Throwing up in car

[Riccosmama12]

Hey all,

We have yet embarked on another concern and of course I came to the experts . Rico has rode in the car on 3 occasions now (2 short trips and 1 long trip which was an hr each way) and has thrown up each time. I try to make him comfortable, strap him in with his safety belt, lay a blanket down, and give him fresh air but he's still getting sick ALOT. He didn't eat right before any trips so I figured that wasn't a main cause but now I'm not sure. Could it be nerves/stress? Is there anything I can do or give that can ease these trips for him since we really wanna be able to take him with us most of the time we go out.

Thanks in advance everyone!

[msvette2u]

Yes nerves.
Do short trips. At first just sit in the car. Make it all happy, happy, happy.
Then start it and drive around the block. Increase your trips until he can tolerate being in it, but if he seems like he may get ill, pull over and take him out for a few moments.

You can also give him benadryl about an hour beforehand (1mg/lb) to lessen the possibility of him vomiting.

It's kind of a vicious circle. They get nervous/stressed and throw up, then the act of vomiting becomes something else to make them nervous/stressed.

[stealthq]

Dramamine works as well, though I don't know the dosage for a GSD-sized dog.

[msvette2u]

Benadryl is essentially the same thing and usually cheaper, and I know the dosage

[Riccosmama12]

Thank you both for the great advice! I will definitely try the mini trips and if need to also the benadryl :-)

[doggiedad]

when i was car-training my pup i use to
put in the car and sit in the driveaway without
the car running. sometimes i would treat him,
pet and feed him in the car. sometimes i would turn the car on
and sit in the driveway. after sometime i would drive the car
up and down the driveway (go forward 40', back up 40').
then i would take short rides, 1/2 block or so, 1/2 block
to a block, 1 block to 1 1/2 mile and so on.
while i was getting my pup use to being in the car
i also taught him how to ride in the car. he rode
in the back ( the hatch) laying down. when in the back seat he rode
laying down or sitting up but he wasn't allowed to put his
head out of the window.

[Riccosmama12]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

when i was car-training my pup i use to
put in the car and sit in the driveaway without
the car running. sometimes i would treat him,
pet and feed him in the car. sometimes i would turn the car on
and sit in the driveway. after sometime i would drive the car
up and down the driveway (go forward 40', back up 40').
then i would take short rides, 1/2 block or so, 1/2 block
to a block, 1 block to 1 1/2 mile and so on.
while i was getting my pup use to being in the car
i also taught him how to ride in the car. he rode
in the back ( the hatch) laying down. when in the back seat he rode
laying down or sitting up but he wasn't allowed to put his
head out of the window.

Thanks a million! Gonna start car-training tomorrow

[PaddyD]

Make the trips frequent. Couple times a day EVERY day. As stated above start short and gradually increase. Keep up the frequency for several months.

[Holmeshx2]

from someone who has had one HECK of a time with car sickness it takes time patience some training and some other stuff depending how bad it is. Jinx ALWAYS got car sick we tried giving her treats next to the car but even with it off in the driveway if we got near it she would stop taking food if we set her in the car she would start drooling like crazy short little trips and she would get sick it was complete misery. As a young pup it is an inner ear thing but then once that gets better it's nerves and they learn that the car is evil and makes them sick so then they get so worked up that they get themselves sick. A few things that worked were giving her ginger capsules about 20 minutes from going somewhere for short trips just to help ease the belly some without really medicating. I personally wouldn't do benadryl only because it's meant for something completely different where as dramamine is made for motion sickness. On long car rides we did dramamine and it worked like a charm (plus a few ginger snap cookies before hand) Since she wouldn't even take treats near the car because she got so sick I put a spare crate in the car and would take her outside and feed her each meal in the car in her crate then bring her back inside just so she saw the car as somewhere good (and to get her to start jumping in the car) then after her meal I'd sit in the car a few more minutes then would turn the car on turn it off and get her out. Worked up to driving up and down the driveway then short distances etc... it took lots of time and she was especially difficult but for just settling the tummy on short trips I'd do a ginger capsule and a few ginger snap cookies long rides I would do dramamine and a couple cookies ginger is great for settling the tummy. The rest is helping calm her nerves and training the pup the car is a great place.

[Riccosmama12]

Originally Posted by Holmeshx2

from someone who has had one HECK of a time with car sickness it takes time patience some training and some other stuff depending how bad it is. Jinx ALWAYS got car sick we tried giving her treats next to the car but even with it off in the driveway if we got near it she would stop taking food if we set her in the car she would start drooling like crazy short little trips and she would get sick it was complete misery. As a young pup it is an inner ear thing but then once that gets better it's nerves and they learn that the car is evil and makes them sick so then they get so worked up that they get themselves sick. A few things that worked were giving her ginger capsules about 20 minutes from going somewhere for short trips just to help ease the belly some without really medicating. I personally wouldn't do benadryl only because it's meant for something completely different where as dramamine is made for motion sickness. On long car rides we did dramamine and it worked like a charm (plus a few ginger snap cookies before hand) Since she wouldn't even take treats near the car because she got so sick I put a spare crate in the car and would take her outside and feed her each meal in the car in her crate then bring her back inside just so she saw the car as somewhere good (and to get her to start jumping in the car) then after her meal I'd sit in the car a few more minutes then would turn the car on turn it off and get her out. Worked up to driving up and down the driveway then short distances etc... it took lots of time and she was especially difficult but for just settling the tummy on short trips I'd do a ginger capsule and a few ginger snap cookies long rides I would do dramamine and a couple cookies ginger is great for settling the tummy. The rest is helping calm her nerves and training the pup the car is a great place.

Wonderful tips! Thank you so much . I never would have thought of ginger snap cookies but it makes so much sense now.