[Emalinek]

I have a nine year old miniature schnauzer who is a delight except for two issues.
One is that she is mortified when she rides in a vehicle... shakes, pants, barks, and cries.
We would love to be able to take her places with us, and we have tried everything we know to change this. I could really use any suggestions.

Two is ,that especially after being groomed and at other times too, she chews on her feet until they are sore. It just is compulsive and drives her crazy and me too! The vet suggested putting Listerine on her feet, but this did nothing.

Can anyone that can help with these issues?

[shazamataz]

Hi Emanilek,
I too have a dog that used to be petrified of going in the car. I had to hold her on my lap and cover her eyes whenever we went through a tunnel or past a truck. I distracted her with a toy or some food which to be honest didn't help a great deal but for some dogs it does.
Eventually (after many many car rides) she settled down. She still doesn't love the car but she tolerates it enough now not to get stressed out about it.

How do you transport him in the car?
Dog harness, back seat, on your lap, in a crate?

Some dogs stress out a lot less if they are kept in a pet carrier or crate during car rides, they can't really see what is going on around them and aren't as scared.

As for the grooming. A lot of dogs get clipper rash from the blades running against their skin. Ask your groomer to clip the hair a little longer to prevent this and use some cortizone cream on the rash until it has healed.
I've never heard of listerine being used on wounds... would sting really bad :(