Carsick dog

[Veronica]

I've had a puppy for a few months now...a failed foster. He spent the first few months of his life in a crate with no socialization. His first ever car ride was when some stranger grabbed him, wrestled him into a van and brought him to live with complete strangers. He warmed up to us in a week or so, but has not warmed up to riding in a car.

He starts drooling and getting obviously stressed before the car even starts moving. The vet recommended ginger snaps before a trip and that did make his vomit smell better. 🙂

I have just bought a Roadtrek. We're trying to introduce him slowly. So far he loves it, but he doesn't yet know that it will turn on and move.

Any suggestions on deal I g with a very carsick dog?

[Pawz4me]

I would get some motion sickness medication from the vet or use one of the OTC products for humans that are safe for dogs. I would combine that with attempting to desensitize him to car travel by making short trips (after medicating him). To attempt to desensitize while he continues to get sick is likely just making the problem worse.

How old is he? IME some puppies, just like some human kids, eventually outgrow car sickness. But I wouldn't count on that happening, and I'd do everything I could to keep it from becoming sort of a learned behavior. So . . . no riding w/o medication first for a good long while.

[toedtoes]

K-9 HANDLER wrote:
Introduce very short trips in the car, just a couple minutes at first then stop and do something he likes like playing ball, petting, tug of war, etc for awhile. Load up and go home and repeat the fun.. If it looks like its working gradually expand the radius/ time and then include multiple stops. Not sure if its anxiety or motion induced at this point. He will associate fun with the vehicle, has worked for me in the past. Something to try.

X2. I had a foster dog who got carsick like that. She could not ride in the car without throwing up. I had worked with her and she wasn't getting nervous in the car anymore, but still got carsick. I adopted her out to a nice man who drove her everyday to his local park and played with her. After two years, they were full-timing in a truck and 5er (she had her spot in the backseat of the truck and never got sick). He had said it took about a year for her to stop throwing up completely. Don't give up, keep working with her.

[kmbernstein]

You could try introducing car travel slowly. A trip around the block, a short drive to the park, etc. Find his comfort zone, then slowly increase the length of time. Dogs often adjust to travel as they get more comfortable. A thunder shirt might also help.

[K-9_HANDLER]

Introduce very short trips in the car, just a couple minutes at first then stop and do something he likes like playing ball, petting, tug of war, etc for awhile. Load up and go home and repeat the fun.. If it looks like its working gradually expand the radius/ time and then include multiple stops. Not sure if its anxiety or motion induced at this point. He will associate fun with the vehicle, has worked for me in the past. Something to try.

[donn0128]

The vet should be able to give you some meds to help aleviate the problem.