How to introduce my Border Collie to his or her first car ride

It’s the first time your Border Collie will ride and not only are you excited, but your dog is excited too, wondering what is going on. When you place your furry friend into the car, he starts to howl and whimper. You look in to its eyes and you see that scared, pitiful look and you know that it wants you to pick him up and take it back to the house.

When this happens, you have to make sure he knows that he has to stay in the car. Don’t pat or comfort him, this will add to his growing fears. What you should ideally is ignore him, admittedly easier said than done. This ignorance of your beloved pet will upset you, but if he doesn’t learn than it will always be difficult getting your dog into the car. If it gets too much and you really can’t take the crying and howling, you could always make sure that your dog has someone there by his side to let him know that he is not alone. However, there is to be no cuddling, petting or coaxing wirds used. Your dog needs to think that this car ride is not a big deal, the sooner he gets used to it, the easier it will be on both you as an owner, and the pet. You should act normal, as though putting him in the car is the normal thing to do.

You need to go one step at a time when introducing your Border Collie to his or her first car ride. You should first try and put your dog on the back seat and sit down with him for a while when the engine is not running. Wait for your dog to get accustomed to the seat and then attempt to turn the engine on. See what his reaction is, don’t get ready to drive just yet, wait for you dog to get used to the sound of the engine. You should sit with him while the engine is running for between fifteen minutes and an hour, however long it takes before you know that your Border Collie is comfortable.

When your furry friend is accustomed the engine running, try leaving him alone in the car for about five minutes. Once you get back into the car, try driving the car for a short distance, say around the block. This will teach your Border Collie to master his balance initially in a moving vehicle and get used to the motions of the movement. If you have the window open, it may be a good idea to put a harness on him to ensure that he doesn’t jump out of the window.

For each step your Border Collie has established in this new journey, give him a treat and some affection and praise. In this way, he knows that you as an owner and master are proud of him and that he is doing something good. He will therefore learn that this is the correct behavior when in a car.

If you are having trouble teaching your dog how to deal with this new situation, try taking him to the park, instead of around the block at first. He will learn that fun accompanies this new advent our, and he will be less likely to play up when you need to put him in the car to take him anywhere.

Once your dog has mastered this new experience, the two of you can have lots of fun together. You should always remember never to let your dog stick his head out of the window as this can cause problems with his eyes and ears. Drive safely and enjoy your trip with your ever loyal Border Collie companion!

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