An Unexpected Item May Comfort Your Dog's Travel Anxiety

Unless the final destination is their favorite park or other enjoyable spot, many dogs don't like car rides, but sometimes taking a long road trip with Max or Sadie is inevitable. Maybe you'll be taking a long road trip soon because you're moving or to visit family or an upcoming holiday. Traveling in a car for a long period of time can cause your pup to get anxious, but according to Adaptil, you can calm their anxiety with an item from home: your T-shirt.

Have you ever left a shirt or pair of pants on your bed and found your dog lying on it minutes later? It's a common occurrence among pet parents, and it typically means the dog finds comfort in the scent of the clothing. With their highly developed olfactory capabilities, dogs can smell things humans can't, and the residual aroma of deodorant and body soap on a T-shirt that's faint to you will likely be much stronger to them. You could be caring for a blind and deaf dog, but they'll still know you by your scent.

So when packing up the car, grab a shirt and place it on the seat for your dog to sniff and lie on. It's best to choose something that you wore recently so the scent is the strongest. It can be pajamas from the night before, sweat pants, or any other article of clothing that smells like you. Your dog will likely associate the garment with you and your home — a place of solace and safety — and be less nervous about the drive.

Placing your shirt near your pet during a long car ride can help with their travel anxiety. However, if for any reason this method doesn't work as effectively as you hoped, or if you just want to try to provide more comforting options, you have another option. You can wrap your dog in your shirt snugly enough that it stays secure to make a vest. Think of it as a DIY ThunderShirt, which is one of the best anxiety vests for dogs. With this technique, you can have one garment on the seat and another wrapped around them.

ThunderShirts are designed to apply a gentle amount of pressure on an animal to create a calming sensation. Thunderworks claims that more than 80% of dogs that have used them have experienced positive results, so you can create your own version with a human shirt, and hopefully your four-legged friend — or tripod friend — will be part of that 80%. A scarf can also work well, or, if you don't plan to wear the shirt again, you can cut it into large strips to wrap around your pup.

You can find step-by-step instructions on how to convert your shirt into a calming agent for your canine companion on Trupanion and YouTube. Just be sure the "vest" fits snugly on your dog, but not too snug, and don't leave any hanging sections that your dog can chew on or get a paw stuck in.