Car sick??

BekD · 04-09-2008, 06:39 PM

My little guys (4.5 months) gets so car sick that as soon as the car door is opened he starts to drool and get all frothy at the mouth and if we do go anywhere .... dog park, puppy training he always gets throws up on the way there and normally on the way home again as well, we have tried making sure that he hasn't eaten anything before we go and that doesn't seem to helped, the vet suggested graval but it will make him all dopey and if we are going to puppy training that is no good

Any suggestions? Does any one else have this problem?

DobeMomToo · 04-09-2008, 06:48 PM

All of my Dobes rode fine in cars -- some better than others tho.

Sasha lived to go for rides. She knew you were going for your keys before you did!

Shelby loved to "go for ride" but didn't do really well as a puppy on windy roads. She'd girp without fail. Eventually she out-grew it.

Cobra's first 1.5 years where what I call "the car rides from hell." She'd freak out, claw you and/or pee on you if a large semi drove by and made some form of racket. I strongly suspect this is a result of having been flown via two lay-overs on what should have been a direct flight, as well as time spent waiting on a loading dock because she'd arrived earlier than anticipated. I ultimately got her over it by positive reinforcement (hubby drove, I stroked her fragile psyche) coupled with a product called Content-Um. She is the last Dobe to have ever been flown in the belly of a plane to achieve delivery to us.

Blaze loves to "load up." However, she needs a biscuit in her stomach if the trip is first thing in the morning or a bile girp is most sure to happen.

Ember loves rides. She learned the value of "load up" from Blaze and Shelby and has always rode with no issues.

Hope that helps!

secretz · 04-09-2008, 07:04 PM

I've never had a problem with Grace puking (peeing, etc.) and the backseat is her 2nd home (aside from our bed being #1 and the office being #3). However, I have had her puke once, but that was after she had eatten some grass from earlier in the day.

dobes4us · 04-10-2008, 10:50 AM

This was a recent topic, but I could not find it....
My Riggs was car sick until we spoke to an animal communicator. She suggested telling him where he was going and how long he was going to be in the car. I started this on the car ride home and he has not thrown up since. He was about 2.5 years old when he spoke to the communicator, he is not 6. Give it a try and good luck.

You may want to search, but when I search car sickness, the word "car" is to short of a word to search on?

Desi-Doo · 04-10-2008, 11:02 AM

Hm...I could use some help in this dept. too! Zip HATES going for rides in the car. However, he does seem to tolerate my husband's Pathfnder better than the backseat of my truck. He's puked in my truck twice but usually only drools in hubby's SUV. I thought taking him to fun places would help him get over it but it hasn't yet. Funny thing is...he did fine on the 5 hr drive home from the rescue in NM. Go figure.
Desi on the other hand LOVES going for rides.

**DoberDukes** · 04-10-2008, 11:42 AM

zeus gets a little whiny when we start to got for a ride. then i tell him thats he's a good boy, i tell him "we go dog park, go see other big doggies" and he does seem to calm down after a few minutes. my last dog was like this and then "go for car ride" were the best words in the world to him. he was not a dobe but he did love car rides.

tosca · 04-10-2008, 11:54 AM

Broox used to get car sick when she was little; she outgrew it. You might want to try pepto-bismol before you go, about 20 minutes or so before you leave, just pop a tablet into your dog. It can help settle your pup's tummy.

**rusty** · 04-10-2008, 11:55 AM

I have this problem with our 4.5 month old puppy. I hope he outgrows it. He starts salivating right away in the car and vomits about 1/2 the time when we go out.

**greenkouki** · 04-10-2008, 01:23 PM

My mom's black lab drooled and got nauseous for the first couple years, and after a while it kinda wore off. It's really just something that takes time to get rid of. You can give him 1/2 a tablet of Dramamine about 30 minutes before a car ride and he will be much better (make sure it's okay with your vet first!)

**velmadobe** · 04-10-2008, 01:55 PM

take heart, they do eventually grow out of it. Some dogs just are like this - and some are not.

My drooly boy does the same thing, and so did his mother, and so did her father. She grew out of it for the most part when she was about 2. The one place she never had a problem was in the big motor home her handler drives - go figure!

my dogs travel in a crate - I lay a towel down for the drool and cover the crate so that they can't see the scenery wizzing by. I bring another towel for the ride home and have gotten pretty good at flipping the vomit off into the bushes - LOL! I always bring water and a bowl for both washing off the slime that is on him, and for him to drink from. I never feed within 2 hours of going in the car.

You can try short rides, you can try feeding him in the car, you can try ginger snap cookies, drugs..........whatever. I tried them all and nothing but time and maturity worked.

I never make a big deal out of going in the car - neither do they. He rides quietly - as does his mother. I try to plan routes to minimize very curvy roads (not easy to do in my area), and drive as smoothly as I can.

Good luck and know that it usually does get better slowly with time.