Car sickness

[JBCB]

Hi all. Tessa, who turned 13 weeks on Saturday, seems prone to car sickness. We didn't have any problems with either Kaeleigh or Hannah when they were pups so are inexperienced in this area. Is there something we can do to help her get over (or minimize) this "affliction", or are we stuck with a car sick dog for ever?

For background, we try not to feed her for at least 3 hours before any trip (longer for longer trips), and keep her where she can see us (she's crated). Just FYI, we had a trip of 3.5+ hrs back in early November and she was sick about 3 hrs into the trip on the way up, but was "sick-free" on the return trip when Shirley kept her in her lap.

Any suggestions?

[groupieindenial]

She's only 13 weeks old. Keep the trips shorter, within her tolerence. Gradually increase the time with progress.

I don't think you'll have a car sick dog forever, but if EVERY car ride results in an upset tummy, you may end up with a dog that HATES car rides.

[yogi53]

I agree with groupieindenial...I have a puppy that was carsick everytime she went in it and grew to hate getting in because of it...I now travel with her in a crate which gives her a little more security but she still does not like getting into the car at all...she is 11 months old today and I am still hoping that she outgrows it but I am losing that hope!

Good luck and keep the rides short and sweet for awhile...put her in and drive around the block everyday and she may be just fine.

[Rott'n'lab Mom]

Maybe it's an old wives tale my mother taught me years ago, but it may help to open the window a little to let fresh air in. I've been fortunate that the two carsick puppies I've had outgrew it in time. Your pup is really young still so I think you have a very good chance this is just a phase you'll get through.

We got Bella as an older pup (roughly 9 months old) and she HATED the car when we first got her and would throw up. One thing we did with her was to leave the car in the garage and throw treats in the back seat and tell her to "get in". We didn't take the car anywhere at first while doing that. Then the next day we'd throw a treat in the back and then drive around the block and return home. We lengthened the journey each time and that did the trick.

Now she loves going on car rides and we do still leave the window open a little bit.

[JBCB]

Thanks for the replies! We will try a few short trips, and as long as the weather stays this warm we will leave the windows open a bit... hard to do when it's snowing or very cold! Also when they close the golf course near us I'll include a walk there with the short car ride so she will associate the ride with something fun! Hopefully that will help.

[luvmybts]

For long trips try dramamine (sp?) the motion sickness pill. How much does she weigh? I think it would be half a pill that you would give her.

[Em396]

I don't know if this affects your dog, but sitting facing the back can sometimes cause car sickness. One of my dogs as a pup used to do this all the time (he seemed to like watching the traffic from that angle) and he was always nauseous and would start wailing. For a long time, I'd sit in the back with him, making sure he faced the front, even though he had his little seatbelt. (He'd still try to wiggle around and look backwards, the crazy pooch!) Eventually, he stayed forward by himself but he's still not crazy about the car.

Like the others said, take it in steps and eventually she'll come around. She may never love the car but I believe she will at least get used to it.