about the same age. She has never stopped. I've tried everything, squirt bottles, a car seat, treats, petting her until she started making the noise and then stopping, refusing to get out of the car until she's quiet, and finally, I just stopped taking her places unless it's a short drive and it's necessary. She too hates the turning signal. I think she hates to turn. She loves, loves loves to get into the car though. I honestly think that she figures if she whines and screams she'll get there faster. I don't think she realizes that I really do have to drive from point a to point b. I can't just open the door and be there at the fun spot I've brought her. If you figure this out I would sure love to know how you do it, because I swear sometimes I think one of us is going to end up in the trunk and it'll probably be me. I'm just kidding of course, I would never, ever, ever do that. I have put music on the stereo and a book on cd in my earphones, and given her tranquilizers from the vet on long trips. What an adventure.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

flufflvr said:


> I honestly think that she figures if she whines and screams she'll get there faster.


I think that is exactly how Poppy feels. And because I indicate to turn into the carpark where we walk, every click of the indicator may mean we are about to get out of the car ...

The Buddy Holly cd definitely helped, if only by drowning her out. I'm also praising good behaviour a lot, even if it has only lasted for seconds. She does seem to be improving, but I have found I am making minimal use of the indicators - she is successfully conditioning me to only use them when absolutely necessary!


----------



## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

Victoria Stillwell on "It's Me or the Dog" has dealt with this a few times. She rigs up a type of curtain that can be closed off, so the dog can't see out. With this reduction in visual stimulation, the dog calms down.

Then the curtain can be opened again. Dog whines, curtain gets closed.

It works very well, but I have no idea how she sets up the curtain in the first place. It's on some sort of rod but I don't know how she puts it in the car.


----------



## flufflvr (Mar 20, 2010)

Interesting! That's one thing I haven't tried. I've tried the mask thingie that goes over their face to block vision but that was doubly traumatic. 

So could the driver see out the windows with the curtain drawn?


----------

