Rumble Strip Terror

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I didn't want to highjack another thread, but Dr Doug mentioned that his dog was fearful of rumble strips.

Ohmygosh....Jimmy has always been phobic about these! I remember one day I was forced to cross some and he was hyperventilating/shaking so bad I pulled off the expressway, took him out, and just let him sniff around a business' lawn until he settled. He was maybe a year old then - fortunately, his response is a *bit* better now that he's 10.

Enter the Transit van: our home-made conversion has "lane departure warnings" which to him sounded a lot like hitting rumble strips...after hours of him panting in alarm, we figured out how to set the sensitivity down to "low". But our drive home from Glacier Nat'l Park last summer on US Highways, where the center lane is "rumbled" - was pretty awful for him: either we didn't pass slow-moving vehicles; or when forced to, it set off the dog. And now he regards the van as something scary.

We're headed to FL soon - I will be giving him some calming treats before we leave, in the hopes of keeping his terror level manageable. If those don't work, we'll be headed to the Vet for some drugs...

In the meantime, we're riding around our local roads with no rumbles, just to convince him the van isn't scary....

[ReneeG]

The first time we crossed one, our lab jumped from the back seat to the front, with TT in tow going 65mph! I quickly pushed her back and tried my best to calm her down while DH continued to drive. Since then we talk to her when we know we have to drive over them and she's been ok.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with a rumble-phobic dog.... and since none of us wants to scare our pets, it's a challenge when we have no choice but to hit the darn things.

[Pawz4me]

Our dog isn't terrified by them, but he absolutely doesn't like them. He's generally a very calm, "bomb proof" dog, so for him to react to anything negatively is very noticeable. We were recently on a trip and (IIRC it was in Wisconsin) were on a two-lane state highway with rumble strips on the white line and down the center. And it was very windy. It wasn't a fun riding day for the pooch.

[dturm]

I don't like them (but I do understand the benefit)!!! As bgum said with the "newer" repaving some states are incorporating them in the white line where they used to be about a foot outside. I tend to hug the white line driving the RV as it gives a little more margin of safety with passing vehicles and with wind effects. It's hard to do that when the white line is the rumble strip. Kaiya paces and Amanda used to look at me with a "what the …" look.

[naturist]

Xanax brand dog chow.

[bgum]

Our dog has always been scared of the rumble strip on the side of the highway. Mississippi has in some areas put them inside the white line and made the lanes more narrow. Our dog will climb the walls and try to get out of the tv. Must be terrible for them.

[downtheroad]

I hear you.
Not only is our dog terrified of rumble strips, but my wife always freaks out when we get on to one.....I guess they are designed to get your attention...