Talk to your dog

Your voice can be very soothing to a dog. Talk to your dog and praise it in the car. However, remember to tell your dog all about how well it’s doing when it’s quiet and not whining. Attempting to soothe your dog’s nerves with your voice while it’s whining and acting scared will only reinforce the fearful behavior.

Give your dog a chew toy

Occupy your dog in the car by giving it its favorite chew toy to play with.

Take your dog to fun places

If the only time your dog ever goes in the car is when you’re taking a trip to the vet, you can understand why the car wouldn’t be its favorite place. Start going to more fun places than scary or unpleasant ones – drive to the dog beach, a nice hiking spot, to a playdate with another dog, or other place that your dog actually likes. Show your dog that a car means doing something fun is going to happen.

You can teach an old dog new tricks, so with a bit of patience and dedication you can teach your dog to love the car.