Travel Sickness

[Dee_al]

Ive taken Jaxson to quite a few places, to get him used to being oout in public and stuff like that. He has been in my old corolla, my bfs VZ ute and bfs charade and has never once been sick, even on the 2 and a half hour trip from breeders house to our house, hes never once been sick. Ive rcently bought a new car, Jax has been on a few 10 minute drives in this car since i bought it and has been fine. Today I took him for a half hour drive and then on the way home he thew up all threw my car! I was just wondering, do different cars make dogs have different reactions? Hes not sick, has been fine since he threw up....

[W Sibs]

Did you buy a brand new car?

He might not like the new car smell.

[Pawfect]

Does the car have good air flow, or is it a bit stuffy? And is there good visability out the windows? Having a good view out the window, and some fresh air can make the world of difference!

It could be just a random onceoff though.. (like my dog who decided to puke in the car just as I was taking her and my bird to the vets because she'd broken a claw & the bird had got his head stuck in a rope toy while I was at work, meanwhile a massive spider ran across the windscreen and nearly gave me a heartattack as I was driving along. I almost burst into tears when I arrived & the vet asked how my day was!!).

[Mystiqview]

It could be anything. He may not have been feeling well or something. It could be this car, the way you drove or your drive may have had a lot more corners and he was feeling sick as a result. He could have eaten something in the back yard before hand and that made him sick.

I would before you go for a drive again with him is play in the car, and possibly feed him in the car a few times to reassure him that the car is a good thing. If you have another dog that LOVES the car, take them along too for a short trip, even if its the corner shop. If it's a confidence thing, the other dog will boost any lack of confidence your dog may have as a result of an unpleasant trip last time.

Don't make a big fuss of the car or he will think of it as something wrong and be apprehensive. Make it the same as if going for a walk or something similar.

[Loving my Oldies]

Did you buy a brand new car?

He might not like the new car smell.

Yes, that's what I thought too. Poor baby, I hope it is a one off.

[Whippetsmum]

Cars all feel different, some are higher or lower, some have more movement around corners, maybe the new car has a different centre of gravity and therefore balance, or different visability. Travel sickness seems to be created when there's a difference between what our eyes tell us and what our inner ear feels (the semi circular canals give a sense of position in space and acceleration/deceleration....are dogs the same?). My dogs are better when they either have their heads under a blanket and can't see what's going on, or are high enough to see out the front window. If they stare at the dashboard or back of the seat which isn't moving, problems arise, their inner ear tells them to expect something different to their vision.