Pet owners.

Y I Oughta

My puppy keeps getting sick in the car. Riding around for more than a half hour makes him vomit. Poor thing isn't himself all day after just a short ride. Everyone says he will eventually get over it. I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions as to whether or not we can give him some kind of anti-nausea medicine or anything else that might help. Unfortunately we can't just avoid him being in the car because he has puppy class every Saturday and it takes about a half hour with traffic to get there. He always seems to get sick right before he gets out. He ends up acting like a little baby and just wants to sit on my lap and snuggle. It's cute, but he is heavy too, so it makes it hard to hold him for too long.

We have tried letting him sit up front, in the back, on the floor, all over the car but this doesn't really help.

On the plus side, we have been able to get his head out the window when he does vomit so it isn't all over the inside of the car.

katiewhompus

Aww poor baby. My immediate thought is just to remove food/water an hour before he goes in the car. Demon gets car sick if she's in the car so we have to do this for her because I'm hesitant for anti-nausea meds. She will still spit up a little but it's easier to clean up.

RachNRich

I know some specialty stores sell anti-nausea medications that are specifically for dogs/cats---they might be work looking into.

Brandiewine11

My cat also gets car sick. I discussed with the vet and she said dramamine was fine for the cat. Her recommendation was to give her 1/2 a dramamine(10 lb cat)  and take away food the night b/4 if we were going out in the morning. It's helped a ton! It does make them a little drowsy. I don't do it if its just a short ride, but we go on a lot of car trips so I do it then. If its a short ride, i just take away her food and water before we go.

Anyway, its ok for dogs too, just check with your vet on the dose.

Y I Oughta

Thanks ladies. We have tried not feeding him before the car ride, but it doesn't help. He still acts like he is sooooooo sick, and won't be himself again for hours afterword. I might have to look into the anti nausea specialty meds. I just feel so bad for the little guy. Just for fun, here;s a pic of him sleeping.

Brandiewine11

He's adorable! Definitely check with the vet - mine said dramamine was just as safe and effective as specialty stuff, but way cheaper. Good luck! Sick puppies are no fun!

aprovencher21

My Jersey gets horribly sick in the car.  She gets 1mg of benedryal per pound.  Essentially it has the same ingredients as Dramamine and is cheaper.  It makes her sleepy and no puking!

greeneke2

My dog has done this ever since he was a puppy.  He's 10 moths old now, and if anything it has gotten worse.  I've tried everything.  But if he isn't vomiting he slobbers EVERYWHERE (apparently thats just as bad as him vomiting, thats what the vet said at least)  Well I talked to my vet about it and they gave me a Rx for him for an anti nausea medicine, and it worked to an extent, he didn't vomit but he still slobbered a lot!  Plus the meds were almost $40 which only lasted 2 car rides...

Y I Oughta

He does slobber a lot, which is really gross. We have to keep a towel with him the whole time he is in the car. I will have to ask the vet about the Dramamine see if that works.  and

Thanks everyone.

missy68

Yep, mine said benadryl. I also had a stronger antihistamine, and when the benadryl didn't calm him down, she said that was okay too.

But we gave it to Max because when he was young, he wouldn't settle down on long car rides (i.e., to Texas). Luckily, neither Maggie nor Max has gotten carsick. 

Well, Maggie did once, but it was because I gave her a chicken nugget that was too hot.

badkittyct

My dog used to get carsick as a puppy even after 10 minute rides. He outgrew it when he got older so it was never a problem.

Jelenny

I'd say check with your vet but still continue car rides.  Even around the block and slowly get longer.  It sounds crazy but I had a foster that was SUPER car sick - I mean everything that she could do in my car she did (poop, pee, drool, vomit).

I warned her adoptive family so they took her two times a week to the dog park - slowly it ceased and now she has no issues in the car.  She just needed plenty of good experiences.

katiewhompus

I'm sure you will, but make sure to mention the frequency of the car trips to your vet while discussing anti-nausea medicine. Taking meds once in a while for a car trip will do very different things on an animal's system than taking them twice a day every day.

tayylor65

I have a 2 year old mini schnauzer who used to be fine on short or long car rides and has developed car sickness if we go farther than 30 minutes.  

I make sure she doesn't eat for at least 3 hours before we leave (water's fine--I'd rather her throw up water than be dehydrated) and I've been insisting she lay down for as much of the ride as I can and that's seemed to work.  If your dog is jumping around excitedly it could make his stomach upset combined with the "stop and go's" of a car.  Also, if you only take him in the car to go to the class it could be excitement/nerves since he's still young that gets him wound up enough to also get motion sickness.

clignan

at this point, your puppy could just be throwing up out of habit from being in the car. here is something my dog trainer taught us:
take the dog in the car for a minute. dont turn it on, just act like you are getting ready to go. sit in the car for 1 minute and come out and praise the dog with a treat/toy/attn

take the dog in the car for a little longer each time without turning it on, and give treats. after a couple of days, do the same thing, but turn the car on. repeat treats and extend time after a few days.

after that, pull the car out and drive around the block. go home, get out, give treats. repeat. extend drives to 2, 5, 10, and 15 minutes. record the time the puppy throws up (if he is still doing so) and try to work your way up to that amount of time in the car.

i hope this helps without having to buy supplements!

Y I Oughta

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_pet-owners?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:7a84afd6-3306-4137-be06-767b206f6031Post:7b9c1909-11b9-4cfe-9a5f-2f7e7895bf41">Re: Pet owners.</a>:
[QUOTE]at this point, your puppy could just be throwing up out of habit from being in the car. here is something my dog trainer taught us: take the dog in the car for a minute. dont turn it on, just act like you are getting ready to go. sit in the car for 1 minute and come out and praise the dog with a treat/toy/attn take the dog in the car for a little longer each time without turning it on, and give treats. after a couple of days, do the same thing, but turn the car on. repeat treats and extend time after a few days. after that, pull the car out and drive around the block. go home, get out, give treats. repeat. extend drives to 2, 5, 10, and 15 minutes. record the time the puppy throws up (if he is still doing so) and try to work your way up to that amount of time in the car. i hope this helps without having to buy supplements!
Posted by clignan[/QUOTE]

I'll give this a try. Thank you.


Thanks to everyone for the advice.

We take him other places too, but the puppy class is the most regular ride. We also take him to the dog park, and the a few other places. I'm going to do whatever I can to get him over this, we spend a lot of time in the car going on little trips during the summer.

Denise91980

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_pet-owners?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:7a84afd6-3306-4137-be06-767b206f6031Post:ca8d95cd-56c2-47b2-8b3d-6762b5e56121">Re: Pet owners.</a>:
[QUOTE]He's adorable! Definitely check with the vet - mine said dramamine was just as safe and effective as specialty stuff, but way cheaper. Good luck! Sick puppies are no fun!
Posted by Brandiewine11[/QUOTE]

THIS! We had a Golden Retriever who LOVED the car, but would always get sick. We gave her dramamine and it seemed to work for her. We would give it a little bit before getting her in the car.