16 replies to this topic

[kjwarnold]

Kirby is a pretty good traveler except when we're on windy, bumpy roads. After a few miles of the bumps and turns, he starts turning green and eventually throws up. I've tried not feeding before a trip and feeding before a trip, but neither seems to make a difference. He is better if he's riding up front on my lap, but that's not the safest place for him -- he's better off in his crate. His motion sickness isn't from fear -- I was reading about that and we don't have that problem.

So, what works for you if your dog gets motion sickness in the car? I know ginger is usually recommended. Do you use ginger snap cookies, do they have them especially for dogs or should I just get people ones? How many? What about ginger ale? And what other things might I look for? I'd like to help him out -- poor little guy got sick three times the other day on our trip. Plus we have an RV and will be traveling a lot this year.

[dinib]

Every time I put Buckley in a crate in the car, he vomited. I then had to have him on my lap. You are right, this is not the safest. I bought a doggie car seat for the back seat that uses the seat belt to secure the bed in place and clasp to attach to his harness. No more vomiting. He can sit up, lie down and see out the window. I've actually forgotten to attach his harness a couple of times, but he stays in his seat.

[Holly&me]

Holly was sick when in the crate in car. So I just bought a special strap that clips onto seat belt holder, made long enough for her to lie down on an old pillow I put behind passenger seat. She cannot see out of window but that does not bother her - she lies down and goes to sleep, and is not sick.

[Puddlesmama]

I use ginger snaps..even for myself:)

What dinib said about the carseat..it really did stop the puking after we started using it with Iris.

[omahamom]

Xena gets carsick pretty frequently...even if we are only going a mile or so. Doesn't seem to matter if she is sitting, laying down, etc. My vet said if I want to give her something to use Benadryl. I'm afraid to try gingersnaps because it definitely seems like if she eats before the car she will for sure get sick, but I will give it a shot anyway.

She goes to the vet monthly for her Addisons treatment and I now have the staff trained not to give her a treat for "being good" after her shot!

[lish82]

My Puppy doesnt mind to be in the car she does pretty good... the thing i cant get past her is playin wit soda bottles is that a good thing to let her play wit? Or just let her be a puppy and have it as a toy? any advice?

[jimnconnie]

lish82, on Mar 4 2009, 10:28 PM, said:

My Puppy doesnt mind to be in the car she does pretty good... the thing i cant get past her is playin wit soda bottles is that a good thing to let her play wit? Or just let her be a puppy and have it as a toy? any advice?

I think plastic bottles are O.K. for puppies, as long as you keep an eye on them to make sure they don't break into them with those sharp puppy teeth. We used to put something inside the bottle (plastic beads, small bells, etc) and then put the bottle cap back on tightly. When they push the bottle around on the floor it makes noise. They really liked to push the bottles on the kitchen floor, because it was slippery and moved faster than on carpet. It's not a good idea for bigger dogs with bigger, stronger mouths, because they are too likely to break the bottle open. Check the cap to make sure it doesn't get loose, and replace it when it gets chewed up too much.
Jim

[sjleworthy]

mine used to throw up in the car even after a mile or so. but we decided she needed to get used to the car so we started driving her small distances, even over un-even road, just to get her used to it, longer and long distances each time. after a short time she became immune. now, she adores the car. jumps in it as soon as the door is opened, and frequently enjoys a 3 hour trip to my folks house.

[Parkerfur]

First of all I think it's funny you give your dog plastic bottles... Spencer will do anything for a plastic bottle.

Anyway, Spencer also gets car sick. Our vet suggested that we give him a low dose of a traquilizer (we go on 4 hours drives quite frequently to visit parents). It's a super small dose and it doesn't put him out but it just takes the edge off of it. It works really well for Spencer and we haven't had an issue since we have started doing this. Oh and the pills are $1 a peice and each pill we break into 4... so it's cheap.

[kjwarnold]

I'd like to report that ginger snaps are doing the trick so far. I give him just about one whole ginger snap well before we get on any windy, hilly roads. Between that and holding him in my lap for a few minutes every so often, we haven't had any throwing up in his crate. Yay! And DH has decided that ginger snaps really are much better than he remembered...

Thanks for all the ideas!

[Sandi16]

I'm trying to get Louie used to the car because at least once a year we go to St. Louis which is a 17 hour drive. He spent most of it puking and being all around miserable. When we go for walks, he has to be dragged passed the van, he's so afraid we're going to go in there. We've started taking him on little jaunts around town. Anymore than 15 minutes he's puking still.

[DawnandTuk-tuk]

I feel so bad for all the car sick dogs! I'd say for Louie, you might want to de-sensitize him to the van. Start with getting in and not going anywhere, stay in for longer intervals till your up to 10-15 minutes-and he can walk past the van without fear. Then I would start taking short van rides somewhere fun, do you have a dog park nearby? This way the van ride is associated with a super positive result. Next I would line up the list of suggestions here and get ready to try them out. After Louie no longer displays van fear go for a longer ride using one of these remedies and if it does not work immediately take him home and go back to step 2 with dog park visits after van rides for a little while. Continue with the remedies till you find the one that works for him. I suggest this to be sure to eliminate any possibility Louie is throwing up in part due to the "stress" of being in the van. Tuk absolutely does not like to ride in the car, he goes cause he likes where he ends up, but he whines most of the way if we are not on the freeway or can't be in my lap. I've always been sad he didn't like the car, but grateful he didn't get carsick. Good luck!

[Sandi16]

We may have solved our problem. He is still scared to go in the van, but we bought a little doggy car seat for him. I think being contained in one spot, makes him feel secure. He actually fell asleep in it Saturday. He didn't puke and barely drooled. (he used to drool like a fountain before)

[Renee]

I've had Kipper since February and he has been very few places because he gets so car sick! My husband and I are going on a trip in October, but Kipper is going to "doggie camp." I've been working with him on riding in the car a lot lately to try to get him prepared for the 12 minute ride to the doggie camp. At first he was terrified to even get in the car. What I've been doing is taking him on rides less than a mile, getting out and walking him, and then riding back home. This way he equates riding in the car with a fun activity. Then he gets a special "car treat" at home. Finally he's gotten to where he runs over all excited when I say "car!" And he jumps into the car (crate on the back seat) all by himself. So I thought I was over the vomiting problem. Nope! I guess it really is actual carsickness since I don't think at this point it is stress-related. How can a doggie get car sick from such a short trip?

I've not tried gingersnaps yet, but I will next time. He actually seems to be better on a full tummy, rather than an empty one, which goes against what I've read online about this problem. I called my vet, but he didn't offer many solutions, other than using Benadryl (which I could see using for a long trip) and something that sounds like Cellenia (sp?), that is for vomiting. I can't find any info on it, but probably because I spelled it wrong. (I thought I'd be able to figure it out.) I'm picking up the medicine tomorrow. I hate to have to use something like that every time we go somewhere, though.

Does anyone have any other ideas? Will this pass eventually? If so, WHEN? Kipper is about a year and a half. Hopefully he will outgrow this a bit.

[bradl]

Meclizine, maybe?