I have a four month old puppy. He is a Norfolk Terrier/ Poodle cross and is wonderful EXCEPT he drools like crazy in the car and eventually throws up.
I would love to be able to take him places - the dog park for one, but he is a such a drooly mess by the time we get there (about ten minutes away).
I have tried taking him on short rides and making it “fun” for him - should I take his crate with us? Should I just come to grips with the fact he is not a car dog?
Is the place your puppy sits in the car particularly bouncy? Some SUVs get me carsick when I sit in the back.
Both my dogs got car sick when they were pups, but both grew out of it by the time they were a year old. So maybe yours will grow out of it.
I like to transport mine in kennels. It is safer for the dog and safer for you, plus it is comforting to them to have their own place. Try using a kennel and see if it helps.
I’ve heard you’re supposed to take them on very short trips to acclimate them. Like, put them in the car, drive once around the block. Repeat once a day for a week. The next week, go around twice. Keep making the trips slightly longer, until the puppy gets used to it. If you aren’t crating him, make sure you bring a towel for him to lie on. Our dog was happiest lying on the floor of the passenger seat - it’s like being in a cave for them. YMMV.
The poor little guy is getting soooo carsick! There are doses of Dramamine that you can give your dog. If you know his current weight your vet should be okay with telling you the dose over the phone (it won’t correspond with the human dose, so don’t try). Even a low dose may make him drowsy.
The drool is from nausea, he must feel awful. Of people I know who get carsick, the only way they can ride is in the front seat so they can see out the front window. It helps the brain and inner ear figure out which way is “up” so to speak. Maybe that would help a dog, too?
Motion sickness is a common problem with puppies. Elevating the dog so it can see out the front window will orient the sense of motion to sight.
My brother’s dog had motion sickness as a pup. Dramamine did nothing for her. To take her camping they had to give her sedatives they got from the vet, but we didn’t like to do that any more than strictly necessary. We hoped she’d outgrow it, but she didn’t by the time she was a year old.
She got to the point where she’d start drooling before she even got in the car because she associated the car with being sick, but she still loved going for trips and would hop in any time she could. So I acclimated her.
We “practiced” sitting in the car listening to the radio with the windows down. There was lots of petting and happy talk. (one evening my then boyfriend called, and my mom said, “Oh, she’s out sitting in the car with the dog.”)
When she’d stop drooling in the parked car, we graduated to driving around the block. Then down the street a bit. Now she can go camping two hours away with no problem.
We only owned a dog for a short time, but she had this problem, and we had a long (for her) car trip ahead of us. And she was a big dog and able to see out windows…imagine the amount of drool from a full-grown yellow lab/Irish Setter mix! The vet gave us sedatives. We gave her one ahead of time, when she was just in the yard, to see how she would react, and she was a wild thing! We called the vet, and he assured us that in the confines of the car, she would be fine. So when we set off on our trip, we gave her the pill. Instead of pacing around in the car flinging drool everywhere, she sat quietly and looked out the window, then eventually laid down and snoozed. She wasn’t knocked out, just comfortable and able to relax. Since we didn’t take her in the car often this was the perfect solution for us.
I tried the vet recommended dose of Benadryl for my last dog, but he threw it right up.
The only thing that worked for Giorgie was eating a dog biscuit just before we left the house.
Sometimes they even grow out of it, just like kids! My one dog was carsick on most trips until she was about a year old. When we talked to the vet about it, he explained that it was not uncommon and in part had to do with the development of their ears and overall equilibrium.
We also did the short, frequent trips because we didn’t want her to associate the car with being sick. Restricting food and water before trips is not a bad idea either.
is your car new?
I had a cat that would puke every time it road in my parents new car but was fine in every other vehicle it was in, the new car smell can be pretty powerful and used to give me headaches so I can only imagine what it would be like for a critter with a big powerful nose.
or maybe its just a puppy thing.
I have 2 Australian Shepherds that love car rides. When I first got Little Fat Max, he would puke like crazy tho. Once I bought them seat belts, and put the windows down for him, it stopped!
Seat Belt Picture Cheap seat belts
I strongly recommend seat belts for dogs, they can then look out the windows, have fresh air, and still be safe.
Seat belts are a great idea - but my dog needs a booster seat to see out the window!