Car / Motion Sickness

[Mali03]

Our puppy is nearly 3 months old

We took her out for a drive in the weekend.
Almost immediately she began whimpering
(not at all like her usual outgoing confident self)
After about 10 minutes I noticed she had a lot of
foamy saliva - we turned for home and shortly
afterward she was sick. :x

I have since read you can introduce puppy to the car slowly
...build up making sure she is relaxed in a motionless car,
moving on to very short trips, etc.

I am interested to hear if anyone has had similar experiences and if their Golden is now happy to travel in the car

Thanks in advance
Trish

[thw223]

Trish,

I had the same problem with Sprecher (she was 9 weeks at the time) when I was bringing her home from the breeder's house. She became sick during the car ride and didn't make it all the way to her new home without "showing" me what she had for lunch.

Don't worry though as your dog will get used to the car. I just got done taking a 2 1/2 car ride with Sprecher and she does great in the car now.

Tom

[Jill and Chase]

Chase was also very car sick. Puked in the driveway on his first day home and every time we went to puppy preschool. We used to call her puke & drool! Slowly,(very) it's gotten better we went from puking and drooling every time on a fifteen minute trip to just drooling. Now at 18 mos I hardly have a problem at all, we travel almost 45 minutes to class once a week, go into town (15 min) for a long walk once a week and sometimes another trip in there too. Start slow, get the pup in the car while its turned off, treat her and take her out. Then put her in there while the car is running, treat and take her out. Then put her in and go around the block, treat and let her go. Just keep increasing little by little and she should get better as she grows. I was sooooo disappointed, here's this dog I brought that I want to take everywhere with me and he can't even ride in the car! It does get better, just be patient.

Oh, I still don't feed Chase if I know we've got somewhere to go, I wait until we come home. I could probably start experimenting with a meal in his belly but for you just starting out I would take her on an empty stomach for awhile!

Good luck

[SweetDaisyDew]

Daisy is 3 and she still has a tendency towards car sickness. I've learned to just be prepared and drive as smoothly as possible because nothing really helps and she hasn't outgrown it (probably never will if she hasn't by now). She has gotten better though :) I have considered getting a bumper sticker that reads "Please be patient...I'm driving Miss Daisy."

Empty stomach definitely is best. Try taking a few short trips on straight flat roads at night so your puppy has some successful experiences riding in a car.

Also, this may or may not be possible but do keep in mind there is less motion in the front seat than in the back. Get a dog safety restraint that's appropriate for your puppy and try letting her ride up front with you.

[Jill and Chase]

ROFL Daisy, that would be a great bumper sticker!

Another tip, I got a waterproof seat cover at Petsmart, works great!

[messano]

Travel sickness is no joke and I can assure you that some dogs never grow out of it, no matter how hard you persevere.
One bitch that we bred was so car sick that if you even opened the rear of the car and she realized she was going in the car, she would start drooling and foaming in the mouth.
If you managed to get her into the car, she would be sick even before the engine was started!
This is because something that originally started as true travel sickness becomes an association problem and the dog expects to be sick and therefore is.

We were given a good cure for travel sickness several years ago by a very experienced long-time Golden Retriever breeder.
She suggested that we give our puppy half a 'stugeron' travel sickness tablet 1 hour before travel and that it would prevent the dog from being sick.
We were very skeptical that this would work but we tried it anyway and lo and behold, no more sickness!

Stugeron travel sickness pills are available from a chemist (pharmacy) without prescription and are really designed for human use. I have also been told that another brand 'Sea-Legs' also works okay.

It is important that the tablet is given 1 hour before travel, any less and it seems to not work.

Once the dog has successfully traveled for a dozen or more trips using the tablets, it is worthwhile trying a trip without one. If the dog is not sick, you have probably broken the habit. If it is still sick, you will need to keep giving the tablets for a while longer.

Believe it or not, it is also more successful if the dog is given a meal before travel, as this seems to settle the stomach.

Happy traveling!

messano

[SweetDaisyDew]

Before travel??? This is the first I've heard of this!

Stugeron travel sickness pills....is this what they are called in the US? I haven't heard of these either. Are they the equivalent of dramamine motion sickness pills? I've always been reluctant to give these to Daisy because they can cause drowsiness. Usually when we take a car trip somewhere, it's because we're going somewhere to play and I don't want her to be drowsy.

[Jill and Chase]

I tried a motion sickness pill with Chase (can't remember name) but it didn't seem to work too good.

Hmmmm, I guess I'll have to try feeding him, the only downfall is it's a lot more to clean up if he throws up!
We also ride in my friends Jeep a lot, he threw up in there the first time! Geez, I was mortified! She didn't care but boy was I mad I fed him that time!

[messano]

<Stugeron travel sickness pills....is this what they are called in the US? I haven't heard of these either. Are they the equivalent of dramamine motion sickness pills?>

I do not know if they are available in the USA. The following link will take you to the manufacturers information.
Stugeron (http://home.intekom.com/pharm/janssen/stugeron.html)

The active ingredient is 'Cinnarizine', so I guess you need to check the travel-sickness pills that are available and see if they also contain Cinnarizine.

messano

[SweetDaisyDew]

Dramamine contains dimenhydrinate. I'm going to check with my pharmacist to see if the cinnarizine is available here in some form.

Dramamine is not something you should use alot though. Even if it did work, I wouldn't use it for a chronic condition -- which is what it is with Daisy. It can be useful for long extended road trips -- but I find that the longer Daisy is in a car, the less sick she becomes so we probably wouldn't use it in that case either. Along the same lines, frequent drives build up her tolerance.

Another thing that helps is to take breaks. Stop and let your dog out of the car and walk a bit, get their feet on solid ground.

[KatysPal]

According to some quick & superficial web-hopping, cinnarizin/e (Stugeron) is not currently on the market in the USA or Canada. <a href="http://www.kriger.com/cinnarizin.htm" target="_new">KRC Worldwide</a> is trying to change that.

<a href="http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/showpreparation.asp?id=2350" target="_new">Sea-Legs</a>, on the other hand, has as its active ingredient meclozine hydrochloride, sold here under the brand names Bonine and <a href="http://my.webmd.com/content/drugs/1/4046_1270.htm?bn=Antivert" target="_new">Antivert</a>; also Dramamine II. My Pill Book Guide tells me it's not FDA-approved for use in dogs and cats, but is commonly used and considered accepted practice (much like Benedryl.) Common possible side effects are sedation, dry mouth, and increased heart rate. A rare side effect is excitement. It may be better tolerated if given with food; it should be given 30-60 minutes before traveling, and not at all within 1 week of allergy testing. The usual dose for dogs is 12.5-25 mg orally once a day. There's more info about overdose and drug interactions; let me know if you want it.

Hope it helps,
Anne S

[jessiegirlsmom]

Can I ever relate. We had a three hour car trip home from the breeder's house. Jessie got sick 5 times. I actually got to the point that I could anticipate and catch!! I felt so bad for her. She is 3 months now and she travels with me to work (5 min) and does fine but any more than say 15 min is too much and she throws. The vet said she should grow out of it but we are going away camping April vacation (6 hr ride - lots of stops). My vet recommended Bonine or Dramamine II (Medizine) one tablet one hour before leaving. Good luck!!

[SydneySuesPlace]

Sydney puked on road trips until about 7 months and now she is fine. We give just a bit of water and skip a big breakfast for her before we hit the road....that worked!

[jessiegirlsmom]

We have a camping trip coming up in a few days and will be traveling about 6 hours and yes Jessie (4 mths) still gets sick in the car. Yesterday I tried a product called Dr. Goodpet Calm/Stress - a homeopathic medicine found at the health food store for stress and motion sickness relief. It has no side effects so it won't make her groggy and there is no fear of overdosing. It comes in a liquid form so it is easy to dispense. It worked for us last night - she didn't get sick on the way to puppy school!! I will try again today!!

[pokey318]

We have used Dramamine with Piper on two different trips. While the Dramamine keeped her from throwing up, it caused her to have urine problems. Both times she had to pee every 2-3 minutes with only small amounts coming out. She would pee while walking and wonder what was happening. It resolved itself within a day and a half, but was very bothersome. Dramamine does cause retained urine, which in turn caused her to have an overfilled bladder. She couldn't empty it fully which is why she peed so often.

I will have to try something else for the next trip.

[Navy5339]

I just brought my 8 week old golden boy home, and the entire car ride he was excited and looking around and trying to peek out the window. No car sickness at all!

As soon as I got home, he fell asleep in his box in the truck. Then he wanted to play. So I let him explore the house after bringing him outside. We then played a little bit. Then I gave him his first bath, as his brothers and sisters were getting him dirty this morning. I told the breeder earlier I would wash him earlier so he would become more accustomed to me handling him. Was so excited after the bath, and was wanting to bring me every toy I had let him play with. Then BAM! Out like a light. Right where he was running. I picked him up and put him in his crate, where he is currently still sleeping. :) When he gets up I will try to take him outside again.

[SweetDaisyDew]

Daisy's car sickness started early but there was no sign of it on her first ride home with me.

[Scorpio118]

UGG - God Bless all of you!!!!! Don't think I could handle the car sickness!!!!!

Maddie LOVES to go bye-bye!! She can't get down the stairs fast enough!!

[jessiegirlsmom]

Jessie had her first camping trip and she had a great time! I used the Dr. Goodpet on the trip down and I must say it didn't work! She threw up most of the way - about 6 hours. Poor thing - it was so sad. I used the Dramamine on the way home and she didnt throw up once. The Dramamine made her a little dopey though! She actually got knocked over by a friend's Jack Russell about half her size! She got to see lots of deer and went pond swimming for the first time. Quite exciting!! I will post some pics somewhere when I get them resized!

[Packardk]

Try Bonine instead of Dramamine (it doesn't cause as much drowsiness). Baxter gets sick and acts miserable on all road trips whether it's three hours or three minutes to Petco. He has been like that ever since he was a puppy. Maggie is only 12 weeks and loves to go for rides. She puts her front paws up into my SUV and crys to be lifted up when I am loading it up for a trip.

[tessm.k]

Hello everyone!
I'm fairly new to this forum and new to being a Golden mommy, so I'd love to know if anyone "more experienced" could help me out.

Our 11 week (tomorrow) Dakota has travelled many times in the car without any problems, then suddenly, this past week, she got car sick twice (same day). I'm wondering if it was because, this time 'round, she sat in the front with me. I think all of the lights and motion turned her stomach a bit? Or, do you think that she was too young to sense anything before?

Your help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tess 415

[goodtim'n]

Car sickness, People get it---Dogs get it! Why, I'm not so sure we'll ever truely know.....Some get sick in the front seat , some get sick in the back seat, some get sick if the heat is on, some get sick if the air conditioner is on. some get sick in black interior, some get sick if they are crated. some get sick by watching and trying to catch the cars that are passing. some get sick by looking out the back window, some get sick by looking out the side and or front windows. I suggest until your pup becomes acustom to travel, that you don't feed or water prior, and start with short positive trips, and be in tune to where your pup is traveling within your car as to when it gets sick.. Car sickness is trial and error. But short trips in the beginning is a must.

[pcskies]

I got my almost 2 year old Golden a couple weeks ago from a relative. It was a 9 hour car ride home and he did great. Did not get sick once, I was so proud of him. He seemed quite relaxed and happy actually. I was told by my relative when I was loading him and his things up in the car that when he was a puppy he would get car sick just riding to the vet so that I should beware. You can imagine my excitement when nothing happened.

I guess this is a success story.

PC

[Chablis]

Our puppy is nearly 3 months old

We took her out for a drive in the weekend.
Almost immediately she began whimpering
(not at all like her usual outgoing confident self)
After about 10 minutes I noticed she had a lot of
foamy saliva - we turned for home and shortly
afterward she was sick. :x

I have since read you can introduce puppy to the car slowly
...build up making sure she is relaxed in a motionless car,
moving on to very short trips, etc.

I am interested to hear if anyone has had similar experiences and if their Golden is now happy to travel in the car

Thanks in advance
Trish

I havn't gotten around to readin all the posts yet, so I don't know if this has been mentioned:

1) Don't feed the dog. If your departure is in the morning, feed them only a little bit, and the rest when you reach your destination. Same with dinner time or at night

2) Gravol. Childrens chewable gravol is something you can give the pooch. At least half an hour departures feed them 2 pills.

[ChicagoCanine]

Another thing which I don't think has been mentioned yet is ginger. This can help a lot with settling the stomach. You can give some before and during the car ride, either give a few ginger snaps or you can buy ginger capsules or even give ginger tea or gingerale (check if it actually contains ginger!) if the dog likes it.

You can also find ginger products made for carsick dogs such as "Ginger Tummy."


I've noticed with my terrier that he sometimes gets carsick if he HASN'T eaten anything, so I try to give him a small snack before going on long car rides, and he is fine.

[Jo Ellen]

After almost 4 years of dealing with Daisy's car sickness, I've found the following the MOST helpful:

*Take short frequent trips, the shorter the better, everyday to increase tolerance
*Night trips are good -- there's less visual stimulation
*Small treats can help - maybe because eating is distracting ??

[amandaruth]

My golden used to get car sick. Thank goodness, she has overcome it! She overcame it mainly by riding in the front seat in my lap! So now she thinks that my lap is the only seat when she goes for a car ride! I think she's smarter than me! :laugh2

[elvira]

putting a newspaper under his blanket or bed, should help. I know it sounds strange. I just read it. My dog hasn't any problem travelling, so I can't try it. But if it helps, it's a cheap and easy solution.

Kind reagards,
Elvira

http://members.home.nl/jwkloek/zingaro3.jpg

[goldengal]

I will try the newspaper under the bed and see if it does anything. Just drove up here to the cottage yesterday which is a 2.5 hour drive. Since Montana (6 months) gets sick on trips this long I commenced Gravol last time we came up, and all was fine - not yesterday though. I am going to see if I can find Rescue Remedy up here before we leave for home Friday because I hate to see her being sick all the time.

[goldengal]

Well, we drove back from the lake this morning. I did not feed Montana, tried the Rescue Remedy and put newspapers under her bed - still sick although there wasn't much to come up - just frothy stuff. I had to lift her into the van because she is afraid to get in. Guess I would feel the same if I knew I was going to be sick every time I went for a ride. Apparently, her mother was like this until 2 years old. Only 1.5 years to go.

[theGoldenPup]

In the meantime, try to make the car a 'happy place'. Feed her treats near the car, in the car, play games in there....

GoldenPup

[elvira]

Try Cocculus D4. Half an hour before travellnig and then every hour during traveling. After 5 times, you can try without it.

[goldengal]

Last week we thought perhaps Montana was being sick because she is on the floor in the van (centre seat removed), and I suggested to my son in law that we should try a harness hooked up to the seat belt so she could sit on the front set. Well, she just sat there and shook so he quickly undid her. Now, she will not go anywhere near the van. My SIL spent hours on Saturday with both side doors to the van open and his one year old Berner inside. He gave Montana a bone and every so often would take it away from her and put it closer to the van so she would come and retrieve it. After many hours, she did jump into the van once, grabbed the bone and ran right out. When she sees me walk close to the van, she runs the other way. I think she knows it is always me she goes for the 2+ hour drive and that is when she is sick. Sure would appreciate any suggestions as to how to get her back into the van. Thanks.

[ajax]

Can anyone recommend a treatment for chronic motion sickness? Our 20-week-old pup throws up every time we drive anywhere. It doesn't matter if there's traffic or not, if we crate him or seat him or hold him, or if his tummy is empty or full. He's a sweet boy who otherwise enjoys the ride.

[clement's golden rule]

is he anxious/agitated, as well, or just belly sick???
Jenn

[grumpygirl]

I'd love to know a cure for my Ty. We have to travel every weekend to the camp 1/2 hr. drive and it never fails 3 can be 3 min. away and he'll start to vomit. I've tried gravol x2, 1/2 hr. to 1 hr. before we leave no food everything and still nothing seems to work for us. Yep every Friday and Sunday now for the past 5 wks. I just resorted to putting down a waterproof matress cover on the back seat of the truck then his blanket overtop. Oh yah I also wrap a large towel around my arm so I can reach into the backseat to wipe the large puddle of drool which doesn't stop until we're at the trailer.

Poor guy I feel so sorry for him!!! I just hope he gets over it soon as we'd love to bring him everywhere with us. paw

[ajax]

is he anxious/agitated, as well, or just belly sick???
Jenn

He's a calm and happy traveler. He loves going anywhere as long as he's with us, and even after he throws up, he's still in a good mood. A sweet, sociable boy.

[clement's golden rule]

HHMMMMMM that's really odd.... usually they're alittle agitated as well... I know when Jaeger was small, tiny, he couldn't ride, facing forward... he always need to point his tiny snout towards the rear of the car... but he did this on his own, after our fateful ride home from the breeder, with him wailing, in torrential rain, for three hours... but now, he rides where ever... will he entertain himself with a chewie??? have you tried some rescue remedy??? I don't know if ginger is good for their bellies, like it is for us.. I'll look into that.. maybe alittle ginger tea, would settle his stomach.. I'm sure there are others with bettter ideas too...
Jenn and Jaeger

[Chillers]

Hi Ajax and Grumpygirl,

you guys sound like you could have my Tucker for a pup!

He's now at the point where I don't have to physically pick him up and place him in the car. The first few months of his life, everytime he got into the car, he got sick! I felt so bad, but there wasn't a lot I could do (living where I do in NH, everything is at least a half hour away!). He would be excited to go places, wagging his tail and let you put his seatbelt harness on, but after you were on the road...the dryheaves....and actual vomiting if it had been any time less than at least 2 hrs near eating time.

I think he finally just grew up enough to see out the windows? The past few months there haven't been any vomiting issues and he's gotten better about getting in, I still have to climb in first, but he'll go! And definitely did better in the back seat (esp. in my car, not so much a difference in hubby's truck). Actually, when I asked him if he wanted to go for a ride today, his little ears actually perked up!! :029

If I remember correctly, both of your guys are still little right? Hopefully it's just a growth thing...and in the mean time, still limit the food and water (when we stopped needing to feed Tucker lunch, that helped tons!) and maybe Jen will find info out about the ginger, they make it in crystallized form also, if they might not want to drink the tea.

good luck guys!

[Docster512]

The first time Doc rode a car he got car sick and threw up all over our new leather seats...but now he's ok. He's really good in the car. One thing we've learned is not to feed him hours before any road trip. Also, our Vet perscribed him some anti-vomiting pills. They are called (pulling out the bottle from the cabinet) : Regan (Metoclopramide). He takes them 30 minutes before meals. It worked well for us...but Doc didn't have chronic car sickness though...

[Jo Ellen]

I have found that little (very little) treats or snacks can help, while your pup is riding in the car. Not sure why this helps ??

[orangeboy]

The drive to both our vet & our trainer is a 40 minute one. My puppy had gotten sick each time we made the trip (didn't matter whether he had last eaten 4hrs ago or 1hr ago) until my breeder suggested that I give him ginger snaps beforehand.
With the ginger snaps he will only salivate. I have been taking him on shorter trips (to the gas station & dry cleaners) to get him used to being in the car.
The vet says that he may grow out of it.
:grwag

[clement's golden rule]

ginger is good for sad bellies... the sugar is probably bumping his blood sugar, without a lot of bulk, and allowing him, a more pleasureable trip.. glad that your breeder suggested it..

[Jo Ellen]

Daisy was carsick for close to 4 years. I'd given up and just learned to be prepared. Then we moved further away from her favorite playground (a pond with fish) so that we now had to drive to get there. For awhile, these were the only car rides she took and she would get really excited to just get in the car, knowing she was going to the pond. We did this for a whole summer last year and now, no more car sickness, not even drool. No matter where we drive.

:003

[clement's golden rule]

yes, I can attest to her improvement.. she and jaeger rode for two, two hour trips, and not a drool, whimper or concern..

[Lamber]

Our Bailey is now 9 motnhs old. We have and SUV and i want him to ride in the back part cargo area but he routinely gets sick and my wife and i feel terrible like we're torturing him whenwe take him in there. We tried letting him ride in the front seat of our little honda accrod car and he does much better. Even when i let him ride in the front of the suv he does okay but these trips are usually shorter. it's just not realistic for him to have the front seat with his increasing size and i would really like for him to be able to ride in the back b/c part of having him was i hoped he could go everywhere with me. His limit is usually around 20 minutes then vomit city! I've tried more regualr short trips and he always does fine like going to the next neighborhood at my friends house but if we try to take him with us to the store or anything the trip is too long and he gets sick. Point being he sems to be okay in the car for a little longer trips but the suv is my primary vehicle and i need for him to be able to ride with me there so he can go away with me on the weekends. Any help would be appreciated.

[Jo Ellen]

There's more motion in the back of a car, that probably makes a big difference. I wonder if it would help to use a crate and then cover the crate with a blanket to reduce the visual stimulation.

Bailey is still very young, it's quite possible he'll grow out of this in a few more months .... there's always hope!!

:003

[Janet]

thought I would pass this on....
listening to the news tonight, they mentioned a new FDA approved 'drug' for dog car sickness.
Not sure if this is how it is spelled however this is what is sounded like....surinia.