lansbury

We have tried taking out 4 month old puppy on car trips, but he gets car sick almost as soon as we leave the house. We put him in a crate in the back of an SUV with the seats folded down. Even shortish trips of 20 minutes he gets in quite a state.

Anyone else had this problem with a dog and did you manage to find a solution?

The wanderer.

Its normal enough for puppies to get motion sickness, they get used to it over time as they get older. Short journey's to get them used to it is good.

Our dog has now travelled across Canada and Europe, when we first got her she was getting sick after the first mile.

Nutek

It wants to sit on the front passengers lap so that it can look around and see what's going on. It also wants to leave smudgy nose prints everywhere, and this will help it do that.

Lion in Winter

And then it will be sick on your lap.

Nutek

Not if you point it at the driver.

AdobePinon

I used to have a dog with that problem. He had a ‘range’ of about 40 minutes on a good day. Never did find a good solution other than to make sure he didn’t have any food for a few hours before leaving. Vet had a few drug ideas - nothing really worked. Hopefully your pup grows out of it.

christmasoompa

One of our dogs used to do the same thing (he threw up and wee'd all over my mother when we were bringing him home....that went down well ). We just kept doing short journeys, gradually lengthening them, and now he's fine and will have no problem with a 5 hour journey, but it did take quite a while. We also don't feed him, if we're going to be travelling we give him food the night before but nothing on the actual day until we get to our destination. That seems to help hugely.

Good luck.

scrubbedexpat099

Mine is a front seat dog, but sometimes he likes lying in the back or popping out through the window into the truck bed. seems to vary.

I am forever adjusting the rear view mirror.

Nutmegger

It is probable that he will get over it as he gets older, if you can be patient with him, take him for short rides, and endure the mess; but in the meantime ensure that he hasn't eaten for a few hours before going in the car. One of mine never got over it and I give him Dramamine (or the generic, Dimenhydrate) half an hour before going for a ride. Your vet can advise the amount of the dosage in relation to how much the dog weighs. Works like a charm and he is much happier about getting in the car.

lansbury

Thanks for all the advice, we will shorten up the trips and just him around locally for a little while to see if he gets used to traveling. He started whimpering last night less than a quarter of a mile from the house. Perhaps he knew we were going to grandson's baseball match and his team are terrible this year.

lansbury

Tried that Mrs L was not impressed.

Nutek

Nutmegger

Whenever I'm riding with a puppy, the first thing that goes into the car is a towel for my lap, a roll of paper towels and a plastic bag -- and another towel for when the first one gets messy!

Octang Frye

Have you tried reasoning with the puppy?
I have found that if you have a sit-down, heart-to-heart, you can usually come to some kind of compromise.

lansbury

We do all that, but dog tried to chuck up in Mrs Ls handbag, which was on the floor, in response to my let him be sick on the floor mat it'll wash off. In trying to rescue her handbag she let the towel slip and dog redirected his aim.

Dog is American born under the current president. Being reasonable is not part of his vocabulary.