Car Sickness

[Gretel]

Okay I need some help please Vienna has been car sick since she arrived and I've been trying things to help but it doesn't seem to be improving. I fed her breakfast in the car every morning for three weeks as I drove up and down the driveway. I've taken her for lots of short drives to nice places. I've put peppermint oil on the back of her neck. I've tried her in a crate and out of a crate. I've tried Rescue Remedy. This morning on a drive she upchucked poo (that she had obviously eaten earlier) ;) OMG that was vile!! She did that on the way there and on the way back :D Any suggestions please?!

[persephone]

Is she anxious/excited in the car? whining/pacing/bouncing? or does she just lie down ..(then upchuck?)

[Gretel]

She is very quiet in the car. Oh I've also tried giving her an ear to chew to keep her busy.

[jemappelle]

I don't know if this will help or not but I had great success with a cat that was always car sick and we had long drives to shows! As a last resort I put the crate down in the footwell and covered it over with just a tiny peep hole so she could see me. Worked for her!

[oakway]

I use the human Maxolon 10mg with great success.

One half an hour before travel.

Do not give food before travelling a dog if they are prone to motion sickness.

[W Sibs]

Em has car sickness.. it's terrible.

She doesn't throw up anymore but she drool... OMG, she can drool.

I don't feed her before I take her anywhere. Gingers tablets use to help (not much but it did a little).

I'm going to read this thread with great interest!!

[Gretel]

Ah yes ginger was on my list to try I might discuss the Maxalon with the vet when I see her next. I'd love to be able to take her out more without her getting so sick. I didn't think she had anything in her tummy to upchuck this morning - I didn't realise she'd made her own arrangements and been eating poo

[ellz]

Don't laugh.....put a snood over her eyes for the journey.

This used to work for a very sicky Cocker of mine. Discovered it quite by accident on the way to a show one day. Used to have to spend hours with potato flour desicking it until the day it somehow wriggled in its crate and pulled the snood over its eyes. Actually made it to a 4 hour away show DRY and CLEAN!! We tried it again at the next show...put the snood on but left it over the eyes on purpose and it worked again. Never had another spewy drive with that dog!

[Tilly]

Maybe look into something like TTouch ... I was at an intro workshop over the weekend and I saw some amazing differences in some dogs anxiety levels after just one day.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

There is a new anti-nausea tablet available from the vets, I cannot recall the name of it. My friend fostered then adopted his foster dog but had trouble coping with the vomiting every time they went in the car. He bought this tablet (can't remember if vets had to order it in) and has adjusted the dose slightly to the lowest point. The tabs are quite expensive but it certainly works. The only thing he's found is that his dog doesn't usually eat his dinner on the same day of taking the tab.

[cowanbree]

I use sealegs which is a human one from the chemist and find it great. Haven't had a failure yet and it helps them out grow it

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

My dog used to get carsick.

What I learned.

1. Never feed before a car trip, even a short one. Especially if there are any corners or stop/starts. And that goes - don't feed for at least four hours before car trip, maybe longer. If you must feed, use something that is easily and quickly and completely digested like mince. Avoid dry dog food which is going to return almost fully intact but gooey even after 12 hours.

2. Line dog place with newspaper - makes cleanup easier. Have some buckets, sponges, and water available for cleanup. You can put a towel over the newspaper but it's harder to get the dog vomit off a towel than it is to stick newspaper in a bin.

3. If dog sits up when it was lying down, halt the car *immediately* and put newspaper under dog's mouth. You will not get time to find a nice place to pull over. Especially if that means going around three more corners.

4. Do a short trip to a fun place - like a dog walking oval - every day (eg before breakfast). I used to drive dog about 1.5km to a local oval. We could have walked to get there, but she needed the car travel practice.

5. If you can stop your dog seeing out - it helps. My dog figured this out for herself. If she lay down and kept her eyes shut, she would not get car sick. Or at least not throw up.

There are variations on this theme - from a sort of igloo box on the floor of the car (make sure the gearbox doesn't make the floor too hot) to a covered crate to dog with eyes shut (snood?).

[karly101]

There's a fairly new travel medication for dogs.. haven't heard any feedback on it yet-

http://www.pfizerah.com/product_overview.a...&species=CN

It's called Cerenia.

[Gretel]

Thank you for all the replies. I have new ammunition to try now I think maybe this is payback for when I was a kid and could not go out in the car without getting sick. It must have driven my parents nuts

[oakway]

Don't laugh.....put a snood over her eyes for the journey.

This used to work for a very sicky Cocker of mine. Discovered it quite by accident on the way to a show one day. Used to have to spend hours with potato flour desicking it until the day it somehow wriggled in its crate and pulled the snood over its eyes. Actually made it to a 4 hour away show DRY and CLEAN!! :D We tried it again at the next show...put the snood on but left it over the eyes on purpose and it worked again. Never had another spewy drive with that dog!

I don't doubt this in the least.

I have also found out if I travell the offender in the dark of a night time, NO sickness, yet during daylight hours

[dancinbcs]

First, if she is in a harness, get her out of that and into a crate. None of the dogs I have bred have ever been carsick except one that was put straight into a harness as a baby. I started picking her up to take to shows and had her loose in the back of my wagon with no problems, but she was still sick in the owners car. Once they took her out of the harness and left her loose she was fine. When she had a few months to get over it, they were able to use the harness again.

Second. A friend who does TTouch has had a lot of success putting T-shirts on anxious dogs, including those that get carsick. Get a childs T-shirt that fits snuggly and if necessary gather the back up with a hair band to make it fit snug around the chest. No idea why it works, but apparently it does work.

Edited September 26, 2010 by dancinbcs

[Swizzlestick]

I have a whippet pup who used to get terribly sick in the car - until a few weeks ago. Someone else in the whippet forum suggested I put her down in the footwell.

So, I put her bed down there, tucked her in, drove for 1hr 40 mins and NOTHING!! I was thrilled.

Same again on the way home.

Next day 1/2 hr trip with nothing.

Third day just a 10 min trip and still no vomit.

She is officially cured! I can now even give her breakfast 1/2 hr before we go anywhere too.

[GoldD]

I can sympathise - we have a golden retriever who vomits and then the other end too.....he foams at the mouth and drools until he is soaked to the skin. Nothing and i mean nothing has stopped him. A 10 min drive will usually produce a vomit if not a fully wet chest! We have a trip 3.5hours down the Great Ocean Road in December and back.....off to the vet for something to toally knock him out. We have done everything....... we have tried everything other than the snood and childs tshirt and the new medication.....

Basically we have given up, we just wait for the vomit now and pray his other end doesnt go too! LOL Glory Glory !! (because you have to laugh!)

PS. He is 3 years old!!

[woodbyne]

Friends of ours just came to our place yesterday and brought their boxer with them she gets terribly car sick they gave her one travel calm tablet human ones from the chemist and bingo no vomit and not even any whinging it also didn't make her sleepy so owuld be good for trials or shows etc

[BMAK]

only if you have company in the car winding down the window and having the dogs head stick out while someone hold onto them or there body while attached to lead keeps mine from crying and fresh air did them the word of good