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Car sickness


karrie
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anyone know of something that works? Poor Sam.... it starts with foaming at the mouth and then he barfs. I've tried the making sure he didn't eat before we go ( some help with barfing lol but so is the bucket). I've done the radio, window cracked and even make sure he isn't hot ( ac on when really not needed). I've found a trainer not far from me but Sam gets really foamy even if it is only 5 minutes away. I don't want the experience to be sick to and then sick from... So if you got ideas I've got the ears... bring it on folks. I could use the help. I've never had a dog with car sickeness.

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Poor baby. Cady used to get car sick until she was 6-7 months old or so. Made her dread going in the car, but she got over that once the car sickness passed.

We tried ginger snaps, ginger tea, not eating/drinking, etc. She would be so nauseated she'd drool and then throw that up. I learned to line the car with towels.

Like Sam she was nauseated for even short times in the car- one day just sitting still in the driveway.

Sometimes the A/C blowing directly in her face on high helped some. Another thing that also worked was over the counter dramamine - dosage provided by vet, can't remember what it was. It did make her a little sleepy so we only used it for long trips.

We still went everywhere in the car, eventually she outgrew it and now loves riding in the car - with no nausea or vomiting.

Hang in there.....

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I don't have any experience with carsick dogs either. I guess I would have to know the reason they were getting sick. For instance, if it's the actual motion of the car (a purely physical thing) then I guess medication would be the answer. If the approaching objects mess with his vision and cause his brain to jumble, making him sick, then I would cover his crate.

 

If it's more psychological in nature, then I would start out to where Sam feels most comfortable (maybe that's before even reaching the car?) and slowly work my way up.

 

Regardless of the reasons, I feel for you. It would be a real bummer to have a dog that I couldn't take with me without getting sick.

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Haven't had the problem, Karrie (other than Fergus's first trip with me as a puppy) - but have you tried ginger? I don't know if you have ginger snap cookies in the US (or what they'd be called), but some people have found it helps to give the dog one of these cookies every now and again, both before and during the trip. Ginger apparently has really good anti-nausea properties.

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Karrie,

Loki was like that until about 4 months old. It was mostly frothing and drooling. The vet told me that it is fear - that MOST dogs do not actually get motion sickness. I don't know if this is right. But she said to keep taking him out often to "fun" places and if needed to calm the nerves dramamine or benadryl dosage could be prescribed. Never tried that because he did finally get over it and now he insists on going everywhere. I did notice that he started liking my backseat first (small confining mustang) verses sitting in my DH's large truck. So you may need to try crating or the doggy seatbelt, if you haven't already, to make him feel more secure.

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Fergie got carsick going down the driveway. So we put her in her crate - like we always did with each of our 3 cats, who also got carsick every ride. That worked.

 

But it was a royal pain getting the crate into the car - and it took up so much space. We had a Mazda 323 and a Honda Accord. So we tried a harness. It works great and gives us more room. It's the security that seems to stop the barfing. If we get in a car without her harness, Ferg likes to have the back seat shoulder harness across her!

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Dublin used to get car sick. He was fine up until about 4 months, then he would throw up or drool excessively (he would soak multiple towels). I figured it started because he was getting big enough to see out the windows, where before he just focused on me. Some dogs are more comfortable in crates. In Dublin's case, he would freak out in one because he had to see me and/or have a paw on me as all times.

 

You have to keep taking him everywhere with you...the only "cure" is getting him used to it. My vet suggested dramamine, but I didn't want to rely on drugs to take him places. After a month or so, he transitioned from vomiting to just drooling and then the drooling started to fade as well. Now he loves car rides.

 

The key is to keep taking him places to get him used to the motion and sights. (and keep the air vents on full blast). I would take him on at least on short trip a day and twice a week he would go to daycare (40 minutes one way). Like clock work he would get sick right before the ride was over, regardless of how long the trip was. I never figured out how he managed that! :rolleyes: I felt like a mean owner the first month I was doing it, but once I started to see improvement, I felt better. Dublin is able to do so many more things now that I can take him places in a car.

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Karrie, I would recommend a crate for travelling because it reduces the motion which often triggers the car sickness. I've been lucky, since none of my have been carsick but I know this works for my friends.

Good luck

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My old Collie, Kashka, got car sick coming home with me from the farm where I got her (her parents were working rough collies), at 8 weeks old, and continued to get car sick everytime we were in the car for a long time. I got a crate for the car (15 years ago, before I knew anything about crate training) so at least she would be in one place, and not make a mess of the car.

 

It was real vomiting, not just foam and drool.

 

It helped if she wasn't fed for at least 4-6 hours before going in the car. Eventually (maybe by 1 year old) she got sick less, not at all if the ride was just around town. By the time she was 3 years old, she only got sick if we were on a wind-y mountain road, driving too fast (my dad), which wasn't often. And by the time she was 4, she outgrew it.

 

2796964a95cf5a8122f8a1b8eecd1e58.jpg

Kashka June 1989-June 2003

 

I tried everything--the very short drive-around-the-block (she would get sick right away when she was a pup), dramamine (it helped alot, but it totally knocked her out for the day--not good for a short ride somewhere). But I never tried ginger and peppermint--I didn't discover those until she was older and out-grew the car sickness. I do know that ginger and peppermint do wonders for motion sickness for me, when I've been scuba diving (the boat really gets to me), so it might work for a dog, too.

 

Eventually they usually out-grow it. At least when Kashka got sick, it was only once on a trip, and I was always prepared for it, to pull over and clean her crate. Avoiding food for a few hours before made it much less of a mess.

 

My nephew had this problem, too, and he finally outgrew it by the time he was about 15!

 

Deanna in OR

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