Nervous dog gets over his fear of cars... by holding his owner's hand

• Tommy the dog frantically paws at his owner when he's taken for a drive
• He only calms down when the driver clutches his paw to reassure him

By ANNA EDWARDS

PUBLISHED: 10:07, 10 October 2013 | UPDATED: 18:54, 10 October 2013

With the wind whipping their ears and their jowls flapping in the breeze, a car ride is normally loved by dogs who enjoy sticking their head out of the window.

But for one nervous pooch, taking a drive is a frightening thing - and the only way he feels safe is clutching his owner's hand with his paw.

A video uploaded to YouTube shows adorable Tommy sitting in the passenger seat while his owner drives.

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Reassured: Tommy doesn't like the sensation of driving, so always insists on holding hands

Car sick! Unlike the rest of his little dog friends, Tommy doesn't much care for car rides

I don't like it! Since the video of the nervous pooch has been posted, thousands have watched it

The driver can be heard chuckling while telling his dog to stop pawing at him, but the animal seems a little anxious as they roll along.

 

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Tommy starts nudging him with his head, tries to wriggle on to his lap, and frantically pats him with his paw, letting him know that he doesn't quite enjoy the ride.

He only calms down when his owner, called Adam Douglas, eventually clutches his paw and he visibly relaxes.

The video has already been viewed thousands of times, with YouTube commentators telling Adam how adorable the video is. 

Thomas MUST hold hands in the car...

Tommy gets a little nervous - but calms down when his owner holds his paw as they go for a ride

He replied: 'Can't believe so many people like the video. I only uploaded to video to see what the YouTube video editor was like so didn't expect this at all.

'I'll be sure to stick up a few more of Tommy's antics - maybe outside of the car though, a lot of you seem to be concerned about my driving, which I can assure you was perfectly safe ;). Glad you all liked it though.'

The driver assured watchers that he used a stand to hold his phone in place and was on a quiet road, so there was no danger to other motorists or pedestrians.

There's no way Tommy would stick his head out of the window - but at least he feels safer when he's holding Adam his owner

Perhaps he needs some driving lessons, like some of the rescued dogs who are being taught the skills behind the wheel in New Zealand.

In December last year, a charity introduced a canine driving school, aimed at proving how intelligent the animals can be.

It showed them responding to commands, steering the wheel, change gears and hit the brake, the BBC reported.

There is no scientific explanation as to why most dogs love going for car rides.

Some believe that they enjoy the higher view point, and like to see the world from a different angle, instead of having to constantly look up.

Another popular explanation is that by sticking their head out of the window, they can smell lots of different scents with their powerful noses.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2451696/Nervous-dog-gets-car-fear-holding-owners-hand.html#ixzz2hRBLlzCl
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