CAR SICkNESS

Live2Birdhunt

Live2Birdhunt

New member
My 8 month old lab has really bad car sickness. Starts drooling immediately and then eventually spits up. This is my third lab and never an issue with the first two. I have always had them in the back seat area of my pickup. We have only made short trips here and there and now I am reluctant to make more frequent trips because I am tired of cleaning the mess and trying to keep the odor out of my truck.

Any suggestions?
 
It appears the dog has an immediate reaction to the back seat, kind of a conditioned response to the activity.

Check with a vet - perhaps there's a pill you can give him in advance to help with the motion sickness...

Web MD has some good suggestions.
 
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Live2Birdhunt said:
My 8 month old lab has really bad car sickness. Starts drooling immediately and then eventually spits up. This is my third lab and never an issue with the first two. I have always had them in the back seat area of my pickup. We have only made short trips here and there and now I am reluctant to make more frequent trips because I am tired of cleaning the mess and trying to keep the odor out of my truck.

Any suggestions?
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I've had the same issue with a couple of my Goldens. They have all out grown it. Tip #1 - have a bunch of napkins in the glovebox. You'll be cleaning up puke for a while. #2. Limit or no drinking of water before you go. The water really seems to affect them. 3. Make the trip fun! You don't want the dog afraid of going in the truck. 4. Make short trips to places you can take the dog out for a quick walk or pee then go for another short ride and do the same. 5. Make sure the back windows are open just a little. Hunting dogs live to scent stuff. Pretty soon they figure out windows bring lots of new smells to them. 6. As best you can, talk and pet the dog while in the car. It distracts them from what must be the queasy feeling. If you see a squirrel or a rabbit, say squirrel or rabbit in that happy urgent voice where pup will be looking for the critter and not thinking about being sick. Your results may vary, but the above has worked for me with 2 different dogs. Good luck.
 
Junie was a very nervous traveler as a puppy. She would avoid getting in the car, pace around the backseat, pant, whine, drool, and otherwise just dread car trips. Adding the crate was an instant fix. She knew it was her place, and was totally calm in there. It fixed 100% of the symptoms. She has ridden loose in the minivan a few times as an adult, but clearly prefers to be crated for travel. She's still just anxious if loose in a moving vehicle. That crate makes all the difference. She definitely associates the car with hunting and adventuring now, but wants to get into the crate immediately.

The advice about the short trips was good too. Just loading in the vehicle and immediately unloading and going on a walk would even help build a positive association with the car.
 
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Good idea about crating the dogs. Might be an easy fix. You could also try giving the dog some Benadryl about 30 minutes before the vehicle ride (1 mg of Benadryl per lb of dog weight). Or your vet might have some drugs that will help.
 
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