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Hey there, I've got a puppy in my care till the 5th of January.
A little less than a year old and she sadly throws up on car rides. I've read a few things on the internet, but wondering if anyone else has some advice on how to help her out.
She's a Terrier and within 5 mins of starting to move she'll start the drooling thing.. I've made it so she can see the road/horizon, no help, put her in the dog carrier covered and not covered, no help..
Maybe a walk/run to tire her out and then a drive around the block? I've got a place that I need to go to daily next week that is about 4 miles from my house, was thinking I could use that to try and get her over her issue here.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Try not to give her any food within an hour of the car trip.
Open the window a bit so that she can get fresh air. I can tell when Artie's starting to get a bit queasy, so I open the window enough for him to put his head out, get some air, and then he's fine again.
Short trips -- that 4 miles from your house -- is GREAT practice! Definitely do that.
Hey there, I've got a puppy in my care till the 5th of January.
A little less than a year old and she sadly throws up on car rides. I've read a few things on the internet, but wondering if anyone else has some advice on how to help her out.
She's a Terrier and within 5 mins of starting to move she'll start the drooling thing.. I've made it so she can see the road/horizon, no help, put her in the dog carrier covered and not covered, no help..
Maybe a walk/run to tire her out and then a drive around the block? I've got a place that I need to go to daily next week that is about 4 miles from my house, was thinking I could use that to try and get her over her issue here.
Ugh! BTDT. Only she wasn't in my temporary care... she was mine! Just the mere mention of a car-ride sent her drooling. Going to the vet or groomer was always tough too, because they were just short trips. When we took long trips (8 - 10 hours) we would sedate her so she slept the entire way.
Does she ~have~ to go with you on these 4 mile trips next week? If she's just there until 1/5 I'm assuming she's not your dog. The "de-sensitization" thing seems like a lot of work (and clean-up) on your part for not being your dog. But, if you're up to the challenge, I'd guess the frequent, short 4-mile trips are a good start! Good luck!
No food like was mentioned, Dramamine works by weight. Talk with the vet. Try to take smooth roads, take it easy on curves and corners. I know you can't control the road but the pup has motion sickness and should eventually outgrow this...
Take it slow for now.
Start by putting her in the car and taking her out. Next time in the car then back out of the driveway and back in. Third time just around the block. If you see drooling, you know which stage you have to add the Dramamine. Everytime, you add a little longer ride, getting her use to it.
I know what you are going through, my girl Tara, when she was young would turn green...drool and it was the saddest thing to see. One day I took her for a ride in a semi truck, she never got car sick again. They move different, more slow...everything takes longer in a "big" truck. It worked! Yay!!!
Did the owners leave you with a crate? If so, line the crate with many layers of newspapers and when she gets sick, pull out a few layers, wipe up any mess on her or the crate, and carry on.
We adopted a toy poodle when she was 6 months old. She threw up EVERY time we went in the car for the next 6 months. The day we bought her, we got 15 minutes away from there and she threw up right into my purse. Tell me that I was impressed LOL. We tried the "gravol" thing. Didn't work. Tried not feeding her. Didn't work either.
There was no option for her or us if we were going to keep her as our pet. Riding in a vehicle was something she either HAD to get used to, or the puking was just something we and she had to accept. We ride in our vehicles often with our animals: in the summer we camp at a lake two hours away, we travel to our cottage that is a half hour drive away, winter and summer, and we go on longer road trips.
We just took her in the car again and again. At first we put her in her crate with layers of newspaper. Pulled out a few layers every time she was sick. Once she stopped being sick in her crate EVERY time, we started holding her on our knees instead. We had a few set backs here and there, but ever so slowly did she stop being sick, and finally started enjoying the ride.
Our sweet little girl is gone now, but she truly loved riding in the car because she knew it was an adventure taking her to a fun place.
You only have her till Jan. 5th, so leave her at home where she will be happier. Leave her in a closed off space so you know she cannot get in trouble or hurt, or in a crate if you have one. We had 2 different dogs over many years, both terriers that threw up every darn time we put them in the car. We never did find a way to stop it so we didn't take them in the car unless we had to, like going to the vet.
my little dog has the same issue. I don't take her unless i have to, and then i just put her in a cat carrier with newspaper down and have some paper towel nearby. I have no help or advice, just letting you know it happens..no big deal, she doesn't like the car.
My Lab has riden in my pickup for 300,000 miles in the last two years with no problem but, gets sick in a car. I think it's like getting seasick. Your passenger probably doesn't get sick in every car either. Other than not feeding before the ride, I doubt that there's anything to avoid this. Good luck.
Did the owners leave you with a crate? If so, line the crate with many layers of newspapers and when she gets sick, pull out a few layers, wipe up any mess on her or the crate, and carry on.
We adopted a toy poodle when she was 6 months old. She threw up EVERY time we went in the car for the next 6 months. The day we bought her, we got 15 minutes away from there and she threw up right into my purse. Tell me that I was impressed LOL. We tried the "gravol" thing. Didn't work. Tried not feeding her. Didn't work either.
There was no option for her or us if we were going to keep her as our pet. Riding in a vehicle was something she either HAD to get used to, or the puking was just something we and she had to accept. We ride in our vehicles often with our animals: in the summer we camp at a lake two hours away, we travel to our cottage that is a half hour drive away, winter and summer, and we go on longer road trips.
We just took her in the car again and again. At first we put her in her crate with layers of newspaper. Pulled out a few layers every time she was sick. Once she stopped being sick in her crate EVERY time, we started holding her on our knees instead. We had a few set backs here and there, but ever so slowly did she stop being sick, and finally started enjoying the ride.
Our sweet little girl is gone now, but she truly loved riding in the car because she knew it was an adventure taking her to a fun place.
I have a dog who is now going on 4. We got him at 4 months. He was extremely anxious about car travel, and vomited EVERY trip. He is/was a very touch/feely sort - so I would hold him in my lap. Didn't help enough. We went to just making sure he had a blanket under so he didn't mess everything up. Now, 3 years later, I have him calm enough about car travel he won't vomit for trips under 2 hours, but he is still not keen on them. If I had focused on this behavior full-time, perhaps I could have achieved where we are now in a year.
What worked - treats helped, but for this one, a fun event AFTER the car trip was key. I put him in the car to take him for a walk. Early on, we drove to visit a local dog-walking fav park ( 20 min.) Later, I put him in the car to go visit the beach (1.5 hour drive) - or a dog park (about the same travel time). It was only a few months ago that he actually sat up, and watched the vista as we drove, for an extended time.
So my opinion is don't worry, find a blanket to put under him in the car, and work on it slowly.
When I first got Dazzle he would throw up during car rides too. He is not a drooly slobbery kind of dog but both his mouth and nose drip non stop during car rides. I try not to feed him for several hours when he is going somewhere and that put an end to vomiting but his mouth and nose still drip when he is in a car.He will get in a car and ride but he is not a dog that loves to go for car rides and despite the fact that most car rides end at agility,the dog park or beach I doubt he will ever be a dog that loves car rides.
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Good luck!
