# Car sickness



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

How old is she?


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

Is she crated? Some dogs do better either crated or not crated. I would try the opposite of what you have been doing if possible to see if it helps any.

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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

Raven is 6mo old. She has been crate trained, but usually acts better in the car without it. I have not been needing it at home much either. We have worked or way up to leaving her alone for 4-5 hours and she has been fine.... Hasn't bothered a thing and no potty accidents. The car is really my only with her currently and unfortunately we have to be in the car a lot.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I bet it goes away as she gets older. One of my dogs got car sick until he was about a year old. My 6 month old puppy gets nautious and occasionally sick, too, but I anticipate that she will also outgrow it. Anybody who gets carsick rides in a crate - for easy cleanup!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Raven's mom, I second the suggestion of doing the opposite of what you've been doing. I haven't got a SPOO (yet!) but my daughter has a poodle mix who has a lot of trouble with car-sickness too. She has found that her pup definitely gets sick more often and more quickly when loose in the car, even if she eventually sits on the floor at my daughter's feet after getting sick (which, it turns out is what works). Now, my daughter skips the preliminary misery and crates the pup from the start - she settles down happily and mostly sleeps. For longer rides, of course there are stops every couple of hours for a little romp and potty and water and so on. It has worked so well, my daughter can now take her pup on very long drives (from Illinois to SC!) and we even drove from Illinois to Newfoundland (a four day drive with a ferry ride!) and the dog was happy and well. Still gets sick on a trip across town if out of the crate, though!


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

Oohh I do so hope she will just grow out or it! I forget sometimes, she is still just a puppy.

I quit using the crate in car because it was harder to clean her and the crate and if she got it on her she would start whining the the rest of the trip. Now she sits on a large towel and then I can just shake it out and keep it off of her (more or less). The prescription medication is so expensive and only works half the time anyway but I hate the thought she is so miserable in the car. I personally hate to feel the least bit nauseous so I feel just terrible making her sick.


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

Please read about any possible side effects of medication to prevent car sickness. Some of them can lower the seizure threshhold in dogs prone to epilepsy. Not saying your dog would have this problem, but why take the chance? I bet your dog will grow out of it even if he doesn't come to love riding in the car.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Oh poor Raven! I didn't realize you had already tried using the crate in the car. I hope she outgrows this soon!!


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## Saphire (Nov 15, 2013)

Almost 8 month old apricot SPoo. Her crate is huge, not sure how I would fit it in the car? No plans to show her so not a huge problem. I am used to other breeds that LOVE the car so I wondered about her hesitation. She will get in reluctantly. She has thrown up 2x mostly on slightly longer trips 30 minutes. Both times her stomach was almost empty. I wonder if she would have done better eating first. Although more to clean

Jealous that you can leave yours, every time we do leave her loose she is mostly good but after a day or so starts sneak peeing or worse. She is also a terrible counter surfer with food so back to the crate


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Mine are Tpoos not spoos, but they used to get carsick all the time. Branna did it when she was a puppy but I just took her every with me and she eventually got over it. Winter he still gets sick when we go on longer trips. Usually he throws up right before we reach our destination or right when we stop. Like CM, I keep him in a kennel with a blanket to make clean up easy. On shorter trips he is fine and doesn't throw up at all. Killa I don't think ever has had issues with getting car sick. Branna will still get carsick occasionally but only when it's a tense atmosphere. Like when I get upset about something. I think it's more a stress throw up than a carsick throw up. But she only does it in the car. My advise would be short trips often and if she does ok increase trip time. Hopefully she will get better with it. 


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Sophy was horribly car sick as a puppy, and will still occasionally throw up if I drive on the wrong kind of roads. I tried lots of things - these are the ones that worked!
Desensitising and counter conditioning. At first she shook and drooled just getting into the car. I spent hours sitting in it, with books and music for me and a high value chew for her. When she was relaxed about sitting, i started the engine. Then moved a few yards backwards and forwards. Then drove a hundred yards... Eventually we built up to longer trips.
No food within a couple of hours of travelling.
A walk before driving any distance.
Ginger, especially hard ginger nut biscuits, although ginger tablets also helped.
Being in the least bouncy part of the car - in my car this is the back seat.
A comfortable canvas crate - i actually find it easier to clean, as I can just swap in a clean blanket.
Growing up, and getting past teething.
Changing my driving style to give her as smooth a ride as possible, and avoiding twisting roads as much as I can.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Lou got extremely car sick when she was a puppy. I believe it was mostly anxiety. She got better with time, and when we got Apollo (he is totally cool with car rides) she learned from him that it's safe I guess, and hasn't gotten car sick ever since. Her vet recommended Benadryl at the time. But please check with your vet first. I can't give medical advice  

Also the dog-car-hammock is awesome and they love it!! They feel safer for not being possible to fall off the seat onto the floorboard , they curl up and sleep 











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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Lily used to get a little sick when she was a puppy. She outgrew it but I also think moving her out of the crate all the way in the back and using a hammock in the back seat helped a lot too. I think the motion is different nearer the front of the vehicle (SUV) and I think she was more relaxed when she was closer to us. The hammocks are waterproof and easy to clean too.

She is now an awesome traveller. We had a bad traffic back up on the way home from our obedience and rally trials this weekend. What should have been a five and a half hour trip took over seven. Thankfully I had stopped for a potty break (both of us) and gotten gas just before the road basically shut down completely for about an hour because of an accident. Lily was a trooper the whole time we sat there stuck even though lots was going on around us with emergency vehicles going by.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Penny gets car sick but we've been working on it through desensitizing her. My previous Spoo, Beau, was also car sick. In another thread I posted what I did to get him over it and it's what I'm doing with Penny to but a little faster since she isn't a fearful dog. Beau was very fearful so the pace was much slower. Here's what I did:



> Think of all the individual steps it takes to get to the end of the street. Each step would be done several times a day with treats. Starting with just being in the garage with the car. Then two weeks of being in the garage with the car door open. If he showed interest in the car, treat. Then two weeks of just getting him in then right back out. Treat. Then in, close the door, open door immediately get him out, treat. Then two weeks of him in, me in, me out, him out, treat. Then him in, me in, open the garage door, turn car on, turn car off, close the garage door, me out, him out, treat. Then him in, me in, open the garage door, turn car on, back car out to the street then park car back in the garage. Then that same process and around the block with progressively longer trips to fun places. Literally breaking down the process step by step and not progressing till he was comfortable with the current step. It was a monument PIA but worth it. He eventually loved the car and we could travel anywhere with him. Hope that helps some of you out there with car-phobic dogs.


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

Lou, I have never seen that hammock device. I will look on line. I will also try doing the desensitization exercises in the neighborhood this summer while I am out of school. She does do better when a person or other dog rides in the back with her but that's rarely possible. I will keep at it out of me necessity.... Hopefully she will get over it eventually.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Here are some pictures, I'd go with the water proof , easy to clean 

https://www.google.com/search?q=dog...MaWyAS44YKIDg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=320&bih=372



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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I got my car hammock at PetSmart. It is just like Lou's.


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## Desiree (Feb 14, 2010)

Okay this is going to sound stupid. But it worked with my dog. Try a different car and go fun exciting places. My 9 month old boy associated the car ride leaving his home (breeder's kennel) and got sick every time. But when we switched to my van he stopped getting sick and started to enjoy the ride. Maybe it was just a co-winky dink but that all I've got! Good Luck!


I've also noticed that my friend's dogs that get car sick do not drive, turn or stop smoothly. This can be unsettling for a 50 pound dog.


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## Feelingdoc (Feb 18, 2014)

My female was car sick all the first year and at 3 she can be on longer trips. If she doesn't puke she turns green...drooling and restless. She now most often curls up and sleeps. But she always seems happy to go and never refuses to get in the car. I found turning a little cooler air on her or opening the back window some (not enough she'd stick her head out) helped her. Also I spaced out her food and water in short snacks if we were going on a long trip. I used a towel too...


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Desiree said:


> Okay this is going to sound stupid. But it worked with my dog. Try a different car and go fun exciting places. My 9 month old boy associated the car ride leaving his home (breeder's kennel) and got sick every time. But when we switched to my van he stopped getting sick and started to enjoy the ride. Maybe it was just a co-winky dink but that all I've got! Good Luck!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes!!! At first I had to drive as if I had a glass of water sitting on the top of the mmmm what's it called?....-Close to the windshield!! 

I drove as if it would tumble over , drove gently and carefully... Especially STOPPING. 
Usually When the car comes to a stop, the car makes a zig-zag motion if you use the breaks too hard. If you tap the peddle gently and really slowly come to a complete stop, IT REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR LOU.  

Good point!! 






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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Lou said:


> Yes!!! At first I had to drive as if I had a glass of water sitting on the top of the *mmmm what's it called?....-Close to the windshield!! *
> 
> I drove as if it would tumble over , drove gently and carefully... Especially STOPPING.
> Usually When the car comes to a stop, the car makes a zig-zag motion if you use the breaks too hard. If you tap the peddle gently and really slowly come to a complete stop, IT REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR LOU.
> ...


Dash board


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