# Vomiting in the car



## Irishman (May 13, 2011)

I have three dogs. Two of them love the car, and will gladly go on long drives with me with no problem. The younger dog, who is 2 years old now, nearly always vomits and sometimes lets out other ghastly discharges even on short rides. I'm afraid to even take him to our hiking area that's less than 3 miles away. 

He doesn't seem particularly upset, though a bit nervous. He'll just sit there, doing a bit of nervous panting, and without warning - Bleck! Stuff all over the car. What can I do to change this?


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

It sounds like car sickness/anxiety.
- Desensitize him to the car - http://animal.discovery.com/videos/its-me-or-the-dog-easing-car-anxiety.html - and take it slow.
- Don't feed him before you go
- Make getting in the car a fun experience
- If the car sickness is horrible you may need to give him a light dose of medication - speak to the vet about medications that can ease his car sickness without overly sedating him (hard to do).
- Use a car harness - they can make the dog feel more secure by not being thrown off balance in the car and they make the dog safer in the car.


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## Irishman (May 13, 2011)

Charis said:


> It sounds like car sickness/anxiety.
> - Desensitize him to the car - http://animal.discovery.com/videos/its-me-or-the-dog-easing-car-anxiety.html - and take it slow.
> - Don't feed him before you go
> - Make getting in the car a fun experience
> ...


Thanks. I watched the video. I'll try luring him into the car and sitting with him a bit, giving him occasional treats, and see how that goes. If he does OK, I'll do this for several days before turning the car on. I'm not in a terrible rush, and I really don't like cleaning up after he ejects.


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## Belda (Apr 27, 2011)

Hello, Sorry to hear that one of your dog's dislikes travelling and understandable when he is sick each time. Have you tried GINGER. I have heard really good reports on Ginger settling the stomach of travel sickness. Without being a drug! You can buy a pack of Chyrstalised Ginger cubes in most Health Food shops, and inexpensive. Then give him a couple of pieces perhaps one hour before travelling, then a couple more about 30 minutes before, again 15 minutes before, and see if that settles his tummy. 

If he is not sick, it will help encourage him to feel better about travelling and gradually the need for the Ginger will probably cease. I doubt he will ever be enthusiastic about car journeys, but at least if sickness is prevented that will be much better for all concerned (particularly your dog).

Let us know if you try it, and how he gets on.

Regards,
Belda


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Welcome to my world! Fun, isn't it...

I crate my dog. It contains the vomit. 
I travel with cleaner and paper towels and a clean towel to switch out for the puked-on one in the bottom of his crate.
I pop the crate out, dump out what I can, put it on the back of my car, clean it out...and off we go.

My vet says that I can give my dog dramamine, but I never have because generally our car rides are leading to training classes where I'd not want him to be drowsy.
I drive with all of my windows down.
I do not let him eat for 3-5 hours before the drive.
I do not let him drink for 2 hours before the drive.
But, sometimes, classes mean lots of treats...and it's just hit or miss with the puking.

Anyway, talk to your vet about medication... but those are my recommendations above.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Gravol is now available in a ginger based pill, rather than an anti nausea with sedative effects. This may help, along with the desens. to the car itself. It's a vicious cycle, dog gets motion sickness, feels crappy, associates it with the car, then develops anxiety about car rides which makes it worse. Combining the two things (meds and desens) should help. 

I suffer from motion sickness...it sucks.


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## Irishman (May 13, 2011)

Cracker said:


> Gravol is now available in a ginger based pill, rather than an anti nausea with sedative effects. This may help, along with the desens. to the car itself. It's a vicious cycle, dog gets motion sickness, feels crappy, associates it with the car, then develops anxiety about car rides which makes it worse. Combining the two things (meds and desens) should help.
> 
> I suffer from motion sickness...it sucks.


When I was a child, I suffered from motion sickness as well. Then my mom started working at a travel agency, and I vomited my way across the country in planes, trains and boats. Now I almost never get motion sickness. I'm going to try adding some ginger to our rides to see if that helps. Multiple people posted about this, so I'm hoping that will help. I saw that one person crated their vomiting dog, but I'm afraid to do this, as my dog vomits A LOT when this happens. I'd have to clean the crate and the dog, and until I stopped, my dog would be riding in his own vomit, which gives me the icks.


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Irishman said:


> I saw that one person crated their vomiting dog, but I'm afraid to do this, as my dog vomits A LOT when this happens. I'd have to clean the crate and the dog, and until I stopped, my dog would be riding in his own vomit, which gives me the icks.


This is true. Since our vomiting is hit or miss, the crate works best for me. He usually won't get sick if it's a straight drive with not a lot of bumps, lights, or turns. And I drive like an old lady... staying far far away from the car in front of me so that I never have to suddenly stop or slow down. I hold my breath around turns and take them so wide... it's exhausting. Our rides are never longer than 30 minutes or so, and he usually gets sick in the last 5 minutes (lucky me). Each case will be different.

He has had to sit in his own vomit for a few minutes a couple of times, which I hate 
And he has needed a bath once after, which was sad 

Poor puppy.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Try ginger first (pills, cookies, candy, etc.). If that doesn't work, try Dramamine. It worked for Penny when she was a puppy.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I second the ginger idea. My sheltie puked any time he went into a car. I wanted to go to an online friend's dog party, 2:45 away, one way. We gave him about 6 gingersnaps before we left (gave some to the other dog too LOL) and no puking!


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