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Help needed - suggestions for ill traveling dog?

3K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  Dougy 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, Arthur and I are desperate for some suggestions as to what can help with car sickness. We travel every month or two for a 5 hour journey. Arthur is always do excited to go, but he really gets so worked up. It starts with a few whimpers, then excessive drooling, a short time later he will vomit stomach acid (we don't feed him before travel),then cOntinues to drool the entire trip. Pools and pools of drool.

Our vet suggested half a tablet of Benadryl - we tried this with no effect.
She then suggested half a tablet of Dramamine - also no effect.

I'm hopeful some of you may have other thoughts/suggestions.
 
#3 ·
How is he riding? In your lap? in a car seat? on a seat? I would probably try one on the comfy car seats and put a plush blanket in it so he could nest, something that smelled familiar from home, maybe a favorite toy, or pillow or something else that reminds him of home.

stay calm yourself! Their anxiety (or pending anxiety) can make us anxious and then they sense that and it becomes a vicious circle or anxiety.

I would also start taking him on very short car rides and then back home again, so he knows that he will always, eventually, end up back home. Gucci was nervous for a few months as a puppy for our weekly car ride to work, but now car rides are her favorite thing in the whole world. I probably should not let her sit on my lap, I wish I wouldn't have started that bad habit.

Kara
 
#4 ·
Rosie will be three this month and I tried everything and nothing works. She has a llimit of about 7 miles before she starts vomiting. She can get to the Vet's office here in our town and from the exit where we stay to my son's house in Nashville-7 miles. This 7 miles has just been reached. We tried all the meds and then the Vet gave us a sedative. I give it about an hour before we leave and she goes to sleep and as long as we don't stop she can make it about 6 hours. If we leave to soon before she gets sleelpy, she will vomit up the pill and keep on vomiting. We only made that mistake once. The pitiful part of this is that she wants to go. When the suitcases come out, she gets excited and stands by the door, but she won't get in the car on her own. I have to put her in. Oh yes, I bought her the best seat where she could see out and everything. Waste of money, except that it is strapped in like a child's seat and then has a clip to attach to her harness. If you find an answer, I would appreciate you passing it on to me.
 
#6 ·
Someone told me ginger snaps, but my dog would not eat them..I on the other hand love them...dearly.
Seems mine want to ride in the front seat. I have heard some people who get car sick MUST ride up front and only get car sick in the back seat..but that is different..people not dogs.
 
#7 ·
Jasmine doesn't get sick but drools. She seems to do better in the front seat. I usually have her in her carry bag, but today she sat on her dad's lap in the front seat and didn't get sick at all. I don't know if this was because she was calmer and distracted, or if it was because she could see the road.
 
#9 ·
Baxter also gets very car sick. The next time we ride, I'm going to try a mint freshener in his crate. When I was pregnant, mint tea helped me. I know it's a desperate attempt, but it's worth it.

I have not tried drugs, but I just hate to see an animal doped up, so I'm reluctant to do it.
 
#10 ·
Our Maggie is 4-1/2 months old and has gotten carsick since the first day we brought her home, whether she was in my lap or the carrier. Sitting in the car and taking short trips was working fine.....a couple of miles was about her limit though and she'd start yawning, then licking, then drooling and finally vomiting.....any longer and she'd get loose stools. These have always been happy trips for her once we got where we were going, plus a fun walk when we got home. For a longer trip (about 20 miles) our Vet recommended Dramamine.....we followed all her instructions, but it's the sickest Maggie has ever gotten. So back to square one, but now she barely tolerates a ride around the block. Someone suggested a safety harness and booster seat, so we have ordered them from Amazon. We plan some longer trips with her this summer, so hopefully things will improve.....I'll let you all know how things go. And I look forward to hearing some success stories from the rest of you, too!
 
#11 ·
I'm not sure what the answer is. I will tell you that none of my guys get carsick. I am not sure if it has to do with they ride in the snoozer lookout car seats...I also took them on daily short drives from the time they were pups. Maybe short trips to run errands would help him get used to the motion?
 
#13 ·
First, you have to give the Dramamine at least an hour before you leave and on an empty tummy. On a similar thread here, I put the "steps" I use beginning with putting the dog in her crate in the car... You can look and find it here. It isn't a quick fix. Another thing, other than the above you can put a little peppermint oil on the pads of the feet, not too much, a little.
 
#14 ·
This is the reason that my DH doesn't want another puppy. We can't go anywhere because Rosie doesn't travel well and it is so hard to find someone to watch her while we are gone. Makes me want to put her in the car not doped up and just drive until she gets over the car sickness, but of course I am afraid to. We can't go on a road trip because I couldn't ddrug her every day. It is really a problem.
 
#15 ·
Does the vet have anti nausea meds they could give for long car trips?

Lucille, I would be tempted to do the same! I can't imagine how inconvenient that would be for us if she didn't like car rides..or plane rides for that matter.

Kara
 
#17 ·
Actually Lucile, my little one did get better with time. If you read the link I posted on page one, they advise riding in small increments and riding in front seat..but you can read all that on the posts. I agree one car sick dog is enough!!! I could time it...15 minutes and pull over and clean up..Bailey hated the car so much that when I took him for a walk he would pull away from where my car was parked...it was sad. I don't know if the little by little would have worked for him, did not have the chance to try, but it prevented me from taking him for classes, etc...so it is worth trying to solve the problem as it does restrict lots of fun with the dog..
 
#18 ·
Thanks everyone for all the thoughts and suggestions. We used to use a Sherpa bag but he didn't like it. Now we have been just using his crate, perhaps I will look into something else.

Flynn Gentry-Taylor, thank you for the link, I saved it and am going to try some of the suggestions.

Here is a picture of poor Arthur on our trip this weekend:

 
#19 ·
Oh, that is so sad and familiar..Bailey would want to sit in my lap, with his head on the door/window while I drove and he would finally go to sleep. I did not give him any medications as when I read the "cautions" I felt he was better off with the motion sickness.I hope something works for you in that link, if it does not keep looking you will find something!!!
 
#21 ·
Brody gets/got terribly car sick. He still does over gravel roads. I've tried a bunch of things with him to make him more comfortable in the car.

My current arrangement uses the solvit car harness
Amazon.com: Solvit 62294 Pet Vehicle Safety Harness, Small: Pet Supplies in the front seat. He's not heavy enough to trigger the air bag sensor. I've found he does better in the front than in the back and also I can reach over to him in the front whereas I can't reach him when he's in the back.

From the day I got him home, he's gone on short daily car rides with me (to and from work). It's a 6-7 minute drive each way: just short enough that he'd get to the drooling stage but not actually throw up until we got to work. Over time the throwing up stopped on the short trips, but the drooling lasted longer. This eventually tapered off as well.

Then over the summer I took him on a LONG trip (about 16 hours). A lot of the issues resolved themselves on that long trip. It was hard...he cried for the first 6 hours or so solid and I was ready to toss him out the window! He did throw up a couple of time (but not much). Now he pretty much reserves the throwing up for when we are on gravel roads.

He's still not a huge fan of riding in the car, but he happily jumps in it and isn't traumatized by the sight of the vehicle. He'd much rather come with me than be left behind.

What I'd like to get for my next long trip is the solvit booster seat.
Amazon.com: Solvit Jumbo Tagalong On-Seat Pet Booster, Standard: Pet Supplies

When I fly with him I do give him children's gravol as I don't want him throwing up in his Sherpa bag and then having to lay in it.
 
#23 ·
Been there

When my husband and I travel on trips, I ride in the back seat with the girls curled up next to me and they do great. Two of our dogs are puppy mill rescues and had not been in a car for their first two years, so we had all the drooling and throwing up mentioned. We did all the typical things, going in the car in the drive and getting treats, then graduating to going down the drive, then short drives and it certainly helped. We tried me in the back and that REALLY helped. One dog never gets sick now, and the other once in a while if they are in the back and I am in the front. We just came back from a 700 mile trip and they did great, but our almost 17 year old dog has started shaking a LOT when we go in the car -- for years and years she did great. We have tried Rescue Remedy (and some other things) for her and it did not help at all. I guess being an old lady she just wants to be home. When we got home from our trip last week you could tell she was just so happy to be home.
 
#25 ·
So this weekend we took Arthur to the park. Instead of putting him in the crate, we let him sit in the backseat and I sat back there with him. He did soooo much better. Initially, once the car started moving, he was drooling a bit, but not NEARLY what it's been in the past. And on the way home, he didn't drool at all! He didn't get sick and seemed to actually enjoy the trip.

This was a test run and obviously I want to keep him safe, so I'll look into the other seats/restraints that were suggested. Obviously it was the rocky motion of the crate bouncing around that caused such illness.

Thanks everyone for your wonderful input and advice!!
 
#26 ·
i just started using NatureCalm24/7 pheromone collar for my dog when we leave him with the dog sitter. the vet recommended this collar and i think it might work for your dog. it's more for separaton anxiety but it might help calm your dog in the car. does she get car sick because she's stressed or is it he car ride that is making her sick. i know there's a new med that was just released for motion sickness. i am doing to the vet wednesday and can post the name of the med. i feel so bad for your dog. :eek:(
 
#27 ·
We traveled to Huntsville, Ala (about 4 hours) to pick up Rosie. She rode well in my lap. Then the next weekend we took her to another town up the road a 30 minute trip. My teenage grandson rode in the back with her in his lap. Shee did fine until we started back. then she started puking and did it continouly all the way home. I was scared to death that she would die before we got there. After all she only weighed 2.5 lbs. But as soon as her feet hit the ground, she was fine. Like I said she has gotten up to about 10 smooth miles now, but that is the very limit. If she is being held, she pukes on you, in her seat, me riding in the back with her. It doesn't matter. We are still not sure if it is motion sickness or anxiety. But I am willing to try anything. where does one buy a calming collar?
 
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