Dog anxiety in the car, (German Shepherds)...benadryl??

Another angle, you have to remember what any breed is actually bred to do.
Maybe a GS isn't the ideal breed to ride in a car for hours or take wheeling.
Since they aren't able to......herd and guard when doing so.
Kind of like our malamute always walks in front of us on leash. Hard to get thousands of years of sled pulling bred out of him.
Just a thought.
 
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Ron said:
This is a typical fuller thread if anyone reads it.
Fuller; I am going to Benadryl my dog. Any other options?
Board: 10 better options
Fuller: Benadryl
Board: triangles, science, experience
Fuller: no I refuse to think how much benadryl
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Why cure when you can prescribe?
 
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Take the shepherd for a run around the block several times before any trips to burn off a ton of energy.

Makes everything better. Training, car rides, vet trips,

Also take her on as many trips as you can. Even small short ones. This way it becomes a normalized thing.

Don’t negatively reinforce her excitement, she won’t understand.

(Why are you telling me no? I’m having fun, I’m with my humans when you typically leave me at home, I’m excited I get to travel with you?

Oh awesome now you are yelling too, you must be excited also,)
 
Mac5005 said:
Take the shepherd for a run around the block several times before any trips to burn off a ton of energy.

Makes everything better. Training, car rides, vet trips,

Also take her on as many trips as you can. Even small short ones. This way it becomes a normalized thing.

Don’t negatively reinforce her excitement, she won’t understand.

(Why are you telling me no? I’m having fun, I’m with my humans when you typically leave me at home, I’m excited I get to travel with you?

Oh awesome now you are yelling too, you must be excited also,)
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I want a magic pill, dammit, sometimes it rainy or muddy or I have other excuses. I can’t do this stuff.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Does your dog get appropriate exercise? 99% of dog "problems" are because they have pent up energy.
That breed needs a ton of exercise to stimulate their bodies and brain.
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This ^^^^.

Get her tired before you put her in the car and that should help a ton, maybe give her 25mg of benedryl if the ride is going to be long, but if she is tired first it will make a huge difference. Our Great Pyrenees (and Shepard mix) mutt is the same way, he drives us nuts when has to sit in the very back of the excursion. He is happy if he is sitting directly behind us but when he is in the very back he whines horribly. When he is tired he is no problem at all.
 
Trazodone is what we have to give to our boxer to take him to the vet. He doesn't like strangers anyway until he warms up to them and absolutely hates the vets office. He wont let anyone get near him, 1/2 a dose and he tolerates it. He has gotten a lot better the older he gets.

Best thing for him has been lots of off leash training and then we got him a golden retriever puppy about a year ago.
 
marty79 said:
Yeah this is the case with gsd breeds lol
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That’s the equivalent of a racist statement.

Now we don’t take our dogs wheeling, that’s our choice,

But we do take both our shepherd and husky on long trips/car rides.

Most of the responsibility falls on the owners to do the correct steps to ensure easy rides.

Ex:

You don’t go Offroad/camping without getting things ready first or without packing any necessary items. It’s also a good idea to prep the rig for such a trip.

You don’t go run a marathon without training or stretching.

Some of the preparation is physical, some is mental, some is hydration, some is diet.

A dog doesn’t expect and can’t prepare itself for long car rides, same as a toddler.

You have to do the things to prepare them for the ride, and during the ride.

Blaming poor animal ownership characteristics on a breed, is owner ignorance and poor self education. It’s not the dogs fault.

Rationalizing problems down to breed is similar principle to blatant ignorant prejudice or racism.

Yes some breeds and evolution have made them better at some tasks and worse at others.

That doesn’t mean they can’t do them, it just takes extra work from the owner to ensure it goes well. That’s what training is for.

Dogs want to please the owner, but it’s the owners job to outline and train the dog as to what it is, the dog needs to do and how.

:popcorn:
 
Jody Treadway said:
Keep it tired, not drugged.
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well i changed her position, instead of the back and let her have a window seat. wow what a difference lol. she whined a little but nothing out of the norm.
I couldn't get myself to do the "drugs" route even though it seems pretty safe but after more digging, there are pretty high chances of side effects so screw it. Now we're gonna keep switching to that seat and also start taking her on more local routes as well as others mentioned, not just long trips. thanks for all the input.
Hope you all had a great Mothers Day!!!
 
Our GSB is fine riding around he has his harness vest belt buckle. When he see it he goes crazy because its ride time. Window seat check ,window open check , drool on check. The only problem at times is when husband has a migraine or other problem he goes into guard mode. As a abused dog he slowly learning to let mommy threw.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Keep it tired, not drugged.
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100% agree!

As said, high energy dog breeds need plenty of exercise to be happy.

I will add, imo this should be all the time, not just before a ride in the car.

Most highly energetic breeds have more energy than the common person( i.e. me), so what will wear you out in a short time is just a warm up for them.
 
We have 2 german shepherds now. Our male has always loved rides. But our girl pic below got like that for a little while. We use dog cbd on our male during really bad weather. And it seems to work. We have always had shepherds. I got my first one in 1992. Shepherds are self aware. More so than most dogs. Females tend to pack bond. So it sounds crazy but before you go just talk to her. If she sees you as pack leader she will do her best to please you. If she gets nervous, give her some rubs and talk to her. I know it's a old thread. Hopefully you found something that works for both of you.
 

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01WJdad said:
We have 2 german shepherds now. Our male has always loved rides. But our girl pic below got like that for a little while. We use dog cbd on our male during really bad weather. And it seems to work. We have always had shepherds. I got my first one in 1992. Shepherds are self aware. More so than most dogs. Females tend to pack bond. So it sounds crazy but before you go just talk to her. If she sees you as pack leader she will do her best to please you. If she gets nervous, give her some rubs and talk to her. I know it's a old thread. Hopefully you found something that works for both of you.
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thanks for the info. She's getting better. We take her out more now, just did a 4.5hr trip to the beach few weeks ago and she was pretty good after the initial 15min of going crazy lol. It's the first 15/20min that makes her nuts. She wants to hurry up and be there before we even leave our road LMBO. Once we're on the highway she's fine. The first exit off the highway though she thinks we're there and starts back up. But she's getting there. never could get myself to try the benadryl...She's so well behaved I hate the thought of risking her becoming "weird" off some medication lol. We've been taking her out locally more too to parks and such so slowly getting the hang of it. Thanks
 
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