How do I get my dog to calm down in the car?

Stephanie (Midge1229)

My American Eskimo is very anxious in the car too, Benadryl helps but is just not enough for him. I'm sorry for your situation because I can relate.
I don't know what kind of vehicle you have, but perhaps, if it would fit, putting your dog in a crate in the car would help. She wouldn't be able to see the landmarks flying by and may not feel so enticed to jump or bark at them. Dogs usually bark at things that make them feel uncomfortable as a way of alerting others (though they also will bark when they're really excited/happy). I'm curious if your dog hates car rides and is going crazy to make it stop or if she loves them so much that she can't contain herself.
How much Benadryl are you giving? Maybe you could up her dose and that might have a more desirable effect; the dose is recommended of 1 mg per pound of your pet's weight.
Talk to your vet about prescription sedatives to use when you're going to take her on long car rides, they work well in most situations as they're more "heavy-duty" and your vet can help you find the right medicine for your dog.
Also, I would not recommend giving her baby aspirin anymore because it shouldn't have any effect on her behavior as it is a pain reliever, blood thinner, and fever reducer...not a sedative or medication known for causing drowsiness. Sorry.
Good luck,
--veterinary technician

Love My Dog, Love Me

Is your dog the ultimate wingman?
New York, New York is a city brimming over with single people—and it is also a city that loves its dogs. If you’ve ever witnessed a “dog pick-up” you can skip the next paragraph. But if you haven’t, here’s how it usually goes down.
It’s Saturday morning in Central Park, and a single guy out walking his dog stops long enough for an interested female to tickle him under his chin — the dog, not the guy… yet — soon numbers are exchanged, dinner plans are made, and man and wingman (wing-dog?) are on their way.
Sound easy? Variations on this episode play out every weekend all over this city and others at dog runs, farmer’s markets, and anywhere else where people mingle and dogs are allowed.
To understand how dogs can facilitate dating, just ask yourself — when you are attracted someone, what is the first thing you look for? Answer: common ground.
Ross Aikins, a single grad student who splits his time between New York and Los Angeles, thinks that having a dog can provide a great entry point into a conversation with a member of the opposite sex.
“When you see another person with a dog you know you automatically have at least one more thing in common to talk about,” Ross says. “I'd say having a dog definitely helps put a larger portion of the dating pool ‘on limits.’”
So what breeds attract the most attention? If my experience walking Ferdinand the Frenchie, is an indicator, the smaller and cuter the dog, the more likely you are to catch a single female’s eye. Ferdinand and I were having a tough time hailing a cab during rush hour recently, until a leggy Brazilian model took a liking to him. After watching her chuck him under the chin a couple of times and coo at him in Portuguese, I mentioned that I was probably going to have to walk him home because no cabbies were stopping for us. She promptly stepped out into the street, raised her hand and caused a traffic jam when three cabs veered out of their lanes to stop for her. Then she held the door for us so the cabbie couldn’t leave when he saw who he was really giving a ride to.
Bottom line – when it comes to using your dog to meet girls, it’s important to remember that your dog is just an entry point, but you’ve still got to do some talking if you want to turn that behind-the-ear scratch into dinner and a movie.
Has you or someone you know found love because of a shared love of animals? Tell us below!

Creating a Cheerful Home for Cats

An innovative center constructs feline-friendly environments.
Lucy the cat loves to get up and run along the top walkways while 15-year-old Zena curls up in a coconut that adorns a large, palm tree-shaped scratching post.
Both cats are permanent residents of the two retirement centers at the National Cat Protection Society in California. NATCAT is one of the few cat shelters in the country that offers a lifetime retirement program for cats whose owners can't keep them.
Now, these innovative centers have been upgraded to include more environmental enrichment for the cats, which helps keep them optimally healthy and happy. Environmental enrichment, by definition, draws out cat-appropriate behavior and provides a range of outlets for feline-oriented activity.
One such upgrade is a wall-to-wall overhead walkway.
“It was designed because they like to walk up high and look down on you,” said shelter manager, Marcia Bohlman.
“There’s carpeted ramps than enable the cat to get up to that area,” Bohlman said. “Sometimes the shier cats want to be up there to get away from everyone else,” she said.
There is also a “volcano” with pressure-controlled heating pads.
“It looks like there are stairs going up, different levels, but it’s in the shape of a volcano. There’s an opening at the top where we can put a bed and the cat will lie up there,” Bohlman said. “Around one of the bottom parts of the volcano are heated beds, like pressure point heated pads, so that when they lay on them, the heat comes up,” she said.
“It’s funny because they lay on them even in the dead of summer, when it’s warm outside,” Bohlman said.
In addition, the environment features what’s called a “lifeguard tower”.
“It’s basically almost a crow’s nest because it’s in the corner of the building,” Bohlman said. “It has a little edging around it so they can’t fall off and there are pillows and beds up there that they can lay on.”