Carsick Dog

[Creed Bennett]

I have a problem that I've never had before in all my years of dog ownership. My wife and I adopted a collie puppy from the animal shelter a few months ago. Every time she rides in a car she pukes. She is 6 for 6 so far with the latest episode being today. We thought she might grow out of it and I guess she still could but I feel so sorry for her. She starts drooling about a half mile from home and will usually goes about 10 miles drooling and then yaaaaack! Anybody else have this problem and if so what did you do about it? Meds?

 

[ChickiKat]

Stop at mile 9 and give her a break??? Sorry, couldn't pass that one up. Can you make sure she doesn't eat before the car-car ride? Is she looking out the windows? Humans get motion sickness when they perceive movement but are not aware of it visually, like people who can ride in cars but not read in cars. If you see that you are moving your body doesn't have adverse reactions.... I hope it works out for you and her....

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

You can give motion sickness meds. Try Meclizine. Sorry I dont know the doggy dose, but I have also heard a vet recommend benadryl for a client also!

 

[dainerra]

Ginger snaps are also good for car sickness. Is she nervous/anxious in the car?

Honestly, the advice to stop at mile 9 and let her walk around for a couple minutes is great. Take her on short rides and see if she can build up a tolerence. No food for 2 hours before driving too.

 

[FlaRocky]

Hello,

I would sometimes have this problem with new pups or adults. What I would do is when you go to bed pick up her food and water the night before. Get up next am. and take her out for her morning business, no drink get in the car and just go for a short ride. Turn around before she starts to drool, go home get out of car and have a 10 to 15 minute play time. Praise her alot, tell her what a good girl she is. Then take her inside and give a small drink, wait 30 minutes and feed her a small amount of her food and let her settle down. Wait an hour then give her more water and the rest of her breakfast. Let us know how that goes. Then if all goes ok extend the ride time a little each time. It is going to take work on your part, but is so worth it in the end.

Maye

PM me if you have more questions, I can call and talk to you about other options to get her over this.

 

[Glenmar]

Most pups will out grow the car sickness if you get them used to riding in the car. This has been my experience.

 

[Creed Bennett]

Funny you should mention stopping at mile 9 ChickiKat. That's about how far it is to our vet where we went today. She drooled all the way there. We went in for about 30 minutes then came out and got in the car to go to the post office and by the animal shelter where we adopted her so they could see how she was doing. She woofed her cookies right after we left the shelter. She usually eats in the morning and then after we eat supper. She hadn't had anything since she ate the night before. She just puked up A LOT of yellow watery stuff today. We normally withhold food when we take her to the vet but she finds something to throw up. I have taken her on short trips before trying to get her used to riding but it isn't working.
She doesn't look out the window when we are driving, she lays in between my wife and I in the pick-up seat. I know what you mean about reading and riding in a car Chickikat. I can't do it without getting sick. That's why I feel sorry for her if she feels like it makes me feel.
Dainerra, she doesn't act like she is nervous/anxious when she's in the car. My wife talks to her the entire time telling her how good she is and we both pet her the whole ride. She acts fine when we get to where we are going she just drools like a faucet running and then chucks.

FlaRocky, the vet suggested the short trips thing but I'm thinking it's going to take some type of medication to get her through our trips. I wanted her to ride with me a lot when I go into town for feed and stuff where she could go in the stores with me but I'm starting to wonder. I'm still hoping she will get over it. Thanks for offering the phone call. I might just take you up on it.

CrazeyCatNChickenLady, I'll look into the meds you mentioned.
Thanks ALL

 

[zzGypsy]

when I last had a sports car, and lived up a canyon, my dogs got so tired of being carsick on the curves they refused to get in the car... poor things!

Dramamine, the original kind, not the "no-drowsy" kind. adjust the dose by weight, so if a 150 lb person gets one pill, a 50 lb dog gets 1/3 pill... check the back of the box for dosage...

wrap it up in a bit of velveta or hamburger and give it 20 minutes before it's car time. my dogs would get in the back seat, lay down, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... no more car sick pups.

BTW, it seemed to be something about the suspension in the sports car. same trip in my explorer never made them carsick. you might try her in the back seat if you've got one... might move differently enough to not trigger the response.

cold air helps too... open a window a crack? run the AC? just some other thoughts.

 

[redhen]

We had this problem too with our new pup...
She was baaaaad! 5-10 minutes drivng and she tossed her cookies everywhere and didnt stop until we got home..
Vet said Dramamine.. it worked WONDERS!!!... we were able to take her to Maine (4 hrs away) with NO puking..
She just rested and hung out calmly.. NOT drowsy... just calm..
Cant remember the dosage right now..(but i can get it..) It was a life saver!

 

[suntex01]

One thing I learned is that if they're going in the car that day, they wouldn't be getting anything but water before the trip.

But after a while, they do grow out of it. Just try and make them as comfortable as possible.

Also, try to see if you figure why the dog gets carsick. I realized that my dog gets real nervous when in the car, so when my wife is with me, I have her calm him until he seems relax.
Or I'd put him in a place where I can pet him if I'm driving alone.