Hi,

I have a nine-year-old German shepherd named Tessa. She came to us as a rescue when she was three years old. She loves riding in the car and is always anxious to go. But, she WHINES unless you let the windows down so she can stick out her head. She won’t stop whining, until you let the window down. Sometimes, it is cold, and raining (she doesn’t mind) but we do!

Please help, how can we stop this whining? When the window is down, she looks for dogs, horses, people, etc. as we travel so she can bark at them. If she’s out of the car, she usually will calm down. If we stop the car and there are lots of people around with other stimulation, she’ll whine. It’s a mouth open wail of a whine that is loud. If someone walks up to the car and talks to us, we can’t hear them because of her loud whining.

Thanks for your help!

John
Atlanta, GA

Dear John,

Dogs often love to stick their heads out the windows of cars and smell everything that’s going by them – I often say that, for them, it’s like going to a 3-D, sense-surround, smell-o-rama, virtual-reality movie.

But all that stimulation can make a dog over-excited, and allowing your dog to be exposed to the elements at high speed could cause injury, such as a pebble or piece of debris getting in her eyes. Sometimes there are dogs who get anxious about riding in the car, especially in rainy weather. Without seeing the dog in action and without seeing how you react to her, I can’t tell how severe the behavior is, but this is the kind of behavior that can often be redirected by distraction. Don’t feed your dog before car trips, but do give her something to chew on in the car like a bone she favors - something very, very tasty, that can bring all her attention to the bone or to whatever treat you believe is healthy for your dog. Please make sure your veterinarian agrees with this choice of treat. And don’t give in to her whining – keep the windows closed or cracked open just a bit. I’d also suggest avoiding any long trips with your dog if possible – take short car trips while you are working on modifying her behavior.

Stay calm and assertive,

Cesar Millan