Dog Travel Sickness

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Heading off on a self catering holiday in a few weeks.

Issue is that our dog (large breed) suffers from travel sickness, please note he has done so since he was a puppy and I have tried everything (eg: get him into car without engine running and build him up slowly with treats, all car trips are to nice places, ie walks so positive association, short car trips (ie <1 miles and build him up), travel sick tablets, syrup which calms dogs, different positions in the car, windows always down, he does not eat before he travels, tried Dog Appeasing Pheromone Spray (DAP) AND nothing has really worked.

The trip will take just under 2 hours and was wondering if anyone else had this issue before and is the best thing for the dog to get something from the vet to make his drowsy. If this will have no impact on whether he gets sick then I would avoid it and would bring him for a long walk before the trip so he is tired. Plan to stop a few times and give him water, etc.

Any advice from those who have encountered this problem before is much appreciated.
 
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This website seems pretty useful. I know we had a dog years ago who was also travel sick and the main thing that worked was covering him up i.e making sure he couldn't see out the window etc. Just like humans moving objects etc will make him sick.
 
Hi,

Do you harness your dog in the car? We put a harness on our dog and the car seatbelt goes through a loop on the harness. This means the dog is secure in the event of an accident and also can't move around during the journey.

Triona
 
Hi Triona,

Have not tried to harness him.

We have an estate car and the boot is a reasonable size so he goes in there and initially he looks out but always goes down on all fours after a little while. The journey we usually take is 3 miles and he gets sick probably half the time.

In a previous car, we put him in the back seat on the dog cover and he would lie down.

This is why I did not try the harness as he does not like sitting upright. Even in/out of the house he is a bit of a slob and will usually just lie down.

However, anything is worth a try. Did your dog get sick before and did this help or is it a warning message that the dog should like a human be securely fastened in the car at all times?
 
Both from a sickness point of view and a security point of view!
One of our dogs used to get sick and after we harnessed her, she stopped. I can't say for definite that it was the harness but it seemed to help. ]
The harnesses allow the dogs to lie down. You can get them in any pet shop.
 
I knew a dog who suffered badly from car travel sickness as a puppy. A solution was found where they put her in the car with a second dog who didn't suffer with it for a few drives. Perhaps it is some sort of dog psychology but it worked for them! She found reassurance from the other dog perhaps.
Afterwards, she did find hot weather in the car difficult, or bad driving and bumps etc. But mostly she managed not to get sick, and it was a success. It may be worth a try?
 
My last dog (German Shep./Collie cross) used to get very travel sick... Even XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX from the vet didn't help.... I asked if it would be okay to try her on the old trick used by pregnant women, Ginger Biscuts!...

While he cautioned against giving the dog too many sweet treats, and as she didn't travel too often, he said to go ahead and give it a try...

A couple of Ginger Biscuits about twenty minutes before travelling, worked a treat!... She was never travel sick again!... Might be worth trying!...
 
Thanks Darthvadar and Splash.....will defo try out the ginger biscuits as even if he does decide to have a vomit then at least it will smell a little better:)

Am thinking of getting a 2nd dog for him as he had a pal who belonged to neighbours up the road but he has being missing for a while and our fella is a bit miserable as a result. Planning to get a rescue dog as I looked at the websites so would feel bad doing the puppy thing a 2nd time around, only condition will be that the dog does not suffer from travel sickness!!!
 
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