whining in the car

[kamala Rocher]

Hi , I'm new here and am just starting to work on behaviour training.... One behaviour that I'd like to work with and that I cant find anywhere here so far is car whining and barking.

My dog loves the car but does have some issues around it. He's a rescue dog and I dont know his past history but he tends to get very very stressed when people leave in cars (jumping around and yelping and trying to follow)  He loves to ride in the car and jumps right in but during the ride tends to get very very excited, especially when we get close to the park/river/beach - any place he knows and loves. The whining is distressing and the barking/yelping really uncomfortable. He tends to leap about in the back of the truck even though he's attached, and the noise level is pretty near the pain thresshold. He is starting to get a tiny bit better as he feels more reasured with his living space (it's been a year now) but if you have any tips to calm the barking I would be so grateful!! I try to have treats and give him treats whenever he's quiet and calm, to ignore him when he's noisy. I think I just have to anticipate when he's going to go over the top and figure out how to reroute his attention, but it's pretty hard to do when I'm driving !

 

thanks for any suggestions !

kamala

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

It sounds like from your description that you are referring to two different problems, one is your dog getting stressed when people leave with their cars, the other is the dog itself acting stressed when being inside the car. 

With the whining when people leave with the car, I would like to have some more details. Is your dog left alone in the home when this happens? In other words, does it happen when you or some other family leaves? If so, have you ever recorded his behavior during your absences to see exactly what your dog does? I always recommend dog owners do this, so to have an idea about how their dogs are coping when left home alone. Even with my dogs, I have been doing this throughout the years and it was very insightful. As they started aging, they got a little worse in their barking/whining but fortunately never to the levels of them being distressed. So I would suggest positioning a camera or smartphone in an area that is out of your dogs' reach and that shows a good portion of the home, particularly in direction of the exit door from which you leave. Record for a good minimum of half hour.   After ward, feel free to provide details of what you see (what does your dog do exactly? for how long? any destructive chewing? any accidents in the home -pee or poop, any drooling, shaking? any barking, whining or howling?)

I will be addressing the car excitement shortly, in the meanwhile, I was wondering if you have any helpers/family members who can help you out as you are driving or are you for the most part driving solo? Also, wondering whether your dog has ever suffered from car sickness? Any drooling when he's in the car? 

Thanks

[kamala Rocher]

Hi Adrienne,

Thanks for your answer.

In fact when Kairos is home alone he seems really calm. I live in an apartment on the first floor so the car is not directly associated with my leaving. I have never filmed him and I'll do it to check but I'm pretty sure he just lies down and waits. No barking or whining reported by the neighbors (who would be sure to complain at the slightest noise !)  No distructive behavior such as chewing or pooping etc. He's practically a perfect dog ! 🥰

However panic zones are : 1) at a friends house in the country  a woman Kairos  had just met left after lunch in her car.... total panic even though I was there with him. 2)  In town (a small town, a bit noisy but not really urban) walking with a friend, when the friend had to leave us the dog panicked and tried to go with him. 3) leaving a friend's house (in the country) I'm with Kairos in the car and he's totally out of control stressed because we are leaving the friend behind.  That's an over view of his real panic moments. the stress/panic is shown by really loud yelping and crying and jumping around the car (he is attatched in the car but still jumps all over regardless.) He jumps so hard and much that it kind of rocks the car (he's an 80lb dog so he has some weight to throw around !) 

Usually in the car he seems moslty fine especially if we are driving fairly fast. He's happy to put his nose out the window and hang out or just lie down in the back of the car watching the road go by. When we slow down sometimes he gets more excited. When we get close to a place he knows or he recognises: the road to the park/ beach etc. he gets totally out of control (not always but often enough) Recently I was working in a town with a really big river running through it and on the freeway going to the town he got super excited and I figured out later it was every time the freeway gets near enough to smell the river. Crossing the river on a bridge was total havoc !  He really likes to swim....

Again, he jumps right into the car with no hesitation (even when we are going home from the park) and  seems very happy to be in the car. I havent seen any drooling or signs of discomfort. 

So that's about it, let me know what you think !

thanks

Kamala & Kairos 

[Adrienne]

Thank you for taking the time to add the extra details. I misunderstood you initially then because I was thinking Kairos was acting panicky when you (or some other family members or guests/people visiting your home) left him at home as they were driving away with the car (which is quite common in dogs). Many dog owners who live in homes or apartments  indeed report hearing their dogs bark, whine and howl as they drive away. It's is great to hear your dog seems to be coping well with this situation, you are very fortunate for this!

Instead, interestingly, (forgive me if I am wrong) it seems like your dog is acting panicky when you and him are both in the car and you happen to drop off somebody (who was previously in the car with you) and this person leaves? Is this correct? 

 Does this always take place in a car or is a car always involved?

In the walking with a friend example (number 2) it doesn't seem like a car was involved as you were both walking. Did you friend leave by walking away or by car? Where you driving away by car past him?

In example 1 you state "at a friends house in the country  a woman Kairos  had just met left after lunch in her car.... total panic even though I was there with him". Was Kairos in the car with her? Or was he at home with you? Or with you in your own car?

I am trying evaluate whether this behavior is always car-related or whether he just struggles leaving somebody behind regardless of whether there is a car involved or not.  

In example 3, it sounds like  your dog is just struggling as you are leaving with him in the car and he acts is if he doesn't want to leave your friend behind. Correct? Do you think it's more about leaving the friend behind or it could it be he doesn't to leave the place? Does your friend's home in the country by any chance have a pond/river or water nearby? 

Sorry for all these additional questions! Thank you for your patience. 

 

[kamala Rocher]

Good questions !!

thanks ! 

Often a car is involved and seems to add to the stress but in example 2 we were all walking and there was no car. Example one (after lunch) I stayed at the house with the dog and a friend and one woman left. and example 3) there was no water we just left the friend in his home and kairos and I went back to our home in the car he knows well.  I think really he just doesnt lke it when we leave people behind  even if it's just walking away but even more driving.

In the same place once we out walking ran into a truck (rare because it's very rural and almost never anyone there). Kairos was very excited and wanted to follow the truck. The driver had to stop and we had to catch Kairos and put him on a leash (no possibility of his listening when he's in panic mode). When the truck was gone we let Kairos go and he took off after the truck again trying to find it.

Another time we walked to a friends car to repair it. No one left but just having the car open and trying to fix it Kairos REALLY wanted to jump in and was totally stressed that we wanted him to stay out of the car. 

He's a refuge dog and I kind of think he was abandoned, possibly tied up and then left somewhere. (that's what it seems like at least) Or maybe he was left attached somewhere (infront of a shop for example) and broke loose and got lost. He seems to have been well treated apart from the abandonment issue. 

thanks again !

kamala

 

[Adrienne]

Poor Kairos, he seems to have had a rough past! So glad though that he's now in your loving care. 

It seems as if he forms some type of attachment to these people, which is interesting, because you even mention him reacting this way to a new person he barely knew. It's kind of endearing though, in a sweet way 🙂 Who knows maybe he was separated from an owner or caretaker and he replays in his mind this scene and is terrified of it repeating. In behavior terms, we call cases where dogs learn quickly from just one experiences "single event learning' it may therefore be possible that he endured an experience that had quite an impact on his life. We may never know though what may cross a dog's mind, so we can only make assumptions. 

In any case, in order to tackle this behavior, we may work on it at different levels and see what may work best. If you see any slight improvement using any of these methods, it's often sign that we are on the right path. 

Firstly, I would suggest getting more acquainted with a dog's threshold levels. When a dog is in a panicky state, there is little room for learning. It's therefore important working with the dog under threshold. You can read more about threshold levels here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

For behavior issues involving strong emotions (such as fear) we need to implement behavior modification so to change the dog's emotional response. Your dog may therefore benefit from a desensitization and counterconditioning program. 

In desensitization, we need to take small steps, proposing the trigger or situation the dog is struggling with in a way that it's no longer too overwhelming to the dog.  You can read more about desensitization here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

In counterconditioning instead we are aiming to changing the dog's emotional response in a specific situation by creating positive associations. You can read more about counterconditioning here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

Because a dog's environment is often too unpredictable, leading to too intense exposures, systematic set-ups work better for cases like yours. In simple words, we aim to expose a dog to his biggest fears but in very, very gradual, incremental ways that don't overwhelm him.  As we do this, we need to be extra careful in paying attention to the dog's body language and avoiding putting him into stressful situations. Here are some signs of stress and fear in dogs:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/

So if we ever notice any of these signs, it means our dog is not ready for that level of intensity yet, therefore we need to take a step back in the process and practice more at a previous level where the dog was more comfortable.  So here's an example of behavior modification:

Creating positive associations with friends leaving

So, if you can, I would suggest enlisting the help of a friend, walking side-by-side chit-chatting with you  and then practice some "fake departures" using very,very gradual steps. So for instance, let's say you are walking with a friend. At some point, have the friend pretend she's leaving (but only moving away a few steps) while you feed your dog very high value treats, with praise, pats and attention (if your dog loves all these things). Then have your friend return and no more treats, pats, attention. 

If your dog won't take treats, this is often a sign he's too over threshold, so you need to take some smaller steps and split the exercise into smaller components. So rather than just moving away a few steps, let her just walk forward one step. Pop a tasty treat right then, praise and pats, and then ask your friend to return next to you, and no more treats, attention or pats. Treats, attention and pats are exclusively contingent upon your friend leaving. 

As your dog gets good at this, you can then move forward, gradually increasing distance, with your friend walking farther and farther away.  You may need to start feeding more highly valuable treats as your friend moves away farther or giving treats that last longer.

Now, this is often something that you will need to do on several set-ups on different days. So what to do when your friend needs to really leave for the day? In such a case, to avoid your dog from being exposed to a situation he's not ready for, we can find ways to prevent him from going into a panic. Think about situations where your friends have left without him going into a frenzy.  Perhaps you can walk with your friend back to your home and then have your friend exit from a back door (as you give your dog a new toy or a stuffed Kong you have prepared in front of him to get him eager to have it).  

For a friend leaving your car, you can do the same exercise. Feed tasty treats as your friend touches the car handle to leave, then as she opens the car door a bit, then when she puts a leg out of the door, then when she stands up, then when she gets out of the car, then when she exists the car and closes the car door, then as she walks away briefly and then longer. Give treats /pats/ attention when your friend does all of these actions, when she comes back in the car, no more treats/attention/pats. Always make sure to go gradual and not progress until your dog has accustomed to the previous level and is comfortable. When your friend must leave the car for good (because she has to go home) once again, we need to think of ways to not expose him to the higher levels of his fear he's not prepared for yet. So we can try feeding him something super valuable and durable (that you have in your car for some time so he smells it and is eager to have it) in hopes of distracting him (think bully stick or Kong stuffed with something he goes bonkers for).

For leaving your friend in the country, you can do the same exercise too, but may need a helper driving as you feed treats or you are left with driving with one hand, feeding your dog with your other hand (which can be obviously risky and don't suggest). In this case, feed treats as the driver turns on the engine, then turns it off no more treats. Then turns on the engine, and drives a few feet, feed treats, then the car stops and no more treats. Then, when you need to leave for good, try feeding him something super valuable and durable in hopes of distracting him (think bully stick or Kong stuffed with something he goes bonkers for). Once you get a good response with the help of your friend driving, build up to the point where you progress to holding the bully stick or Kong in the car and giving it contingent upon leaving. You want to build up enough anticipation that you can then give it to your dog yourself before you drive back home when you no longer need the help of a driver. 

All these exercises therefore aim to make it clear in your dog's mind that all the good stuff happen when your friends are leaving and not around. This should lower his anxiety if implemented correctly. Now here's the thing, behavior modification as such can be tricky. We need to make sure to go slowly, progress at the dog's pace and know when it's OK to go ahead or when we must practice more at the same level or take steps back. The biggest mistakes are going too fast in the process.

We also need to recognize the earliest signs of stress so to keep the dog under threshold. Sometimes, when dogs are super anxious, we may also need the aid of medications or calming aids. Therefore, the help of a behavior professional to guide through may be important. A veterinary behaviorist would be the best bet as he or she can prescribe prescription medications if needed and these specialists have made of behavior modification their area of specialty, however, there are many good dog dog trainers/behavior consultants out there too, if you decide to enlist one, make sure he or she uses only force-free behavior modification. 

The above is my preferred method because it goes to the root of the problem. Other strategies that come to mind that may or may not work (remember to measure behavior: is the behavior getting better? Staying the same? or getting worse? ) These evaluations tell you whether you are on the right path. )Any light improvement is encouraging. 

-When you must leave a friend on walks, do so in a crowded area. Chances are, this event may be less salient and he might not notice it too much. Always, feed something high value as you instruct your friend to leave. 
-Try a friend swap game when walking. For this, you need to have several friends volunteer.  Here you walk with a friend, your friend leaves, you feed a tasty treat, give pats, praise/attention, then when your dog finishes the treat, another friend walks with you, but no treats, pats, attention, only provides these when she leaves and so on with other friends. 
-Same with the car. You drop off a friend, feed a treat and then once he finishes the treat, you have another friend to pick up etc.
-When you must leave a friend's home, try driving around her home over and over (tell your friend about this of course!) and see if your dog's behavior decreases. Once he's calmer give a long-lasting goodie, drive a little around the home again, and then leave. This aims to make the act of driving less salient since you aren't going anywhere, but it could also raise your dog's stress, so caution. 
-Making the appearance of a friend contingent upon him acting calm is another method. So let's say you are walking with a friend, the friend leaves and he whines? Have the friend walk slowly away until he stops whining. Once he stops, have your friend walk back. If he starts whining again, the friend turns his back and again leave abruptly. I am not much  a fan of this though because it allows dogs to rehearse the behavior and may cause stress, but it can be used in certain cases like when dogs are too over threshold to take treats and nothing seems to work as the friend's presence is the highest reinforcer. This teaches your dog that whining makes friends leave, while calm makes them appear, but then you need to find a way to leave the friend for good without him thinking he is being punished- "why is the friend gone if I am now quiet?" -

I mentioned working on this issue on different levels considering that often dog behaviors require a holistic, multi-faceted approach. So I would also suggest:

-Keeping your dog exercised, training, walking and making sure he is provided with more mental stimulation (brain games) throughout the day. 
-Working on boosting your dog's confidence levels considering that this behavior often stems from insecurity. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-build-confidence-insecure-dogs/
-Seeing your vet just to ensure he's fed the best diet and isn't suffering from any issues that may increase his anxiety (a recent study showed that dogs who had skin allergies were more prone to behavior issues, as the saying goes a healthy mind in a healthy body).
I hope this helps!
I will be tackling the excitement in the car behavior shortly in another thread. 

[kamala Rocher]

Great! thanks for all the detail 🙂

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome, 

Let's tackle now the issue of your dog being overly excited in the car. There can be several reasons why dogs act this way in the car. Differentiating these reasons takes carefully evaluating your dog's body language and associated emotions. It also takes keeping into consideration several factors such as age. So why do some dogs act super excited in the car?

-A lack of impulse control. Many dogs who are super excited in the car are young dogs (generally under the age of 3-4 years old).Younger dogs may not have much impulse control and therefore haven't learned how to cope with their strong emotions and keeping them under control. 

-A matter of happy associations. Acting excited about going in the car of course also takes place because the car brings dogs to many happy, desirable places such as the dog park, day care, the beach, visits to friends or pleasant hikes. You mention taking your dog swimming so he may be super excited about that chance. So dogs may get excited going in the car because of these many happy associations. Indeed, you may notice how some smart dogs get more and more excited the moment you take that turn towards the beach or when you hit the breaks announcing arrival to the dog's favorite locations.

-Feeding off your excitement. This may  not apply to your case but may be worthy of mentioning in case other readers are guilty of this. Some  dog owners tend to to talk to their dogs in a very enthusiastic tone, which ends up revving them up. These dogs are therefore feeding off their owner's excitement. One of my friends for instance often complains her dog is too hyper, but fails to realize that often she's the one riling her dog up with her excited tones of voice and fast movements. She shouldn't be therefore surprised when Jumper starts acting all hyper when she tells him "Wanna go on a car ride? Wanna go to the dog park! Yay! Now, who's a good booy? Who's the good boooy?"In the meanwhile Jumper is jumping (hence his name!) and going in circles as she laughs and giggles. 

Sure she gets a lot of entertainment from just watching her dog act silly and bouncy, but she fails to realize how her behavior impacts him! She hasn't ever asked for my help, although I see her struggle at times, so I don't feel like giving her an uninvited lecture until she sees a problem 😉

-An element of anxiety. Sometimes, among the excitement, there may be also an element of anxiety. So make sure your dog is absolutely comfortable being in the car. Anxiety in the car may be due to fear/insecurity such as the uncertainty about the destination (will I go to the vet or the dog park this time?) or other things such as anxiety about being tossed around when owners hit on the brakes, scary sounds, being scolded for being hyper, etc. On top of this, some dogs as mentioned are anxious in the car because they get car sick. If your dog drools when he is in the car, your dog may be suffering from motion sickness mixed in with the anxiety. Sometimes though things may be tricky, dogs who get motion sick may never escalate to the point of drooling and vomiting, but rather just act restless, panting and pacing, therefore these cases may be easily confused with excitement. 

So let's take a look now at some options to reduce a dog's excessive excitement in the car.

There are several strategies you can try to help your dog calm down in the car. Consider though that dogs who are excited in the car are often dogs who are young and in need of training. This means that you won't likely see results overnight, but in the meanwhile, you can reduce your dog's hyper behaviors in the car by using management techniques.

-Provide Exercise and Mental Stimulation. Many dogs display hyper behaviors because they are full of energy and haven't exercised their minds much. Make sure to walk you dog daily, but also provide ample of opportunities to keep your dog's minds active. Mental stimulation may be as tiring as exercise. Brain games, food puzzles and interactive toys can help tire your dog out so he's not always over the top.

-Introduce Impulse Control Training. As mentioned, many dogs who act hyper in the car or on walks, are dogs who are young and haven't attained yet much impulse control. This is OK, it takes time to master this just as children learn to calm down as they mature. You can help your dog though through several exercises that you can incorporate in your dog's every day life, here are some:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

-Tone Things Down. As mentioned, some dog owners fail to realize how their excited tones and movements impact their dogs. If you match this profile, it can help to start acting more calm in certain situations. Sure, you can rile your dog up when you want, but leave that for times when you want your dog to play and have some fun. So when it's time to go on a car ride, try to just grab the leash, ask your dog to sit and snatch it on, then take him to the car, tell him to sit, open the door and then give him the OK to climb up. You should notice a difference overtime.

-Destination Nowhere. An astute strategy to tone down a dog's excitement is to take him on several car rides without going to places your dog loves. In other words, take your dog on frequent car rides where you just ride around the block. These don't have to be long, just 4 minutes make a point. Take different routes every time, but never go anywhere exciting for some time. Do this until your dog starts acting calmer in the car (make sure to praise your dog for being calm, but use a calm tone to avoid exciting him!). You want to obtain a conditioned emotional response where your dog thinks of car rides in terms of "Meh! Nothing special happening here!"

-Split Things Up . Some dogs need baby steps before they can do on a full car ride around the block being calm. So if your dog get's over the top when he hears you turn on the car, turn it on several times a day without taking him anywhere. Wait for him to calm down. Next, turn the car engine on and walk your dog towards the car and then take him back inside the house. Do this several times, until he grows bored of this too. Then progress to turning on the car, walking him there and then letting him climb inside. Let him stay there with you (make sure he's not hot!) until he seems bored. Then take him back inside. Then once he's calm start your destination nowhere trips.

-Use the Premack Principle The Premack Principle. The Premack Principe is also known as Grandma's Law, simply because it's based on the philosophy of "eat your broccoli first, and then you can have ice-cream." So how does it work in this case? After your dog has grown bored of going on trips around the block, start increasing the length of his trips (always ending nowhere), and then, at some point start approaching the dog park (or any other destination that makes your dog excited), but be ready to turn or just park and do nothing the moment he acts hyper again. Repeat several times until you can park at the location and let your dog out only if he's in a calm state of mind. In this case, you are telling your dog "we can have fun (ice-cream) in the park, but only when you act calmer (broccoli)."

You can read more about the Premack Principle here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/premack-principle/

-Provide Alternate Activities. Once your dog is calmer in the car, start providing him with calm activities to engage in while being in the car. For example, try providing him with a stuffed Kong, a Licki-Mat or a long-lasting chew to gnaw on so he focuses on this rather than pacing back and forth.

-Invest in Calming Aids .Sure, your dog might not be able to get a soothing chamomile tea, but nowadays, there are many calming aids crafted for anxious or excitable dogs. Calming music (Through a Dog's Ear), calming dog supplements (like those containing L-theanine), calming shirts (Thundershirt, Anxiety Wrap) and calming caps (Thunder Cap, Calming Cap) may turn helpful.

If there's an element of anxiety, your vet may also prescribe medications to help him calm down as you carry out behavior modification. If there's a possibility that your dog has motion sickness, your vet may prescribe meds for this too.

-Crate Your Dog. Sometimes, your best bet is to simply manage your dog's environment so that your dog doesn't get to rehearse the problem behavior and also for safety. In this case, you can crate your dog and possibly place a blanket over the crate so to reduce visual overstimulation. A crate is also important considering that a dog who moves freely in a car can pose a big danger to you and other drivers. While some dogs may get calmer in a crate, some dogs may not. Also, not all cars can accommodate a big crate. So this is something to consider.

-Try a Seat Belt Harness Some dogs do better being attached to a set-belt harness. I am not sure if this is what you are using already or not. In general, dogs who are attached to one are unable to pace back and forth between windows and therefore they learn to sit and relax.

-Blacken Your Windows. Some dog owners have noticed improvements in their dogs by blackening their windows. They use special cling window films so that their dogs aren't too attracted to visuals on their trips.

I hope this helps,

Let me know if you have any questions! Send pats to Kairos! Did I say already he's a cutie?

Best,

Adrienne