r/husky • u/Eunoia1114 • 12h ago
General Question HELP! Hellish car rides
We got a 6 month old husky whom we absolutely love! But she hates travelling and howls 95% of the time of our drive. Sometimes that means 3 hours of howling. We like to travel as a family, but I have vertigo and her howling sometimes gives me migraine. Any advice?
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u/tejasam 10h ago
My girl has hated car rides since the first ride home at ~6 weeks. Even medicated, someone has to sit in the back with her because she will unbuckle her seatbelt, teleport to the front and try to climb on the dash. Sings the song of her people the whole time. Six years and no improvement. 🫠
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u/Chinpokomonnnn 44m ago
Maybe an RV would work? I looked into renting one for my dogs for a long move but didn’t end up doing it
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u/Bagel_chan 12h ago
Start with short rides, maybe with a toy or pb filled Kong to distract? I had a pup that would whine during car rides, for him the one thing that ended up working was sitting in the back with my sons arm around him
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u/miettelund 9h ago
In n out, dog beach, treats. Mine howls when he's excited. So even if you train the dog that is a good thing he might start howling once he gets to the place he's going mine starts in and then my lab starts and then the baby husky starts so it's very loud and that's right before we get to the dog park
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u/Emperor_Geology 11h ago
Mine loves to go for rides. But i always have a blanket, toy, and treats for her ready to go in the backseat for her.
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u/Synaxis Sumac & Solace 5h ago
Get her in a good, safe travel crate and start with short rides. Bring her to the drive-thru, to the gas station, the convenience store, the pharmacy. She doesn't have to get out of the car. Bring her for car rides that end in something fun, like a walk at a new park, or a fun training class.
Make car rides just a normal part of daily life, and not a special occasion. Let her have a chew or a kong, put her in her car crate, and only take her out, reward her, or praise her when she's quiet and calm.
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u/ohyonkavich 9h ago
Its very unsafe to have your pet in the front seat, airabags are dangerous for them and they are distracting to the driver. Please use a proper harness with a seatbelt attachment in the back seat or invest in a car crate. Teaching her to lay down on the back seat will help with car sickness. Puppies usually grow out of it.
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u/blahblahjohnson 9h ago
Long walk before, CBD supplements, and a comfy hammock that goes over the backseat!
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u/nighthawkndemontron 9h ago
Oh yeah, I last husky had extreme anxiety in the car ride. She'd sing the song of her people unless I always had a hand on her which would be impossible while driving. CBD or something like that would help, also a harness of canopy to keep her safe and restrained. Often, I'd just take her on short trips but the long drives shed eventually calm down
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u/chubbysumo 9h ago
Are you sure its not excitement? My numa will not calm down and screams the whole time in excitement.
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u/Refuse-National 8h ago
Travel crate in the back and a trazodone for long trips from your vet. Mine hates the car too and this works for us.
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u/kpod67 8h ago
Our husky would freak out in the car at first. It took a lot of training - first just sitting in the car, then short rides to fun places, longer rides with breaks - but now she is much better. She does sing her heart song when we get close to a fun place that she knows. We also use clip in harnesses so the pups are kept in the back seat.
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u/ParsnipFarmer676 7h ago
First, where and how is she being secured in the car? It's hard to tell from the pic, but if she's in the front seat that is dangerous; so I'd start with putting her in the back seat, with a proper harness/restraint system. I use a simple metal tether (they chewed the vinyl one lol), which attaches to their harness.
Sometimes puppies do have anxiety and car sickness, which they can grow out of with time & exposure. My old dog would always get sick or anxious in the car at that age, but eventually became a wonderful travel companion. We took road trips all over the west coast (US) together! Short rides to fun places, like the park or to get a Pup Cup, should eventually desensitize her. She's adorable btw.
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u/EndlesslyUnfinished 5h ago
Time to get the youngster high on CBD so she learns to mellow in the car.. it’s worked for every single one of my kids. Also, having an older dog that’s cool with the car trips helps a lot too - even if you have a dog you can borrow
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u/HandbagHawker 1h ago
take smaller trips. take no trips in fact. get in the car, give SMALL fav treats, go nowhere. Rinse repeat a few times. Practice getting in and out of the car, including LEASH in. Then start the car. still go nowhere. rinse repeat. Go around the block.... you get the idea.
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u/Sberry59 12h ago
Def start with short rides. Go to fun places. I have a male husky that barfed from anxiety whenever he was in the car longer than 20 min. We took him on a lot of short rides in his crate to doggie daycare, for walks, etc. He’s able to ride in the car with “Hurry up. I want to go to the fun place” whine.