Wondering if anybody can give me some advice. Last saturday we picked up Sydney (a beautiful little doberman) and have been taking him our for short drives in the car. (with the exception of his journey home which lasted say 40 mins). He has whined a bit drooled heaps and then finally settles down to sleep. I took him out in the car wednesday and he was a perfect little angel with the exception of a bit of a whine for 5 mins or so, that was quite a long drive as I was stuck in traffic and then the car broke down (sigh what a day). He had his first shots Tuesday and was also wormed.

Today hubby dropped me off near work (drive say 10 mins in the car, there and back) but when he got back he was sick for the first time. He was drooling heaps (like normal) when I left him with hubby in the car. Is this possible because he associates the car with bad experiences? (leaving his littermates, me leaving him behind) or just one of those things. I have been so proud that he hasnt been sick before and he's been out for quite a few drives since we picked him up.

Anxious puppy parent.

PS he didnt eat very much b4 the drive, but I did notice that part of his stools was sloppy (the first lot came out normal).

Hi... Stay with it. Make sure he realises that going in the car is all perfectly normal.

Is he on the backseat? On your lap? What sort of car do you have?

Chloe :)

Thanks chloe,
I have a saxo my hubby a subaru. Usually he sits on my knee in the front as he's still small enough to do that. But this morning he was on his own in the front seat with hubby on the return journey when he was sick. (He was perfectly ok with me driving Sydney on the seat next to me I was constantly touching him & talking to him.) I know he is anxious as she drools and shivers but he has always settled down and slept. Perhaps hubby is not as attentive as me?

Hi

My dobe used to drool and be sick as well, we taught her how to be sick in a bucket when she was a puppy. Eventually she stopped being sick and instead used to howl and cry (very offputting when driving, also get funny looks at traffic lights). She never was a good traveller but then she didnt go in a car that often untill she was about 3 so thats probably why. When I get my new puppy I am going to make sure that she has at least a five minute drive everyday so hopefully she will be a good traveller.

Nikki

If it keps on try putting thick rubber matting under his blanket or whatever he has. Some cars produce vast amounts of static which cause travel sickness (you know those sharp little shocks you get off the body work).

One of mine was sick every time he got in the car. The vet nurse suggested it & it worked.

Eventually I just changed the car.

just a thought and looking it from doggy's point of view ....

when you fuss me a talk to me when im scared i think its ok to be scared

when your not there to tell me its ok to be scared it makes me ill

I had car sickness problems (well i say problem but we quickly nipped it in the bud each time) with all my dogs, and we found that if they wernt fed for at least 5 hours b4 a car journey that helped ..and also going to the loo for both poop and wee b4 helped and also try and take a route that dont involve too much slowing down and stoping and then starting up again to start with ...also one of my dogs only got sick when we exceeded 50mph ??? (good way to get you to obey speed limits)... we followed all of these things and eventualy (1st dog took 2 months, 2nd took 1 week, and my new puppy also took 1 week) they will stop being sick and you can gradualy return to normal driving and feeding.

hope ive helped
ohh one more thing i too had my dogs on my lap to start with and they also started to stop being sick if i put them on the back seat alone with some towels under them for comfort and that security feeling.

jo x x x x

Please dont let your dog sit on your lap , or anywhere in the car where it is not secure. use either a crate, dog guard, or on the seat with a doggy seatbelt. In the event of an accident you think you will save your dog? no way....all that happens is that in even a minor bump dog can 1. be killed or seriously injured 2. act as a missile killing the front seat passenger/driver. I would no more advise an unrestrained dog in the car than i would advise having a baby loose on the seat or on a lap. Safety is the absolute priority, and i get really sad when experienced dog owners still do it. Most dogs get over their vomiting if ignored, fussing them increases their fear, as the previos reply says. occasionally dogs remain car sick for ever, in which case just follow the advice on not feeding and allowing toilet, and put doggy in a safe position with protective covers.

We had the same problem with our rottie pup, just make sure he does not have anything to eat or drink too soon before the journey.
Make sure there is ample cool air circulating in the car as dogs can become dehydrated very quickly in hot cars and make them sick!!.

Our pup soon got over his travel sickness and now loves the car, hope he gets over this, but if it remains a problem there are things on the market to help stop sickness, maybe ask your vet or even better chat to other people here who i'm sure will give you sound advice.

Good luck

Tracey :D

If you put a search on car sick (or sickness) you should come up with several posts about this. I know I've posted a few times about the things that helped one of ours get over it (ginger nuts and lots of pillows, as well as lots of short rides to fun places.)

Good Luck

Wendy

Hi Jacky, hope Sydney is settling into his new home ok. How are the sleepless nights? Or is he a little sweetie and sleeping right through? Sorry to hear he is being a little car sick, don't know that I can help other than to say that I've always put my dogs in the rear hatch area of the car, and I have never had any car sickness problems. Taz goes in the back ok and settles down quite quickly, I put her bed in there as it's quite a big car and she would roll about without her bed to contain her. I'm sure if you persist he will overcome the sickness, plenty of short journies might do the trick.

Thanks to all who replied. Unfortunately our subaru doesnt have a hatch so I usually sit on the back seat with him. Once again I sat with him & he was fine. I didnt make a fuss just held him while he sat one the seat beside me and he gradully settled down. I did remember to hold his head up so that he didnt drool as much this may have helped. So perhaps it was just a one off thing. Heres to many more well travelled journeys. We shall continue the short journeys and hopefully he will grow out of it.

Jaffa, Sydney is settling in well. He now sleeps till later, I know he mumbles a bit but not the loud whining he did the first few days. (or perhaps I dont hear him as much). He has grown so much and only in one week. Its really quite amazing, didnt notice it at first but it dawned on me how much he has grown. He is leaping around much better now and managing to stay balanced on his little legs when having a no2.

Went to a dog show down in Morecambe on the weekend and saw the Dobermans showing. Was exciting to think that will be us soon. Spoke to a few people there and they were all very nice and helpful. I was taken aback at how big a 6 mnth old pup was. I know that Sydney will be big when fully grown, (only having had experience with a fully grown doberman before), it still came a surprise to find what a big puppy he will be.

Once again thanks to all for your advice.

Try a big fluffy pillow to take some of the movement off his tummy. I would also recommend a seatbelt harness to keep him more secure, both for his sickness trouble and in case of an accident. It will keep both him and all front seat passengers safe. In a high impact collision a dog can kill someone by flying into the front seat.

Best of luck getting him over his car sickness.

One more thing you can try is getting one of those anti-static strips to attach behind your car - it really does help a lot of animals/people with car sickness.

Wendy

I have only skip read through all the replys as i am trying to cook tea and read Champdogs at the same time( children always complain because their tea is usually burnt :) )
anyway i know some poeple recommend that pup should try travelling in a covered crate as if they cant see out the windows it lessens the travel sick sensation.
Sorry if someone has already mentioned this - as i mentioned i am tyring to cook tea as well :)
Lel