Meclizine for car sickness

[RBak]

Andy threw up on the way to the groomer this morning. He has never done this in all the car rides he had taken. It was about 1 1/2 hours after he had eaten. Since we are planning a long trip in the near future, I called my vet and asked if the Centrine I had on hand could be given to him to avoid this. My vet suggested Meclizine instead, as it is specifically for motion or car sickness. I obtained it from him and have been reading up on the side effects, etc. Andy had elevated liver enzymes in the past, but my vet prescribed it anyway. Has anyone had experience with this drug? This was something that does not happen every time we take him with us - just this morning, but I wanted to be on the safe side. It's a long way to Florida from Illinois and I don't want him to be miserable (or us!) Thanks to all who respond.

Rita

[4X4Dodger]

RBak wrote:
Andy threw up on the way to the groomer this morning. He has never done this in all the car rides he had taken. It was about 1 1/2 hours after he had eaten. Since we are planning a long trip in the near future, I called my vet and asked if the Centrine I had on hand could be given to him to avoid this. My vet suggested Meclizine instead, as it is specifically for motion or car sickness. I obtained it from him and have been reading up on the side effects, etc. Andy had elevated liver enzymes in the past, but my vet prescribed it anyway. Has anyone had experience with this drug? This was something that does not happen every time we take him with us - just this morning, but I wanted to be on the safe side. It's a long way to Florida from Illinois and I don't want him to be miserable (or us!) Thanks to all who respond.

Rita

This honestly does not sound like car sickness to me. Dogs occasionally throw up. It's just a fact of Dog life. One time would not indicate anything unusual to me. He could have eaten almost anything that upset the tummy.

I would just wait this out and see if a trend develops before rushing into giving drugs.

If it does look like it's really car sickness (and that would be unusual) I'd just give him a benedryl. This works great for human seasickness and dogs tolerate it very well. It is also the drug of choice if your dog is bitten by a wasp or spyder and has a bad reaction.

[toedtoes]

If you're concerned about the liver enzymes, I suggest asking your vet for confirmation that this med is his preferred choice for your dog. It's possible that he figures it will be very unlikely you'll need it, and if you do only once or twice, so the risk is minor. Or he'll decide that a different med is a better choice. But, you'll only know if you ask.

[dturm]

I really like Cerenia. It comes in tablet form and lasts for at least 12 hours. I've used it in animals with liver and kidney issues. It's a prescription so you'll need to get it from your vet and it's not the cheapest medication, but it works with few side effects.

There are a bunch of medicines that could work (many have been mentioned above).
Talk to your vet for suggestions.

Doug, DVM

[Hiker_01]

Commercial label for humans is "Bonine" sold at drugstores. I've taken on cruises and for vertigo. Never given to pets. If giving him this seems best option and you are concerned, you might think about taking blood test prior to trip and then a week or two after trip. That way you can monitor enzyme levels and see what effect it may have had.

[RedJeep]

Have you tried using a seatbelt harness and cinching it down tight? That worked for us with a dog that did not respond well to medication or traveling in a kennel.