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Topic Dog Boards / Behaviour / Thanx for all your help, Just one more question.
- By Catkinsam [gb] Date 15.07.10 20:41 UTC
Thanx to all you lovely people who left comments about my Sams behaviour, it is really usefull.

Hi everyone, Does anyone have any suggestions regarding travel sickness in dogs. I have tried him in the car a few times in the past, only to have sickness and the other eewwww  lol. ( big car clean).... Sam gets in no problem and he likes to hang his head out the window too as he likes the fresh air blowing. I dont feed him before hand, and do take him for a quick walk aswell , you know to the toilet. Have heard the vets do travel sickness pills for dogs and wondered if anyone knew if they where any good or if there was any other things I could do or use as he dosent fret in the car when travelling. He has even been sick when I have tried the bus. I am going camping soon and really want to take him, as he would enjoy all the walks. I have tried him in the passenger seet too as he seems better there, but dont know if this is even legal. Even tho he does wear a seat belt.

Thanx Claire
- By Catkinsam [gb] Date 15.07.10 20:43 UTC
Not sure if I am even doing this right, I am new to this. So sorry if ive done it wrong. xx
- By LindyLou [gb] Date 15.07.10 21:11 UTC
If I were you I would buy a crate to put in the back of your car for him. Then cover it with a blanket so that he can't see out. If you are not prepared to do this then I would get some sea legs (travel sickness tablets) for him from the chemist. Don't tell them it's for the dog or they may not sell you them ;-)

The tablets from the vet are expensive. the sealegs work just as well.
- By Nova Date 15.07.10 21:14 UTC
I have been told that Ginger Biscuits and a thick stack of newspaper on the floor help - can understand the Ginger may work and if the newspaper does not at least it makes cleaning up easier.
- By Trialist Date 15.07.10 22:05 UTC
I'd agree with other poster re putting him in a crate and covering it over. If he's travelling at the back of the car, might be a lot of car roll ... there are some vehicles I always feel ill in, front or back, and just put it down to suspension.  Crate on the front seat?  I've used cocculus tablets with great success for sickness in dogs. They're homeopathic so wont cause any problems, just give them 6 or 7 tablets (they're teeny) about 40 mins prior to travelling.
- By Perry Date 15.07.10 22:37 UTC
My golden retreiver hated the car from day one when we brought him home as a puppy, he was really sick and hated getting into the car after that :( he was always sick and panting and yawning.

I did try to sit inside with him and not move the car and then the next time turned the engine on but he was terrible. One or two things that worked were:
ginger biscuits - I just fed him a tiny bit every few minutes of the journey.  
sea legs - worked to a degree
But the best remedy we found were homeopathic tabs from Ainsworths (google them) if you phone them they will tell you exactly which to use.

But Jasper's total recovery came when we decided to adopt Henry :) Henry loved the car and Jasper found it much easier when he lay as close as he could to his buddy and we never have a problem at all now - he does fidget a bit in the car and will not look out of the window, Henry sits and watches the world go by - I am sure if Jasper looked out of the window he wouldn't have felt quite so queasy.

By the way, both my boys sit on the back seat with their car harnesses on - I am not sure if it is legal for dogs to be in the front although I have seen some, not very safe for them or you though!
- By JAY15 [gb] Date 16.07.10 01:32 UTC
Hi Claire, my three year old dog is a very poor car passenger at anything over 40 mph :) and has always been like this since the day he arrived. He gets very stressed and stands up 'praying' in the corner of the crate. He's entirely capable of doing this over very long distances, so we either have to amble or he can't come along, although in reality this very rarely happens. I do take all of them camping--we just have to stop along the way.

He was much better in the front seat as a baby, but it isn't safe and if it isn't illegal I'd be surprised. Sadly even adding good travellers to the dog tribe hasn't convinced him. I will give those pills a go though.
- By Lexy [gb] Date 16.07.10 03:56 UTC
I would agree sea legs work & even better if you are able to have someone sitting with the dog on the back seat.

I would like to add, that it not good for the dog to hang its head out the window...dangerous too.
- By Catkinsam [gb] Date 16.07.10 06:31 UTC
Thanx for your reply. Sambuka is a large dog, German Shepherd cross/ Border collie, so think a crate in the front would be too big. I will try the back again with a crate. U mentioned cocculous tablets, do you know where i would get them from?
Claire x
- By sillysue Date 16.07.10 07:41 UTC
I too used the ginger biscuits with great success. I didn't really believe it would work but in desperation when I had a 3 hour journey to do, I bought 2 packs of ginger biscuits and fed him half every 10 mins or so. I actually thought the amount of biscuits would make him sick apart from the car journey, but we arrived with a clean car and dog. Funny thing is that when I next took him out I had a pack of biscuits with me but didn't need them, in fact he was never sick again. Perhaps the journey without sickness taught him that travel can be fun ( we ended up with a run on the beach ) and that took all the fear and worry away from him - hence no more sickness ( my theory anyway)
- By dogs a babe Date 16.07.10 08:22 UTC
When mine was a pup (possibly different to adult car sickness?) he stopped being sick almost as soon as we bought him a crate for the car.  The crate was just big enough so he could lie down and brace himself against the sides for corners.  Until that point he'd been sitting up and weaving around getting more and more ill.  We also used straps to make sure the crate didn't slide around.
- By Penster [gb] Date 16.07.10 10:58 UTC
Ginger and Camomile biccies helped one of mine as well.

Do you feed the dog before you travel or does he travel on an empty tummy? I was told not to feed them at least 2-3 hours prior to travel and  if it is a long journey only to feed them in small amounts spread over several feeding sessions.

There's also this DPA diffuser for the car, I think I've seen it on Petplanet website. They are supposed to help calm down distressed dogs by spreading pheromones (which are unnoticable by humans). There are also some travel sickness pills for dogs or even check out some alternative remidies such as Bach Flower Remidies.
- By Penster [gb] Date 16.07.10 11:01 UTC
Ginger and Camomile biccies helped one of mine as well.

Do you feed the dog before you travel or does he travel on an empty tummy? I was told not to feed them at least 2-3 hours prior to travel and  if it is a long journey only to feed them in small amounts spread over several feeding sessions.

There's also this DPA diffuser for the car, I think I've seen it on Petplanet website. They are supposed to help calm down distressed dogs by spreading pheromones (which are unnoticable by humans). There are also some travel sickness pills for dogs or even check out some alternative remidies such as Bach Flower Remidies.
- By Trialist Date 17.07.10 21:32 UTC
Boots the Chemists for cocculus tablets. Come in a small tube, the tablets are very tiny. I've got collies and would give them about 7-8 tablets.  If Boots don't have them (I know my local has stopped stocking them), then a health food shop.
- By WolfieStruppi [gb] Date 17.07.10 21:59 UTC
Rather than use the tiny hard little pills (homeopathic) that Boots & other Health food shops sell Ainsworths will make a liquid version so you can give it by dropper or the pills that disolve in the mouth. Makes dosing a little easier.

I had to resort to Cerenia tablets from my vet for one of my dogs who was a terrible traveller. Quite expensive but worked from the first dose.
- By furriefriends Date 18.07.10 12:29 UTC
You should also beable to get homeopathic tablets/liquid on line from Nelsons Ainsworths or probably Helios. There are also homeopathic travel sickness pills available from chemists and those I have mentioned.
Ypu could also add rescue remedy at any time during or before a journey
Topic Dog Boards / Behaviour / Thanx for all your help, Just one more question.

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