Dog - car sickness remedies

Dahdum

Hi all,

Apologies if this has already been dealt with before, was unable to locate an existing thread.

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for easing/curing car/motion sickness for a dog - or any natural remedies?

I’ve read that it can affect pups and young dogs due to the inner ear not being fully developed but usually sorts itself once they are aged approx 1. Unsure of our dogs age as she’s a rescue......we think she’s possibly 1.5 yrs.

Also read tips on how to ease such as not feeding them before a journey and leaving the window open for fresh air......so far these haven’t worked.

Every time we take her in the car, she gets sick and we feel terrible for her. These haven’t been overly long journeys......anything from 10 - 20 min drive and she’s away. We’d love to be able to start taking her away at weekends etc but don’t know whether we should keep plugging at it if it’s making her uncomfortable.

Haven’t been to the vet yet, it’s definitely something we’ll look into if we can’t find anything ourselves but would love if anyone had any suggestions or tips.

Thanks in advance!

cocker5

Dahdum wrote: »

Hi all,

Apologies if this has already been dealt with before, was unable to locate an existing thread.

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for easing/curing car/motion sickness for a dog - or any natural remedies?

I’ve read that it can affect pups and young dogs due to the inner ear not being fully developed but usually sorts itself once they are aged approx 1. Unsure of our dogs age as she’s a rescue......we think she’s possibly 1.5 yrs.

Also read tips on how to ease such as not feeding them before a journey and leaving the window open for fresh air......so far these haven’t worked.

Every time we take her in the car, she gets sick and we feel terrible for her. These haven’t been overly long journeys......anything from 10 - 20 min drive and she’s away. We’d love to be able to start taking her away at weekends etc but don’t know whether we should keep plugging at it if it’s making her uncomfortable.

Haven’t been to the vet yet, it’s definitely something we’ll look into if we can’t find anything ourselves but would love if anyone had any suggestions or tips.

Thanks in advance!

Ok firstly you need to try and de-sensitise her to the car ... pop her in the car for 10/15 in the driveway and don’t actually move .. you sit with her...

then after a few weeks start small 5 mins trip only bd build up.. to 10 mins etc ... drive slowly, let her look out a window

ginger is a great help too ... try giving her 2 ginger but biscuits 20 mins before popping her in the car

Dahdum

cocker5 wrote: »

Ok firstly you need to try and de-sensitise her to the car ... pop her in the car for 10/15 in the driveway and don’t actually move .. you sit with her...

then after a few weeks start small 5 mins trip only bd build up.. to 10 mins etc ... drive slowly, let her look out a window

ginger is a great help too ... try giving her 2 ginger but biscuits 20 mins before popping her in the car

Thanks a mil for the above. We’ll give that a go!

tk123

There's an over the counter human medicine you can get but I don't think i can suggest it here..(!) The pet one from your vet is called Cerenia and you may be better off getting it to help desensitise her a lot quicker - it's not cheap but you don't give the full dose e.g. Lucy was on 1/3 of a tablet for nausea. I've heard of people crating/covering the windows too and using ginger biscuits.

tuxy

I think it depends on if this is a physical or psychological issue.
I also have a rescue dog that was about one year old when I got her.
Her only experience of a car before mine was probably being thrown into one and taken to the pound.

When I first got her just sitting in the car not moving would have her drooling with anxiety. And if I drove for more than 15 mins there was a high probability of her throwing up.
It took about a year of very short exposure to the car building up over time and she is now very relaxed even on long journeys.
It can be frustrating as I'm sure you want to take the pup with you when you go places but it can't be rushed.

If it's actually motion sickness and not a fear of cars then I've no experience with that.

Graces7

Endorsing ginger!

SuziXX

Hi Op,
How long have you had her?
Our pup got sick most of the times she was in the car for the 1st month or 2 and she used to cry. We often turned back or had to pull over. It’s getting less and less now, it’s nearly 3 weeks since she last vomited and hopefully she will like the car eventually , she’s 5 months old. We bring her in the car most days, usually short trips. I think it just takes time for some dogs and if it’s new to them it can also be stress related.
The advice we got from the trainer was bring her into the car and don’t go anywhere just give her treats to build up positive association, a lot of it can be anxiety. Don’t feed her within 2 hours of going in the car. Build up her car rides 5 mins 10mins etc and try go every day. The trainer said try and keep her from looking out the window, keep her head down if possible or cover her eyes with something-don’t know how feasible this would be, our girl doesn’t try and look out anyway she closes her eyes. We also got ‘travel-eze’ tablets from the pet shop and found them quite good. The vet also recommended some human anti nausea tablets (fisherman tablets?) but dont remember the dose or anything and we didn’t try that. We had to go on a long trip once and the vet gave her an anti sickness injection.

Dahdum

SuziXX wrote: »

Hi Op,
How long have you had her?
Our pup got sick most of the times she was in the car for the 1st month or 2 and she used to cry. We often turned back or had to pull over. It’s getting less and less now, it’s nearly 3 weeks since she last vomited and hopefully she will like the car eventually , she’s 5 months old. We bring her in the car most days, usually short trips. I think it just takes time for some dogs and if it’s new to them it can also be stress related.
The advice we got from the trainer was bring her into the car and don’t go anywhere just give her treats to build up positive association, a lot of it can be anxiety. Don’t feed her within 2 hours of going in the car. Build up her car rides 5 mins 10mins etc and try go every day. The trainer said try and keep her from looking out the window, keep her head down if possible or cover her eyes with something-don’t know how feasible this would be, our girl doesn’t try and look out anyway she closes her eyes. We also got ‘travel-eze’ tablets from the pet shop and found them quite good. The vet also recommended some human anti nausea tablets (fisherman tablets?) but dont remember the dose or anything and we didn’t try that. We had to go on a long trip once and the vet gave her an anti sickness injection.

Thanks SuzieXX

We have her about 3 months. Our trip from the shelter to the house was grand, about 2 hours and she just curled up in the back seat beside me so we initially thought It was all brilliant. In the car, she initially lies down but when the bumps, turns or roundabouts start, the drooling also starts and she stands up with her head out the window. She’s a tall girl, a lurcher, so wondering if her balance, or lack of, in the car is part of the problem....? Any turns and she’s kind of wobbling.....if that makes sense? Quite unsteady.

When we got her she was unsure of a few things, such as walking outside but we’ve made that into a positive thing (treats and patience) and she loves walkies now so we’ll try all the suggestions re sitting in the car without going anywhere and make it into a positive experience. Will also have a look for the travel-eze tablets and also give the ginger nut biscuits a go.

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, will give them all a go! Really appreciate the responses. Fingers crossed!