Car Sickness

[HilyBee]

So we are about to move (yay!) but it is about four hours away. We normally give Yosuke a baby benadryl when he has to get in the car, but they don't last very long for some reason. He gets car sick on drives that are more than 5 minutes long now. :/ We've tried crating him in the car, leaving him in the backseat just buckled in (buckle attached to a car harness) and holding him on our laps (passengers only!). Our vet just recommended the baby benadryl for traveling... but it just doesn't seem to work. He still gets car sick and can't fall asleep. We've never had a dog so sensitive to the car. He LOVES to go places but gets sick every time so we don't like to take him places. Any ideas as to what we can try instead?

 

[Nell]

Oh poor puppy, have you tried travelling him in the floor well of the passenger seat rather than on the seat so he cant see he's moving?

I guess you are not feeding him before a car journey so the only other thing I can think of for a long journey may be a sedative? you could speak to your vet. The only time I have used a sedative was for fireworks, one of mine is petrified! They didn't have the effect I was expecting though, I thought they would make him sleepy....no way! he ignored the fireworks and was in happy land, ultra hyper but a bit drunk at the same time lol. Funny thing is I only had to use them a few times and he is much better with the fireworks now, maybe he associates them with a high now lol!

I suppose the only other things are the usual things you try with kids that are car sick, a chain on the back bumper? I also found this on the net,

"Ginger has long been a remedy that humans use to combat car sickness. Ginger comes in capsule form and also crystalline form. Dogs seem to like ginger so there shouldn't be a problem getting your dog to eat it.

Many dog owners report that giving their dog ginger cookies or ginger snaps prior to a car journey works well in controlling car sickness. Two plain ginger cookies or ginger snaps should work well for a medium-sized dog. Your dog may even be receptive to accepting a small piece of the ginger plant root."

 

[HilyBee]

Thank you Nell! I'm definitely going to try the ginger and having him sleep in the well instead. We do not feed him whenever we travel until 30-40 minutes after we arrive. If we do feed him before its bland food like rice or bread.

 

[Penny]

My in-laws gave their dog some vanilla ice cream before going in the car and that seemed to work for them.
I remember reading one breeder used to put their puppies in a kennel on top of the dryer when it was running to get them used to a car. Maybe that might help to condition him to relax with the vibration and noise, and he's not actually moving.