Even if you do not actually travel much, it’s still a great idea to get your dog familiar with traveling. No matter how much you travel, your dog will still need to go to the vet at least once a year. And if you are like most dog owners who consider their dog a companion, you probably also take your pup to the park, lake, hunting, herding or many other places that require a car ride. So why not get the pup used to your vehicles right off the bat? The younger they learn; the more accepting of the idea they are. Imagine if you will the outcome of an unexpected, unavoidable, long distance trip with a dog who has seldom been in a car! I can tell you…it comes close to being a nightmare!https://howtowhere.com/
Although training a puppy is not real effective until they are at least 3 months old, acclimating a pup to traveling can happen immediately. If your pup shows signs of anxiousness when traveling, start out with real short trips. Dedicate a few minutes each day or every other day to take a short trip around the block. Talk to them while you’re traveling, reassuring them everything is ok, calming them and literally bonding in general. If the anxiousness continues, try other things such as lowering the volume of the radio if you have it on. Crack the window open a little to provide a bit of fresh air. And avoid smoking in the vehicle, especially with all the windows up! Continue to tweak with these things a little each trip until you reach a point where the pup appears relaxed and calm during your little trip.
Once you get the dog accepting of short trips you can start increasing the travel time. Don’t rush things, take the needed amount of time to keep the dog calm during the trips. As you increase your distance of travel you can also start reducing the number of times you do a trip each week if a busy schedule makes this tough on you. The important thing is to be consistent. Keep taking your pup on short trips like running to the bank, taking the kids to school, trips to the post office, short errands like these keep the pup comfortable with traveling.
