Getting your Puppy used to drive in a car
The Puppy and the car
It seems that most dogs are as addicted to riding in a car as their human partners, but this fact does not obligatory apply to the little Puppy.
Some Puppies seem to have the same problem with the acclimatization to this kind of locomotion as little children. Puppies tend to throw up quite easily on a car ride, as in many cases their last meal does not date back that long, or their sense of smell is simply irritated by gas and oil malodor.
As soon as your new Puppy got used to his new home and is feeding well, get your pet used to riding a car. Firstly you might just sit in there together and have a little play time. The second step is to start doing short rides. You better do this with a second person to distract the little dog for the time of the journey. Drive very slowly and a good option is to stop at a park or meadow for a play time or a short walk.
Most Puppies car sickness is either caused by vibrations and bumps or by looking out of the windows. Therefore the best place to put your best friend is right in front of your passenger seat, or if you have somebody helping you the middle of the back seat. Your assistant distracts the little passenger and prevents him to look outside. When starting these exercises don’t do them even after the smallest meal and in case you plan to do a long ride, do not feed your dog the morning of this tour at all. You’d rather want to see you Puppy’s sad eyes than its stomach contents on your seat.
In the early stages of your exercises you should drive curves as slow as possible and accelerate and brake as if you had your car loaded with raw eggs. Repeat these short excursions when ever you get a chance to, as at this age the habituation is of primary importance.
There is another big advantage of driving around your Puppy. It will get used to traffic noise, loud trucks driving past and other loud noises. In the warm, secure “world” of a car the Puppy will feel safe. After a few exercises in your car, it will be only a small step from the car ride to exploring the pedestrian zone of your city. The Puppy will recognize many noises, as it has experienced many of those optical and acoustic effects before, even though trough a different angle.
Note: Should you ever need to leave your dog in the car for a short time, make sure there is enough ventilation! Keep in mind that the sun is moving and an umbrageous and cool spot can convert into an incubator and threaten your dog’s life within a short time.