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Dog gets car sick please help!!

  • 05-04-2009 1:34pm
    #1
    dellytots
    Registered Users Posts: 104 ✭✭


    I got my dog Biggles from Dogs aid just after christmas. He's about a year and a half and still very puppy like.

    Hes a great little dog except for one thing. He HATES cars. He's very skittish even around parked cars. We didnt have a car when we got him but everytime we've taken him out in a friends car he was afraid getting into the car and after a few minutes he's puked everywere. We have tried him in a dog carry box but it didnt help.

    We have just got a car and are going from Dublin to Cavan for Easter. I rang the vet to see what we can do she recommended taking him for short trips and building it up so he doesnt get sick. But as he pukes so soon after getting into the car I have just been bringing him out and sitting in the car for a few mins each day with some treats but hes still very scared.

    Any other ideas on how to help him? or settle him for the long journey?


Comments

  • #2
    Phsyche
    Registered Users Posts: 124 ✭✭Phsyche


    What do you do when he throws up? Do you go Oh you poor thing... or do you 'ignore' him?

    When we adopted our second dog he used to be crouching down to the ground whenever a car passed but with patience and by ignoring this on our walks he came out of it pretty fast. Whenever he would crouch down I would stop and ignore him for a couple of seconds then I will tug on the leash a little (not pull) to let him know to follow me.

    Dog I had years ago used to throw up regularly in the car until we started putting her on the floor of the car (in front of the front passenger seat) and she seemed to settle there better. May be it was the enclosed space, feeling of safety.

    I don't feed the dogs before going on a long journey now either. They seem better settled than they are if they had full stomachs.


  • #3
    Whispered
    Registered Users Posts: 14,772 ✭✭✭✭Whispered


    My mam gives her dog half a child travle tablet - I'm not recommending it as it's human meds but it works for her.

    I would say as above - don't feed the dog the morning of the drive. A covered dog box might help him feel more secure. Plenty of breaks too, and I know it sounds silly, but take turns and corners very easy, no sudden turns breaking or accelerating if you can help it.


  • #4
    dellytots
    Registered Users Posts: 104 ✭✭dellytots


    Thanks for the help. We dont fuss over him too much when he gets sick and are quite firm when he pulls back on the lead as we approch the car to get in or when he gets scared (crouches down) near a busy road. We just tell him to come on, get him to keep walking forward and dont lift him up or anything.
    He's still quite young so hopefully he'll get better with time.

    He didnt have a great start in life. He was thrown over the wall of Dogs Aid so obviously wasnt loved :(
    A friend of mine commented that his first car trip could have been the one to Dogs Aid that could explain his fear of cars.......


  • #5
    bionic.laura
    Registered Users Posts: 146 ✭✭bionic.laura


    My dog was terrified of getting into the car when we first got him. I think he was bought in a car when he was abandoned as he freaked out when I got out of the car without him.

    We tried a few short journeys with one of us sitting in the back with him rubbing him and giving treats. He started to realize nothing bad would happen in the car. Bringing him out to the unmoving car and giving treats every day is a good idea. This worked on my guy who was also scared of being locked up and wouldn't go in his kennel. He happily goes in now though.

    We also got a doggie car seat like this one from zooplus. We got it in lidl for much cheaper than that. The dog seems to feel much safer with it as he used to be afraid of falling in to the space between the seats. He's on a harness and that couldn't happen but he was still nervous. Now when we go in the car he just lies down and goes asleep happy as larry for the whole trip!

    I don't know about the getting sick, maybe he just gets travel sick. It could just be from the fact he's nervous though and might get better when he's happier about travelling. I hope he improves soon.


  • #6
    Noopti
    Registered Users Posts: 2,776 ✭✭✭Noopti


    We had the same problem with Marley, and he now jumps straight into the car as soon as the door opens. This is what we did:
    1. Don't feed him before the car journey. Pretty obvious I know, it won't stop him getting sick, but less of a mess if he does
    2. Give him some doggie rescue remedy about 30mins to 1 hour before the journey. This will help keep him calm
    3. Don't allow him to walk around the car, look out the windows etc. Have him on the floor in front of the passenger seat
    4. Don't make undue fuss over him. Pet him and reassure him every now and then during the journey, but don't constantly reassure his nervousness
    5. Turn the foot heater on a low blow setting. We found that when we kept Marley warm using the footwell heater he would settle down and even sleep
    6. Bring him on shorter journeys and to places of fun! eg: the beach, park. He will start associating the car with good things
    7. Try your best to get him on a few consecutive journeys where he doesn't get sick. Even if the journey is only 5 mins down the road. Being sick stresses the dog out and he will associate the car with feeling that way
    8. Connected to the above, but watch for signs of him feeling ill. Basically he will become restless and will probably start salivating profusely (sign of anxiety). When this happens try and stop the journey if possible and take him for a little walk or something fun. Basically try not to allow him get sick while in the car
    9. Try and get him in the car as much as possible! We managed to get our fella used to the car over the christmas period as we were doing a lot of travelling to relatives etc. A combination of a lot of journeys, rescue remedy, selective feeding and all of the above points proved to work perfectly.

    Like I said, Marley now leaps straight into the car and hasn't got sick since before Christmas.


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  • #7
    Little A
    Registered Users Posts: 321 ✭✭Little A


    I'd agree with nearly everything Noopli said, except that I found giving a small amount of food actually seemed to help settle her tummy - if she hadn't eaten & got ill, she'd bring up bile, which is very bitter.

    Getting a number of trips without being ill is a big key. I made a point of bringing my girl out for very small trips (5 mins & then do a walk or something fun). She has stopped being so nervous getting into the car, 'cos she hasn't puked each time (not a great association). Fingers crossed, she hasn't been ill in the car for months now & I can travel for about 40 mins now (used to be less than 5!!).....but i'll also make my first loooonnngg trip over the Easter & I haven't decided if I'll give her a sedative or not.


  • #8
    Noopti
    Registered Users Posts: 2,776 ✭✭✭Noopti


    Little A wrote: »
    I'd agree with nearly everything Noopli said, except that I found giving a small amount of food actually seemed to help settle her tummy - if she hadn't eaten & got ill, she'd bring up bile, which is very bitter.

    Getting a number of trips without being ill is a big key. I made a point of bringing my girl out for very small trips (5 mins & then do a walk or something fun). She has stopped being so nervous getting into the car, 'cos she hasn't puked each time (not a great association). Fingers crossed, she hasn't been ill in the car for months now & I can travel for about 40 mins now (used to be less than 5!!).....but i'll also make my first loooonnngg trip over the Easter & I haven't decided if I'll give her a sedative or not.


    I can understand giving your dog a little food if that helps. We couldn't as he would simply throw it up within minutes of being in the car. We found that when we didn't feed him before a journey he wouldn't get sick as quickly, and as such we had more of a chance of completing a car journey without any sickness.
    We would of course give him is food when the journey was over. :)

    Yep, the association with the car and being sick is a BIG thing. Once that association is gone, the biggest hurdle is over.


  • #9
    Little A
    Registered Users Posts: 321 ✭✭Little A


    Yep, the association with the car and being sick is a BIG thing. Once that association is gone, the biggest hurdle is over

    I only copped how important this was afterwards.....she used to get into the car & start panting....i thought she was thirty so I was bringing water & stopping and starting to give her water - thn I heard that the panting was a sign of stress. So I made sure she had her own spot with as cushion & kept the trip so sort she didn't have time to really get stress.

    OP - if it's really bad, start off with getting the dog to sit in the stationary car for a few mins & give her a small treat. Do it several times....then try a little journey - if you can break the association you might do OK on your trip.
    Good luck


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