Always carry a puppy into and out of a car.
Never leave your dog in a car with all the windows closed, especially on a hot day. Without adequate ventilation, dogs will bark and whine at first, then panic. A closed car can heat up rapidly within seconds, and many dogs have died in cars in such intense heat. Always carry a bottle of cold water and a bowl from which your dog can drink in the back of your car. It is surprising how thirsty dogs become, especially on long journeys.
When you do undertake a long journey in the car during hot, sunny days, if you happen to be going in one direction so that the sun is on one particular side of the car all the time, then put your dog on the shady side.
Before you venture on any journey, ensure that your dog has had a good opportunity to relieve himself before your departure. If it happens to be a long journey, then it will be necessary to stop periodically, get your dog out of the car on a leash and collar, take him to a waste piece of ground and tell him to "Get busy." Pick up after him with a plastic container and dispose of it appropriately as soon as you can.
To exercise some control over your dog, get him to sit while you open the car door, then tell him to jump inside on command and praise him as he obeys. Similarly, when you stop, tell him to stay while you open the car door, call him out on command and praise him as he responds. All this does not take long. It gives you a wonderful opportunity to
exercise control over your dog. Dogs that jump out of cars as soon as you open the door show no respect for you. They are just showing that they want to have their own way.
Don't leave your dog in a car with the windows rolled up-cars get hot very quickly.
It is not advisable to allow your dog to have his head out of the window when traveling. The wind and dust, also little flies, can get into your dog's eyes, which may result in the need for veterinary treatment.
For those people who by necessity have to convey their dogs in the backs of utility trucks, ensure that the dogs are securely fastened to the center so that they cannot jump over or fall over the sides of such vehicles.
If you ever happen to pull in to a gas station to fill up with gas, it is advisable to get your dog out of the car, make your approach toward the station attendant and even introduce your dog to the attendant, if he or she likes dogs.
Very often if a dog is left inside a car and the attendant makes a direct approach toward the near side window and inserts the gas nozzle into your car, making some noise in the process, the dog is likely to show some form of suspicion and start barking. This is because he suddenly sees the figure of a man approach the small window, which has a threatening effect. If the dog is taken out of the car and encouraged to approach the attendant, he feels so much more at ease.
You will often find that many dogs, when left in their cars while their owners are away for a certain length of time, while shopping, for instance, will get into the driver's seat, curl up and go fast off to sleep. Why do they do this? Well, naturally, when the owner has gone away, the dog feels a little bit lonely, so he goes to the seat that has a fair amount of the owner's body scent on it. It is, in fact, the next best thing to the owner from which the dog can seek any human comfort.
Laws about dogs accompanying owners on public transport and staying at hotels, motels and camping grounds can vary from state to state or country to country. It is best to check on all these regulations. But I have always believed that the best policy is to approach officials or proprietors and explain that you have a trained dog who is well behaved and ask if there would be any objection to you having him with you. In the vast majority of cases, I have been given a welcome response. In addition to this, I have also asked patrons if they have any objection to my having my dog with me. Once again, people welcome your request with a pleasant response. When they see that your dog is friendly and well behaved and that you care for him and handle him really well, they are only too happy to welcome you back in the future.
One most interesting thing about our dogs when they travel by car, and one which puzzles many people, is that regardless of the length of the journey, the various routes taken, whether it is day or night and whether the dog is fast asleep, the dog will wake within a few hundred yards of arriving home or at any destination to which your dog has traveled in the past.
How does the dog know? Well, it is all quite simple, really. Your home area or any area to where the dog is going has its own environmental smell. The dog recognizes the particular scent even though he is fast asleep. It indicates to him that the destination is very near, which results in him getting quite excited. Even if it is very dark outside and he cannot see anything, his sense of smell never fails him.
Even if all the windows of the car are closed, the scent of the area outside will enter through any small gaps in the car. You cannot keep that away from dogs. Aren't they fantastic animals?
When traveling on buses and trains, a steady flow of passengers boards and alights at nearly every stop. It is safer for your dog if you allow him to stand in busy circumstances like these, because if you were to order him to sit or lie down, he might have his tail accidentally trodden on by one of the passengers. The same thing could apply on some long-distance trains, but usually there is a safe place for him to lie down, especially if you can obtain a window seat.
Traveling in trains, well-behaved dogs in compartments have often proved to be the center of attention and conversation among passengers.
When you praise your dog, use praising words slowly and quietly in order to keep him calm. If you talk too quickly and/or loudly, you will probably excite him and he will jump around all over the place and probably jump up at you as well. Give you puppy some treats. Science Diet foods are a good bet,
particularly with coupons. At the same time, if you are in a stationary position, you can gently and very slowly stroke the dog on the head. This will keep your dog calm and attentive. But if you patted the dog, ruffled him up or stroked him quickly, you would then excite the dog and once again he could become boisterous, which would make controlling him difficult.
Most friendly or excitable dogs will want to jump up at people. This can annoy, and in some cases frighten, many people. Therefore you must correct this unacceptable action or habit every time it happens. You will need to use a phrase like, "Get off. " or, "Get down!" Say it in a stern tone of voice as if you really mean it, then take hold of the clip end of the leash with one hand for a moment, jerk the dog down and let go of that part of the leash.