Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Is your dog afraid of the Model X?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I have a large dog, 95#. She doesn't mind going in my wife's Range Rover or the kids' Volvo, but she digs in her heels when I try to put her in my Model X.

I wonder if there's a sound at a frequency I can't hear?

The "step up" is not an issue for her, and she needs much more human pushing to get up into the Rover or Volvo, so I don't think that's it. She literally backs away from the X, and no coaxing will work. If I had to get her in, I think I'd have to lift her in (as I say, she's 95#, which I can handle, but not if she's resisting).

We are moving to Massachusetts shortly, and the plan was to have me take her in the Tesla, but I don't want to force her into the vehicle if it's somehow distressing to her.

Anyone else had this experience? I see pictures of happy dogs in the X all the time. ?????
 
I have a large dog, 95#. She doesn't mind going in my wife's Range Rover or the kids' Volvo, but she digs in her heels when I try to put her in my Model X.

I wonder if there's a sound at a frequency I can't hear?

The "step up" is not an issue for her, and she needs much more human pushing to get up into the Rover or Volvo, so I don't think that's it. She literally backs away from the X, and no coaxing will work. If I had to get her in, I think I'd have to lift her in (as I say, she's 95#, which I can handle, but not if she's resisting).

We are moving to Massachusetts shortly, and the plan was to have me take her in the Tesla, but I don't want to force her into the vehicle if it's somehow distressing to her.

Anyone else had this experience? I see pictures of happy dogs in the X all the time. ?????
I have a Great Dane weighing 135lbs and she jumps right in cannot wait to go for a ride. Makes a mess with lots of tiny white hairs all over that are hard to vacuum up.
 
Did you take the dog to the vet (to get tutored)* or something else unpleasant in one of your first trips in the Model X? As far as high frequencies, does the dog wince or howl while driving or show other signs of discomfort?

* Far Side:
tutored-gif.36271
 
I have a large dog, 95#. She doesn't mind going in my wife's Range Rover or the kids' Volvo, but she digs in her heels when I try to put her in my Model X.

I wonder if there's a sound at a frequency I can't hear?

The "step up" is not an issue for her, and she needs much more human pushing to get up into the Rover or Volvo, so I don't think that's it. She literally backs away from the X, and no coaxing will work. If I had to get her in, I think I'd have to lift her in (as I say, she's 95#, which I can handle, but not if she's resisting).

We are moving to Massachusetts shortly, and the plan was to have me take her in the Tesla, but I don't want to force her into the vehicle if it's somehow distressing to her.

Anyone else had this experience? I see pictures of happy dogs in the X all the time. ?????
I have two dogs. They love the car. Have adapted to fwd standing behind or in front to allow doors to open
 
Two out of three of my labs LOVE to go in the X. The other one just doesn't like any car. I got her when she was older & she's always panicked when loaded in the car. Sedatives didn't knock her out moving from NorCal to Washington State (about a 10 hour drive in a Jeep), she panted the entire way. And then slept just shy of 48 hours after arriving. (And thank god I put a waterproof pad under her, because she didn't wake up for anything... poor thing.)

I will say it's gotten better with the X - instead of panting non-stop and unable to distract her (even with food), in the X she will respond to my voice, pick up a treat if nearby, etc. I think the lack of rumbling engine has contributed to her overall 'car panic'.

None of the dogs will jump out if I open a fwd - they just look at it like 'what is this magic??' and not budge. They only load/unload through the back.
 
Our dog sleeps in the garage on cold nights and outside other nights when she chooses (we live on a farm). When we went into this first winter with our model X we discovered that our dog refused to sleep in the garage with the X no matter how cold it got outside. When the nights got down to unsafe to be outside temperatures I had to carry her in to her bed and close the door before I let her go to keep her from running back out into the bitter cold. She would just lay on her bed and look like she was being punished. We think all the noises the car makes during the night (clicks and wirrs) during charging software updates etc must have spooked her. After a couple weeks she settled down and pays no mind to her new bedmate.
 
I have a large dog, 95#. She doesn't mind going in my wife's Range Rover or the kids' Volvo, but she digs in her heels when I try to put her in my Model X.

I wonder if there's a sound at a frequency I can't hear?

The "step up" is not an issue for her, and she needs much more human pushing to get up into the Rover or Volvo, so I don't think that's it. She literally backs away from the X, and no coaxing will work. If I had to get her in, I think I'd have to lift her in (as I say, she's 95#, which I can handle, but not if she's resisting).

We are moving to Massachusetts shortly, and the plan was to have me take her in the Tesla, but I don't want to force her into the vehicle if it's somehow distressing to her.

Anyone else had this experience? I see pictures of happy dogs in the X all the time. ?????
We have a small 30 lb bulldog mix that absolutely HATES being in our Model 3. She pants the whole time and won't lay down. We have another 6 hour trip coming up and don't know what to do. We have given her prescription dog sedatives and she still stresses. We are looking into making headphones for her to deaden the noise, but she will probably just remove them! Any ideas?
 
We have a small 30 lb bulldog mix that absolutely HATES being in our Model 3. She pants the whole time and won't lay down. We have another 6 hour trip coming up and don't know what to do. We have given her prescription dog sedatives and she still stresses. We are looking into making headphones for her to deaden the noise, but she will probably just remove them! Any ideas?
I had forgotten that I had posted this. Over time, my sweet dog decided that the X is fun and she hops right in whenever I open the gull wing door.
Ruby Rose, time and pleasant destinations might be what it takes. I’m not a vet or behavioral psychologist, but I wonder if associating the car and being in an altered state is a positive for a dog (as it appears to be for humans).
Good luck!
 
This thread is funny, as our 16 lb AussieDoodle, who normally falls right asleep in our cars has been nervous in my new Model S. On one 30 minute drive she was even shaking. I can’t figure out what is going on, since she never has done this in other cars. Feel bad for even taking her in my Tesla right now. Hope I can figure it out.
 
We have a small 30 lb bulldog mix that absolutely HATES being in our Model 3. She pants the whole time and won't lay down. We have another 6 hour trip coming up and don't know what to do. We have given her prescription dog sedatives and she still stresses. We are looking into making h kieadphones for her to deaden the noise, but she will probably just remove them! Any ideas?
This is exactly how my terrier has reacted to our model 3. She was fine in our old car, but shakes, pants and yawns the entire journey in the Tesla.
 
Perhaps it is time for someone to go high tech and measure sound frequencies outside of
"normal" human hearing .... ?
- Jim in PNW
There is clearly an issue with the car and a dog, Tesla needs to address this. It's breaking my heart. Layla, our mixed breed, 65 lbs. is a mess in only my Tesla and not in any other car. I have the car for close to 2 months, I take her to work everyday and it's hard to put her through this. She pants, shakes and drools. I'd do anything to fix this, I LOVE my Tesla. Help!
 
There is clearly an issue with the car and a dog, Tesla needs to address this. It's breaking my heart. Layla, our mixed breed, 65 lbs. is a mess in only my Tesla and not in any other car. I have the car for close to 2 months, I take her to work everyday and it's hard to put her through this. She pants, shakes and drools. I'd do anything to fix this, I LOVE my Tesla. Help!
Perhaps Dog knows this and is nervous about your relationship with Tesla. I've heard this can happen with spouses as well. I had to buy mine her own Tesla, to fix it.
 
Perhaps it is time for someone to go high tech and measure sound frequencies outside of
"normal" human hearing .... ?
- Jim in PNW
... if you are the one doing the actual sound frequency measurements - don't forget to turn on
and off various "features" of the car and to also measure at different speeds (including parked).

To the Renel - you should also test stuff like turning on/off different features (dare I call them
"capabilities"?) of the car with your dog in/around it. Also spend a few minutes seeing if your
dog shies away from the car before ever going near/into it. You -may- be able to discover
something important that could help/mitigate your dog's discomfort.
- Jim in the PNW