car sickness

[zelda's dad]

From the very first time we put Zelda(1 year and 1 month old) in the car to bring her home, she has gotten sick in the car. Going to obedience school(1/2 mile), the dog park(5 miles), the vet(2 miles), all produce excessive drooling followed by a frothing of the drool, and then the hacking up of whatever is in her stomach.
We've tried trolling our neighborhood slowly with the windows down, having her favorite toys to chew on, putting the backseats down(the car is a Nissan Pathfinder), putting her in the backseat, nothing seems to change her reaction to the ride.
My question is: Do you think this is a psychological memory to a bad car experience(which with patience and practice would be outgrown) or perhaps an inner ear problem, and if so, is there medication that won't zone her out?
We are planning a long road trip to see her "grandparents", and we need help to make sure it's a pleasant experience for Zelda and for us.
Any advice, experience, etc., would be appreciated.

[mscez]

My boy reacted this way too to riding in the car. Dramamine was suggested by a few members here, but I haven't tried that yet.

It seems Luke has become more comfortable with the rides (lots of park trips!). We travel a LOT and he's coming with, so something had to change. The first successful long trip we took meant leaving about 7 or 8 pm. It was dark, and Luke settled down in the back and actually went to sleep. We traveled until about 1am that night. And since then, he's been ok.

If we go on real windy, twisting roads--he
upchucks his lunch!

We have privacy-tinting on our windows to keep it comfortable back there, he's got a new car bean bag pillow (LARGE), so that makes it pretty comfy. And we've got a station wagon, so he gets the entire 3rd seat area, utilizing a wire barrier to separate the rest of the car from his travel area.

I've also found if I keep the 2nd seat windows down, he fares much, much better.

It seems he "grew out" of the extrreme drooling and foaming. And he's much better about upchucking, too. (Natch, I try to limit his food just before leaving, -- an empty stomache is so much easier to clean up after in the car!)

We also make sure we stop frequently for "watering", as well as for drinking!
LOL

Hope this helps. :)

[RottnKid1]

Somewhere on these forums I made some suggestions for this, but I don't know where, so here goes.

If the pup is anxious about even getting near the car, you'll want to take her only to the edge of her "comfort zone." Slowly work on getting her to the point where you can be right next to the car. The next thing to do is to get in the car with her making sure all of the doors are open. Only get in for a second, then right back out and give praise and a treat. Work up to being in the car for a length of time, then back out, praise, treats. Then you shut one door and start all over. You do this until the pup feels comfortable with all the doors closed -then you begin all over, but start the car when you get in. This can be a long process! When she's comfortable with that, go for very short ride, even just down the driveway and back. Make sure someone is in the back holding her so she can't move around as the anxiety can feed on itself. Be sure not to comfort the dog - this should all be matter-of-fact. If you comfort her, in her mind, there really is something to be afraid of. Most dogs will outgrow carsickness, but there are some who truly have motion sickness, just like people. Hope this helps!

[Trinity's Mom]

Hi all,

My elkhound used to get carsick. I was told to use holistic herbal stuff called Traveler. I got it at The Natural Cat( www.naturalcat.com) and the stuff really worked well for him. Hope this helps!

How long have you had her?

Mine used to get sick every time we were in the car, and would drool constantly. After a few months it went away, and now he only seems to get sick if we are driving for more than an hour and on winding roads.

So, there is hope that yours will get better in the long run as she gets used to the car trips being a happy experience.

(I know this is not much help for your trip to visit relatives soon,, though).