Car Trips With Your Pooch

Our family took a day trip today with our Border Collie and it reminded me that many people have great dogs until it's time for a car ride. The biggest mistake people make with dogs and cars is getting them excited before they get in. Have you ever said or heard someone say "Who's ready for a car ride!"in an excited voice? While dogs should be allowed to be excited, car travel is not a good time for it. Too often dogs can be a worse distraction in a car than a cell phone.

Before your trip try to make sure your dog has already had some exercise or play time. Today we took our girl directly to a park and played hard for about 20 minutes. This is a great trick I learned a long while ago. If you have a long journey ahead remember you know where you are going but your dog doesn't. Is it some where fun, like the park? Or scary, like the vet? They don't know and this can make them excited anxious or both. Once we got back in the car Dolly thought the fun was done and the home would be the next stop. She thought she knew where we were headed so she curled up and went to sleep. Two hours later we were at my grandpa's and she was ready for more adventure after a nice long nap!

*Always make sure you and your dog are calm before getting in the car. It may take time for Fido to settle but be patient...no putting it in drive until his mind is calm. Make sure your pooch has had a work out before you ride. Feel free to use my park trick, it really does work, and remember to be safe in the car. A dog in the front seat is every bit at risk for death from the air bag as your toddler is. Keep him in the back seat!