[MrDesi]

Do you guys have any "home remedies" for taking your friends with paws on long drives?

I will be traveling with Princi tonight to Winchester VA, about an hour and a half to two hours of driving. She does get a little irritated after about 30 minutes of driving, plus my car is not the biggest car out there (2 door coupe). I will try to make it as comfortable as possible but the two hour drive won't be fun.

Any suggestions?:help_up_2

Thanks

Naveen

 

[brumwolf]

Make sure to give her a good run before travelling should be good for an hour+ of sleep on the journey.

 

[Okie-dobie]

You could use something from Solid Gold called Pet Calmer (all natural) but it has to be given 3 hours ahead. There is also Rescue Remedy from Bach and just plain old gravol. Good luck on your drive!!

 

[Riagogogo]

Rudi used to get the slobber strings on the sides of his mouth. I used to drive from Cincinnati to Cleveland (about 4 hours) to visit my BF. Even on short trips he would do it too. After about the third trip to Cleveland, I guess he got used to it.
I take him in the car about 2-3 times a week to visit family in my area or to go to the store (don't worry......weather permitting, if it's too hot or too cold he stays at home. I don't want a dobercicle or a melted dobe when I get back to the car!) He mainly just lays on the back seat, he never puts his head down to go to sleep, even on the longer rides. And he's not one to hang out the window either.....really he has no interest in "free air-conditioning." LOL

crazy dog!

 

[Okie-dobie]

******* loves the car, and always go's to sleep. Thank god because we are in the car alot.

 

[2dobesuk]

We normally give ours a really good run and that settles them down. Its a three hour trip to my mum's and they sleep the whole time, except when we're nearly there and then Abbie starts with her singing :rolleyesw

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

I find that my guys do much better traveling in crates than loose.........but if your car is small, then that is not an option. If you have a harness try attaching it with a small amount of slack to the seat belt, put a blanket down and give the dog a bone

 

[Tamena]

Tucker's usually pretty good in the car, if it's going to be a long trip I give him Melatonin now, the same thing we use for thunder and fireworks.
It works well for him.
We use to (like 10+ years ago) give our beagle mix a kids' dramamine before driving to Florida every year and it worked like a charm on him too

 

[tjmom]

I would try a good amount of exercise before your trip and take along a favorite toy or bone. When we travel on long trips we do not feed Titus (Jada has not taken a long trip yet) until we get to our destination. We are in Florida and usually take a trip once a year to TN to see my husbands parents. Sure would not want Titus to get sick in the mountains. He is usually pretty unsettled for about 30 minutes but when he figures out that it is not an early trip to the DP he sleeps most of the 10 hour trip. Good luck and have a safe trip

 

[MrDesi]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I didn't get a chance to see them before I left so I am reading them from sis's laptop at her house in Winchester. As you can tell we made it!!

I will look into the "Pet Calmer" and others like it.

She does not care about bones or toys when she is in the car, she's a happy rider if I'm driving in town with the windows down, but on the highway with freezing winds and high speeds I can't do that. As soon as the windows go up and stay up for a long period of time she will start to "hyperventilate" (sp), tounge out breathing hard and slow whimpers throughout the whole trip. It gets annoying but at the same time I feel sorry for her too. I know this could be a training issue but I just can't seem to get past this hurdle.

I will have to try to get her all tired next time, but don't know if that will work either ...

Thanks again

Naveen

 

[tjmom]

Glad to hear that you guys made it ok. Have a wonderful visit.

 

[MrDesi]

Glad to hear that you guys made it ok. Have a wonderful visit.

Thank you, all that driving has gotten us both tired, we're off to bed.

Goodnight everyone..:boldblue:

Naveen

 

[JavasMom]

I have travelled with Java in both a crate and harnessed into the back seat of the SUV. I have a seat blanket from Land's End, fleece on one side, nylon on the other. Keep it fleece side up for travel because it warms to her body heat. I also include a fleece throw or towel in the back - Java likes to bury her nose in in when she sleeps. Harness allows her to sit up, put her head over the back seat and watch the traffic behind the car. Also enough give so that she can put her front paws on the floor and rest her head on the arm rest between the two front seats (she loves to do this when the back heater is on). I get her out to do one last pee/poop and/or take her for a walk to burn off some steam. I will also keep a chew toy or a bully stick on hand for the ride - she'll chew for a while, then fall asleep.

Bottom line is that I don't make any fuss about the car trip - it's just another thing we do together. Java goes with me in the car 90% of the time, whether it's for a quick drive to the post office or to the grocery store or on a longer road trip. It's been part of her life with us from day one and there has never been any anxiety on her part (ie. she didn't only go in the car when she had to go to the vet's, we did fun stuff too).