Motion sickness and being afraid of car rides

[mdkel]

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Hello once again,

Zappa had extreme motion sickness (or stress/fear sicness) from the day I took him from the shelter, vomiting, drooling, etc etc...

The vomiting has stopped, the drooling is much better BUT, zappa is now afraid of car rides, he starts to shake when he sees the car, he doesn't freeze,but always tries not to get in the car. At first he would jump ou of the car, but now he just freezes when I try to take him of the trunk.

Any suggestions please'''???

PS: First dog that confuses me so much hahaha

 

[Violet Turner]

When a dog is scared they will tend to freeze. In your case your Zappa won’t want to be sick so will try to avoid the car, which in some cases is quite difficult. Create a resting area for Zappa, Her dog bed if she has one/blankets. Then reward when she goes near the car, in the car, traveling and the destination. Also you could make this fun by opening up the boot of the car the using Zappa’s Favourite toy and play fetch near the car then start throwing it up into the car, this can only be done if you’re assertive and Zappa is in good health. If not then use her favourite treat (Ham, Chicken, Beef etc.) and place her on your knee in the car and continue to feed her until she has had the whole treat. You could use the approach of calming treats and collars; Adaptil do a dog collar for calming a dog down, pooch and mutt calm & relaxed dog treats this also may work for you if she is food motivated and Organic Bedtime Biscuits Lily’s Kitchen. You could arrange trips only short to the park, a pet shop or where ever Zappa feels comfortable other than home.
Quick Tip:
Before going in the car take Zappa for a 10-20 min walk to make her tired. Talk to your vet about it she/he may be able to help you. Hope it helps

 

[JudyN]

The key here is to take it slowly, going at Zappa's pace, and ideally, don't take him anywhere in the car till he's comfortable with it. You might spend a few days giving him a treat when he walks up to the car, a few days when he walks up to the car and you open the boot, a few days where he takes a treat from the boot (if he can reach). Aim for him being in the boot and you sitting in the driver's seat. Then you start the engine, then you drive about a foot, then you drive out the drive and straight back in again... you get the idea. I managed to work through this with Jasper in a couple of weeks, but it's best to just fix your sights on the next stage in the process rather than push it.

 

[mdkel]

Thaks for the advices...

The only trips I make with zappa (in the car) are to the vet (the vet is very far from where I live), to play with his buddies (when its rainning) and to places he can run around (woods mostly).

The thing is, I tryed giving treats, but he won't eat them if his in a 5/7 meter perimeter from the car... And if he is in the car, he wont even look at me (joking aside, I know it's serious).

I think he's not scared of the car, but as violet puts it, I think he just trys to avoid it probably beacuse of the motion sicknes he gets. He now stands up in the car and looks trough the window, in short rides (around 10min), if it takes longer, he drools a lot and lays down. He usually shakes the stress off right after leaving the car too.

I'll try to slow down a bit as now he is already neuttered and in good overall health (still dealing with loose stoole tough), so I'm guessing he wont need to go to the vet so soon, and I can keep "teaching" him about how great the car really his until he can learn it on its own

 

[JudyN]

It could be that he remembers the vet trips as being scary (unless he loves going there of course!) and associates car journeys with that. Though of course it could just be because of the motion sickness.

There's no harm in giving him treats at a distance of 9 metres, and rewarding 'looks' towards the car, and when this becomes a fun game, do it from 8m, then 7 m... If you're able to get to the stage when he happily goes in the car, it might help to make a point of taking him out on very short trips (no longer than he's comfortable with, even if it's just out the drive and back in, or round the block) more often so it becomes more of a normal, regular occurence. But this won't help if he's still stressed on these short trips as his stress levels may then be slightly raised from the previous day's trip, making this trip even more stressful.

 

[mdkel]

Well, he does like going to the vet, He always get's in with a wagging tail and always wants to greet both the nurse and the doctor, they are super nice to him... I really do associate the stress of going to the car with the motion sicness, but...

I'l try what you said this weekend JudyN thanks a lot

 

[JoanneF]

If he is nauseous, a ginger biscuit can help.

 

[Violet Turner]

If he is nauseous, a ginger biscuit can help.

@JoanneF queezibics for dogs