Lappie_Girl Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Hi, I took my 9 week old puppy on a 15 minute car ride today. On the way to our destination he drooled so much that I could wring out the towel he was sitting on, he ended up with most of it on his face. On the way back after a 10 minute stop (still drooling). He lied down in the car and continued to drool and then feel asleep. But the towel was just as wet on the way back home. I kept reassuring him telling him everything was ok. Is this a form of car sickness Is there anything I can do to make a car ride easier and less messy. We are starting puppy pre-school in 2 weeks and I was hoping the he wouldn't feel stessed out by the experience of driving to the vet. Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoo Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 i find when travelling with dogs, the ones that are drolling big time are pukers. all the dogs i have taken in my car and have drolled alot have vomited. just my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lappie_Girl Posted June 19, 2005 Author Share Posted June 19, 2005 Is there a way to condition him so that he won't puke or drool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lablover Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Drooling is normally a sign of nervousness. It may be an idea to make the car a fun place. Feed the pup in the car. Take him for lots of short trips. Do not make a fuss of him and confuse him with reassurance. He will probably be fine with further car travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavsRcute Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Ginger tablets are good for this. Give them to the dog about 1/2 hour before you are going anywhere Don't feed the dog before you go on any trips Even put the dog in the car, in the drive way and just reverse up and down it . the dogs normally grow out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lappie_Girl Posted June 19, 2005 Author Share Posted June 19, 2005 Thanks for the info. Where do I find ginger tablets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavsRcute Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 In a health food shop. Don't forget to give them at least 1/2 hour before the trip. And it might take more than once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielover Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Gotta agree with the others. Drooling is a sign of nervousness, and sometimes car-sickness. He will most likely grow out of it, but in the meantime take some short car rides and make it fun (go to parks, friends places, etc). We used to use Blackmores Ginger tabs for car sickness, and they helped a little. Obviously if he does start to vomit in the car, don't give him anything to eat for some hours before leaving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-time Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 yep, drooly,drooly - lucky your puppy didn't puke as it's the next step! 3 of my 4 dogs suffered terribly with carsickness. They have all grown out of it by 7 months of age or earlier. The worst case of carsickness I've ever seen was in the litter sister of my girl. She would start drooling as soon as she realised she was going to the car!! Ginger. Raw ginger, grated into the food at least a tablespoon full (my dogs still like it!) - or a tablet but raw is more powerful. Ginger is suggested to all pregnant women with morning sickness as well. Very short and pleasurable car trips for your puppy. You might have to bite the bullet for your first few weeks at preschool and lay towels down on the back seat. Don't forget it's nausea and your pup probably won't be feeling too crash hot by the time you get to your destination. If it's too bad, you may have to delay the preschool for a while or just give yourself heaps of extra time to get there well before the class starts so your pup has time to feel a bit better and learn. Sorry Lappie_girl, it's awful but your puppy will grow out of it eventually. Just be patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy's mum Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 There have been a few threads on this in the past. My Ginger used to drool but after a few long trips, she stopped. She was over 7 months. I read on here that the long trips were the way to cure this (bizarrely). So after a few car-trips Leichhardt to Castle Hill for Agility classes, she stopped (even though we had a bad accident on the first trip). My new chi, Pansy, aged 8 also drools. She is not used to the car. She wears a bib and has a towel to lie on (sometimes she drools on poor Freddy though). She starts drooling before the car moves - while I am loading up. I took her to Castle Hill with Ginger yesterday for the ride. She drooled most of the way there (and also slept!). I walked her and when I got back an hour later, we had serious drool over the brake, gearstick, cup holder and my seat, so she drooled while the car was stationary. Obviously not motion sickness. I am going to try the ginger tablets. Neither she nor Ginger are ever sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Excessive drooling is consistant with stress. A dog feeling "car-sick" is generally in a stressed state, hence the drooling. What can happen further is that actually being in the car is paired with the feeling sick/stressed and, therefore, some dogs exhibit the stress symptoms even though the car is not moving. I've found one of the best ways to deal with this problem is in small increments. It does involve avoiding taking your dog for an actual drive for a little while. Stage One. Start with the two rear passenger doors open (I'm assuming your dog travels in the back?). As one of the earlier posts mentioned, your aim will be to feed your dog in the car. Don't force your dog in the car. If he will only approach the car to a certain point, work at that point. This is where your dog will be given its meal/s each day. Once pup is comfortable and is approaching that distance quite happily, move in a little bit and feed at that point. Keep going with this process (it might be a slow or quick process, depending on how aversive your dog finds being in the car) until you can feed your dog in the car. Allow your dog to exit the car at any time it choses and keep both doors either side of the car open. Stage Two. Once your dog is feeding comfortably in the car, close one of the doors, re-open it. If there were no issues with that, close it again. Finish the session on that .. ie allow your dog to finish its meal and exit the car through the remaining open door. Repeat this a few times. Stage Three. Provided your dog is comfortable with one side door closed, close the other door, and re-open it. If your dog appeared comfortable with this, close the door again for a few minutes (or at least while your dog remains interested in eating its meal). Just before the meal is finished, re-open the door and allow your dog to exit. Stage Four. Assuming the first three stages have progressed and the dog is comfortable with them, you can progress to the car being started. Be in the car. Start it for a few moments and switch off. Repeat, each time letting the car run for a little bit longer. Stage Five. Drive the car to the end of the driveway and back. I think you get the drift from there? What you're doing here is helping to get your pup used to riding in the car and repairing any bad association it might have developed with having felt sick in the car. Hope it works out for you. It sounds like a long process, but as you've got in early (ie not waited for months or years), you'll probably find things will progress in leaps and bounds if you work on the initial stage in small increments first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lappie_Girl Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Thanks for all the info. The thing is he showed no sign of being nervous on the way from the breeder home. He was happy and very curious. But he was on my lap in the front seat. I will try the ginger tablets. Erny- Your surgesstion would work if my puppy ate all his meals in one go. He is a nibbler a couple bits of biscuits and that's enough for him for an hour or so and then comes back for another couple of biscuits. I will try just sitting him in the back seat without the car moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lablover Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Erny gave a lovely long explanation. I bet your dog will be happy in the car, when he realises it is fun. What I also have found dogs have a preference to where they like to be. Try and find his most comfortable spot. It may help to have a window slightly open and have him facing forwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akitaowner Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 not sure how old ur pup is but 8-10 weeks i thought was generally accepting of new things a bit older - say 10-14 weeks they can suddenly become scared of all sorts of things they were fine with before - thnk those were the rough times but they go thru a little 'stage' after they leave mum and littermates of being uncertain of things before they get confident - just FYI when he realises ur off to the park etc the car will be a lot of fun - i only have to leave the door open and my boys sitting inside waiting for me to take him somewhere!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibear Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 My baby boy is 5 months old. He HATES the car. He doesn't drool but he is sick in the car no matter if it is short or long trips. He has a harness that keeps him locked in he can sit but he always lays down. I tried with his harness off so he could sit easily and look out the window, but he just lies down and cries. I will have to try the ginger! Do you know if you can get puppy car sick tablets like adult ones? He knows where we are going, we go to the same place each week and he is excited when we get there, but he cries all the time in the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 Make the car fun for him...open up all the doors and put treats up towards it, encourage him to crawl around and check it all out..bribe if necessary..lol. Then do the up and down the drive way bit with once he's out he gets a treat, even give him a pig ear to chew while going short distances etc. As to the ginger tablets (travel calm, available from chemists etc) they should be given 1/2 hour before the trip...and no food or water for at least that long before the trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibear Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 Tried all those things except for the ginger which I think I will have to give a go. I hate feeling sick, so I can't blame him for hating it also. I used to get very car sick as a child, (and still now sometimes), so I might try ginger myself next long trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagsalot Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 (edited) just thought id add.. my dog (before we got him car sickness tablets from the vet) used to drool and be and be sick in the car all the time. ever since we got him at 10 weeks old. (he's now 4). thing is that he wasnt scared of the car at all...absolutely loves it. if someone has their door open on our driveway then riley goes and jumps straight in. vet said his drooling and sickness wasnt due to nervousness...he just gets motion sickness. easily treated with a tablet though :D edited to add: good luck with finding a solution. i used to hate that fact that all these other people had dogs who didnt get car sick and their owners never took them in the car, and i had a dog that i wanted to take everywhere in a car and he always got sick. it was so frustrating! Edited June 21, 2005 by wagsalot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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