Advice on dog car sickness

[Drift's Owner]

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Hi, I'm hoping to go on a camping holiday with our dog, but he gets car sick. He can do short journeys, (less than 20 mins), but the even these can some times cause him to vomit. He has no problems getting into the car, but isn't that thrilled when you get going.

He was a stray and by all reports didn't enjoy his journey to England and so I am sure there is some residual fear element too. We have skipped meals prior to travelling, but that hasn't helped. Any ideas / recommendations?

 

[Mad Murphy]

How often do you do these short trips?
As a pup Murphy used to get car sick so we made sure we took him out every day just 10 mins there and 10 back, we made sure the rear window was open so that he got lots of fresh air blowing into his travel space. Once he got used to the 10 minute journeys we increased them to 15 , 20 etc and now he can happily travel for over an hour in the car.

oh and we always made sure that he knew a car journey meant a really nice walk..

 

[JoanneF]

A ginger biscuit can help and if he is stressy, an Adaptil spray or collar.

 

[JudyN]

Can he see out of the car? For humans, looking out of the window (rather than e.g. reading/navigating) helps with car sickness, so maybe the same applies to dogs.

To address the anxiety, you could even start by just starting the engine, moving a couple of feet, and stopping, progressing almost foot by foot to start with, then going round the block, and so on. With Jasper I also used to feed him treats as we went along (when road conditions allowed, as he was on the back seat). It also helped that if he wouldn't take the treats, I'd know he was stressed.

But I'd guess this would only work if he's not feeling sick - nothing's going to convince him the car is a nice place if he feels horrible.

 

[Drift's Owner]

A ginger biscuit can help and if he is stressy, an Adaptil spray or collar.

Thanks. I shall look into those. Much appreciated.

 

[Drift's Owner]

Can he see out of the car? For humans, looking out of the window (rather than e.g. reading/navigating) helps with car sickness, so maybe the same applies to dogs.

To address the anxiety, you could even start by just starting the engine, moving a couple of feet, and stopping, progressing almost foot by foot to start with, then going round the block, and so on. With Jasper I also used to feed him treats as we went along (when road conditions allowed, as he was on the back seat). It also helped that if he wouldn't take the treats, I'd know he was stressed.

But I'd guess this would only work if he's not feeling sick - nothing's going to convince him the car is a nice place if he feels horrible.

He is great at getting into the car and quite content as we drive along, so the fear of the car and the engine itself doesn't seem to be the problem. He choose not to sit up and look out, but lies down. I have thought about putting him in the front seat instead. I haven't tried that yet. I didn't think to give him treats...Thanks.

 

[Drift's Owner]

How often do you do these short trips?
As a pup Murphy used to get car sick so we made sure we took him out every day just 10 mins there and 10 back, we made sure the rear window was open so that he got lots of fresh air blowing into his travel space. Once he got used to the 10 minute journeys we increased them to 15 , 20 etc and now he can happily travel for over an hour in the car.

oh and we always made sure that he knew a car journey meant a really nice walk..

Hi, we have done a few short trips...usually once a week to the park. As soon as we go a different route or slightly longer, it seems he gets an upset tummy. Although the last longer journey we made he didn't, so that was a good sign.