Oh Great! My Dog is Carsick Again
Jackie Valentine
The fun of taking your dog on an outing can be overshadowed by the miserable time that you spend cleaning up behind your furry, nauseated friend. Many times dogs have carsick problems that can make both dog and owner just want to stay home. After all, the motion of the car is just too much for the dog…
Okay, let’s stop there. It is obviously true that many dogs suffer from carsickness. However, the main cause of carsickness is not the motion of the car, as one would suspect. The primary culprit in this case is usually stress. When you think about it, this is pretty easy to understand. After all, one of the first times the dog traveled as a puppy was when it left its mom and littermates. Then, probably the next time would have been a trip to the vet, where it had its temperature taken rectally and got a shot. Jeepers! I’m getting stressed out just thinking about it!
So, what to do? You can’t just reason with a dog about this kind of thing, you have to show it something different, change its “car attitude”, so to speak. Since the problem is related to a negative association from early on, we need to help it transfer to a positive one.
One of the first things that will help your dog overcome the sick feeling it experiences when riding is for it to get used to just sitting in a parked car. Of course, you may need to turn on the air conditioner to keep it comfortable for both of you. Now, encourage the dog to enter the car and sit beside you, all the while praising and making sure that it feels safe and secure. You should sit with your dog in the backseat for now, if you plan for it to ride there. Make sure that you have a treat with you, and offer it to your dog, all the while heaping on praise for its bravery.
After you have done this for several days to a week, you can now progress to taking a short, pleasant trip, maybe around the block once or twice. If you ask someone to go with you on this first excursion, they will be able to keep the dog calm during the ride, always remembering to praise and reward when it is doing well, comfort when it is having trouble.
At this point, your dog is probably getting used to the car and calming down some. Now is the time to take it for a short trip to the park or somewhere to play. Make this fun for your dog - run around, play tug-o-war, play catch, throw a Frisbee – whatever its favorites are. When you’ve had enough play time, take your dog home, and remember to praise and reward at this time also. You have just replaced the negative association that the dog had with a happy, positive one.
There are a few other things that should make a difference in your dog’s comfort level and help it avoid being carsick. Most dogs will fare better if they don’t eat before they ride. Still others do well starting with a small amount of food in their stomachs. It is important to take frequent breaks so the dog can have water and be able to relieve itself. Many people find that if dogs are allowed to sit in the front seat they do better, as the front is usually cooler, less bumpy and you are there. My dog loves to look out of the window as we go. After all, anyone who is suffering from nausea benefits from fresh air! I just make sure that the window is not rolled down too far.
I should point out here that some dogs actually get carsick from the car’s motion, even though this is not the norm. If you have patiently and diligently tried each of these suggestions, and your dog is still getting sick, you may want to consult your veterinarian. There are prescription medications for this condition. (Please be careful not to give your dog over-the-counter human anti-nausea medications unless advised to by a veterinarian, as some of these can cause adverse reactions in dogs).
The main thing is to be attentive to your dog’s needs, whether a fresh bowl of water is in order after a game of tug-o-war, or the fresh air from a slightly lowered car window. You have the ability to make your dog’s life easier with just a little patience, praise and consistency. Your dog will thank you for helping him bypass carsickness by “de-stressing” the experience of riding in a car.