A New Cause of Car Ride Aversion in Dogs?
By Dr. Bob Encinosa
It seems like taking a drive didn’t used to be so stressful. But as traffic gets worse everywhere and drivers become less considerate of others on the road, a leisurely ride to your favorite coffee stop or fast food restaurant for a snack can become pretty frustrating. It’s even worse when a driver in front of you makes you wait through another light change because they were preoccupied by Insta-Google-Face on their phone when the green arrow finally came around…and now you might be late for the appointment you were trying to get to. So, you let a few choice words fly to the heavens or maybe give the steering wheel a swift smack in your own brief fit of confined, harmless road rage.
But maybe it’s not so harmless. Did you forget that your dog, or your 3 dogs, are in the car with you? Do you think they understand who your anger is directed towards? My guess is that they assume they’re to blame for your outburst, but of course have no idea what they did wrong. And even worse, they can’t even escape to another room. They’re trapped inside your car with a temporarily insane person...you!
I occasionally have dog owners tell me that their dogs no longer want to go for a ride in the car, and a few years ago it hit me that perhaps it’s not the dog’s behavior that is to blame, but the behavior of the driver.
Keep in mind how socially similar our dogs are to us. One of the reasons we love dogs is because of their inherent desire to please us, so don’t let your stress ruin their fun.