Car Sickness

[OffTopic]

Finn gets car sick.

We're not sure if it's real motion sickness or anxiety, but since he jumps in the car eagerly I'm guessing it's real motion sickness.

Our vet does have a drug (don't remember what) we could give him, but it's one of those 24 hour drugs and I really don't want to do that unless we're going on a long trip.

 

We've taken him on several short trips and tried several different things.....we've had our other dog in the seat with him, we've had Mike sitting in the back with him, we've tried walking him before the car trip to make sure he wasn't too "wired", we've tried waiting until his stomach should have been empty (yesterday we fed him at 8am and went for a ride at 2pm) and he still gets sick.

 

Any suggestions? I've thought about benadryl, but again I hesitate to drug him for short trips.

[bexie]

GINGER!

 

We've used crystalized ginger primarily, but other forms work as well. It is well-known for its positive effects on motion sickness, also in people. So give it a try!

 

As for positioning, Molly was carsick as a pup, even as 4-5 months, so along with the ginger we found that it helped her to be able to stabilize her position and she usually does not look out while we are driving. Really curvy roads were the worst, I noticed--the same ones that would bother me. She got a sturdy plastic bed in the back of the car up against the back seat (long side against the seat). With it's shape, it supports her when she is lying down in the car and I think it helps her feel secure.

 

But really, try that ginger. If you can't get ginger candy or can't get Finn to eat it (Molly thinks it is great stuff), try ginger snaps. Ginger pills would work too but you'll want to give those longer before the trip so they have time to dissolve. Also I don't know how Finn is with pills. Molly seems to think they are treats... (okay, she's probably weird) Remember to take some with for the return trip. Also remember to make sure he gets some fun on the trip, because if he enjoys himself, he'll want to go even if he does get sick.

[Momzilla]

I was glad to see this posted. Just like Finn, Loch gets carsick no matter what we've tried. Unlike Finn, however, Loch does NOT go willingly to the vehicle.. it's like he knows he's going to be miserable.

 

We've even done the dramamine, but that didn't help. Sometimes it makes me think his is more of an anxiety issue, but none the less, he still gets carsick. Once he's 'urped' he is good for the rest of the trip. Also seems to happen more on the beginning of a trip if the road is a bit curvy.

 

I'm going to try the Ginger. I hadn't heard of that one. Ginger snaps - how many would you give? Loch's a big boy about 50 lbs.

 

Thanks for this hint~

[Liz P]

ginger!!!

 

Frankie would get horribly car sick in my Mom's Forester, which I would borrow on weekends. He didn't get as sick in my truck (would puke once instead of 4 times), though even as he grew out of it he always drooled enough to soak the seats. He is always eager for a car ride, but I do think excitement/emotions/fear has a lot to do with it. He is the pup that was squashed by his dam was paralyzed and broke his leg, so we were at the vet hospital several times a week for months.

 

My truck broke down and I bought a Corolla 2 months ago. Viola, he is cured! Not really, but I have figured out he does not get car sick in Elements, Corollas, Civics and a few other cars. He definitely feels better when sitting in the front. He drools more in the back seat and pukes every time in the very back of station wagons.

[stockdogranch]

GINGER! Sometimes they outgrow it, too. I had a student who used to bring her young dog twice a week, an hour drive each way. Every single time he got sick--empty stomach, full, whatever, didn't matter. Drool, puke; she just lined his crate with a gazillion paper towels and threw them away when she got here. Lined the crate again for the ride home. Ginger helped some, but as he got older, I think around 18 months, he gradually began to outgrow it. Some are also better if they don't see everything going by, so a towel or something over the crate may help a bit, too.

A

[OffTopic]

Ok, so what you're saying is that I should try GINGER!!!

 

I'll give it a shot.

Is there really enough ginger in ginger snap cookies to help?

 

And, like Momzilla, I'd be interested in how much to give. Finn is 40 lbs.

2 cookies?

 

Some are also better if they don't see everything going by

Yeah, we wondered about that, too, and tried keeping him looking forward instead of out the side, but it didn't really help.

[pammyd]

Yup I was carsick as a kid and one ginger snap a trip did the trick

Also Ben is sick when the bloke drives but not when I drive - I am carefull going round corners and roundabouts and that really helps

[NRhodes]

Besides the ginger you might also try putting him in a crate where he can't see out at all.

I haul all my pups with mom when they're itty bitty things and have never had any of them be carsick then or later. They're just too small and unawares of the world at that point to know any better so they never think it's a big deal after they're grown either. My last litter I started hauling at a week old.

[Laura (Cady and Koda's mom)]

You could also try belting the dog in a seatbelt. I found that the less mine have to stabilize themselves in the car, the better. Ginger did help a little, dramimine didn't. My first dog would get sick as soon as I started the car even if we were just sitting in the driveway. Same thing, drool, puke. Each of mine has outgrown it, somewhere between 6 months and a year. They each were reluctant to go for rides anywhere when they were getting carsick, now that they've all outgrown it, they LOVE to go for rides.

[Allie Oop]

Rusty also has a tendency to urp when he goes in the car, although we haven't had an incident for a while. I don't take him in the car if he's eaten within the last hour or two, make sure he has plenty of air ventilation (a partially rolled down window) and he does best if he is contained in a particular area (crate/pet net/etc.). Heat and the rolling motion of the car seem to trigger the problem.

[Maralynn]

Besides the ginger you might also try putting him in a crate where he can't see out at all.

 

When I first got Kipp he would get carsick if not crated in the car. He was 20 m/o at the time, and I don't think he'd ever ridden loose in a car before that (he had ridden crated several times before I got him). He got better over time and can now ride crated or uncrated without a problem.

[nancy]

Getting Fergie a harness that connects into the seatbelt did the trick for us. It was a stability thing. Before, she upchucked by the time we backed out of the driveway. Now, she handles Durham NC to Worcester MA with no problem. And she loves looking out the window.

[Pippin's person]

I know you said no drugs, but if you change your mind and/or the ginger doesn't work, we had great success with Bonine--it's the non-drowsy Dramamine. 25 mg about 20 minutes before a ride did the trick for our dog who got car sick everytime he was in the car no matter what was in his stomach or how he was in the car (loose, belted, crated, windows up; windows down--didn't matter). And it was good for all day, so if you are going somewher that's an hour away, you only need one does for both the trip there and the one back.

 

Hamish finally outgrew it after about a year, but the bonine was great when ginger didn't really help. YOu can get it in the regular stomach aisle in the grocery store or drugstore.

[bexie]

For those bigger dogs, you're probably going to want to try with 3 or 4 cookies. You want ginger snaps--not just spice cookies--to be sure you have enough ginger. You could also just make something yourself with a good bit of ginger in it, especially if you have a sensitive dog. You just want some carrier that makes your dog want to eat it. We are lucky with Molly--she'll eat anything my DH makes look interesting, which just about means anything he gives her that isn't huge. Worst case, he pretends to eat it. We both like the ginger candies, so she just ate them to be like us. It is really much strong in that form.

 

For the dog that doesn't want to go on rides, you might want to try making neat things happen in the car. Get him in and play a bit or give him a few treats and get out again without going anywhere. Make the whole idea of the car pleasant. Then dose him up with ginger and go for a really short ride to somewhere he will like--a park, a beach, a friend's, whatever. Somewhere he can have fun. Hopefully the ginger will help enough that you can end the ride before he gets sick. Then get him out and have fun. Then more ginger and the short ride home. Repeat and slowly extend as he gets more comfortable and happier. If the trips are more fun than yuck, he'll want to go even if he does get sick. Molly was very much "I wanna come" even when she was still a bit car sick. But she only threw up once and it was a long rough ride with lots of traffic circles. When she did get sick, we stopped and got her out for a walk and let her know we weren't upset with her while cleaning up. She was so upset about it--she didn't want to dirty her part of the car. So make sure you do clean up quickly if he gets sick and reassure him that you aren't angry with him no matter how you feel.

 

Just a few thoughts.

 

bexie

 

ps--Molly's car sickness improved suddenly when I got my Suzuki Grand Vitara. I remember as a kid that I didn't get sick in the back seat of my parent's 2 seat pick-up but I couldn't ride in the back on the station wagon without being really sick. I think the extra height might make a difference (before that she was riding in the back of DH's VW golf that is fixed to have only the two front seats and be flat in the back behind them. My Suzuki is the same with only the 2 seats and flat behind.

[MaggieDog]

Do check the back of the box of gingersnap cookies - quite a few of them have pretty much no real ginger in them. Your best bet are the gingersnaps in the natural foods section at the store.

[NorthfieldNick]

Neither of my dogs get carsick- Lu loves long car trips- but...

 

Now I'm going to spend my Sunday making ginger snaps! LOL! I want a cookie

[OffTopic]

I think I'll try making my own ginger cookies. That way I can make sure I get enough ginger in them to help, plus I can make half the batch lower sugar for Finn and the other half the regular way for me!

 

I know you said no drugs, but if you change your mind and/or the ginger doesn't work, we had great success with Bonine--it's the non-drowsy Dramamine.

My real concern about drugs was making him drowsy all day. I didn't realize you could give a dog Bonine. If the ginger doesn't do the trick, I'll give that a try. Thanks!

[Bo Peep]

Short trips work best. First just sitting in the car. Then going to the quick store and back (with a treat from the store) watch for signs of drooling. Do that for a bit and then make it a little longer each time. It's really that they aren't used to it. When I had pups. I'd take Mama and pups in the back of the canopy for short trips to the store. Those pups never got carsick. I have brought home quite a few that did. Depends on who you got the dog from and how hard they tried to fight every obstacle that they could. Good luck. With my rescue dog Mick. I did use Dramamine baby ones and he was 3. Barf isn't fun.

P.S. Is the dog in the car and do you smoke? another thing to think about.