Puppy is car sick

[pingping]

hi all, any suggestions for helping a 4 month old puppy to stop being sick whenever he goes on a journey in the car? have tried lots of 5 minute journeys in the hope of gradually increasing the length of them, but he is still sick even on the shortest of journeys.

he's not scared of the car itself (have spent hours sitting in the car with him and playing and he is excited about getting in it). Could it be motion sickness - and if so, any tips or tricks to cure it?

thanks!!

[lilacben]

Hi pingping, you are doing the right things taking him for short trips.Sometimes a walk before you go in the car,so that he will go to sleep is good. Maybe he has got used to you playing with him in the car and he knows he gets excited in there because you play with him. Try to get him to just lay down quitely. Make sure he hasnt just been fed. I would leave it an hour or so just to make sure. Better still do not feed him at all until he gets back.Most dogs go through this but after a while they get used to it.Brenda

[pingping]

thanks Brenda - I like your idea of giving him a short walk before getting in the car, I'll give it a go!

[robotics]

Lining your car with brown paper apparently helps and also ginger nut biscuits.

[JonBonJovi]

Valerian in the powder or dried herb form is really good for this problem. My dogs vet suggested this. About ten minutes before you go on the trip give a little drink with a good pinch mixed in. Or if the puppy will lick a pinch of your hand.
Have those little liver treats on hand as a reward at the end of the trip if his not sicked up in the car.
They do grow out of it.
Same as kids will grow out of travel sickness.

[pingping]

thanks all - some good suggestions for me to try out.

[ganesh]

Note to Jonbonjovi- I still get travel sick and I'm nearly 50! lol.
My puppy was travel sick too for a few months,but grew out of it ,I think it's fairly common. Hope the valerian or ginger bics works,good luck!

[emma_26]

My dog still gets travel sick he is now 1 and a half. the best thing to do is not feed them before car travel but even then with no food in his belly he can still sometimes be sick but its just yellow water (too much info im sure) you can normally tell when a dog is going to be travel sick as they start with a yawning attack as humans mouths water like mad a dog starts to yawn. sometimes if you manage to notice this you can get them out the car quick enough. to be honest my dog travels best in the front seat with a harness that attaches to the seat belt with the window open a bit. No sick at all then!

[lankeela]

Try travelling him in a cage that is covered so he cannot see the things going past.

Another thing that is supposed to work is to let them travel in the footwell of the passenger seat, as this is nearest to the gearbox which is where the vibration stems from.