Our best friends, our bestest boys and girls, can become real goofballs the moment they set their paws inside cars. After all, dogs love showing off their playfulness no matter where they are. But cars have something magical about them that brings out the inner puppy in some doggos.
To brighten up your day and give you something to smile about, Bored Panda has collected some of the funniest and most wholesome photos of dogs riding in cars and all the shenanigans that they get up to. Remember to upvote your fave pics and share photos of your car canines in the comments.
While there are lots and lots of dogs that adore being chauffeured around because car rides give them a sense of adventure and resemble going hunting, other canines have an aversion to vehicles. However, there are ways to encourage your dog to love cars. The Arizona Humane Society told Bored Panda that owners have to use positive reinforcement to get dogs to behave in a certain way. Read on for the AHS team’s insights.
Kelsey Dickerson from the Arizona Humane Society explained that dogs can be very responsive to their owners’ moods and will often respond to their tone of voice, body language, and demeanor in any situation.
“It is always recommended to use positive reinforcement when your pet is exhibiting behavior that is wanted by giving them high-value treats, verbal praise, and love!” she explained. So if you want your dog to learn to love car rides, positive reinforcement is the way to go and you should steer clear of punishing your pet.
“It is especially important to never punish your pet after it has exhibited a behavior you do not like unless you are actually catching them in the act. When you punish a pet for something it did previously, they do not have the cognitive ability to understand what you are punishing them for and it may even increase the unwanted behavior by causing your pet to have extra stress and anxiety.”
One reason that dogs might avoid car rides is that they associate the trips with negative experiences. For instance—going to the vet or getting carsick.
Meanwhile, shelter dogs might have had traumatic experiences linked to cars that you don’t know about.
Whatever the reason why your dog might be afraid of cars, the steps that you can take to encourage your dog to join you on car rides are simple enough. They just require patience, love, and understanding.
If your dog is carsick, The Spruce Pets suggests that you get over-the-counter medicine to ease their motion sickness. Obviously, ask your vet for their advice first. Oh, and just to be safe, avoid going for a ride whenever your dog just ate.
However, if your dog is scared of car rides, you’ll have to put in much more effort. But the gist is simple: bit by bit, you have to help your dog associate rides with positive experiences. Treats, praise, toys, and belly rubs can help you ‘bribe’ your dog to approach the vehicle and then get inside.
The important thing is to make sure that your dog doesn’t feel trapped inside. Keep up the encouragement as you start up your engine; make sure to go for shorter trips first. And remember—you can’t rush these things, but soon enough your doggo will a happy car-riding goofball like the rest of ‘em.
"Hanging on the passenger side of his best friend's ride tryin to holler at me!" - No Scrub
Doing some moving and forgot my dog's first toy as a puppy was in the backseat - he's a bit excited about finding it.
It’s good we got him a car seat so he could be more comfortable in the car
One of my dogs farted, I looked back in time to see this
Arrived at my destination, then turned around to check on my dog who was sitting in the back seat.
Cute pic but you should NOT HAVE your dog in the bed of your truck while driving. Pretty shitty people do this.
Gee, I wasn't prepared for this one!