Hi there

I have a 13 week old pup called Bailey, and she gets quite sick in the car. She liked going in the car to start with but now is getting scared to go in :(
She will sometimes be ok for 15 mins (but lots of drool & bubbles) and other times she will be sick or do a number 2 within 2 mins of leaving the house. It's such a shame as she is young and we want to be taking her out and about socializing her as much as we can but feel limited to where we can take her. We do try to take her out most days just for a little journey. We are hoping gradually she will get better.

Any tips on over coming this? I know there are travel sickness tabs but I'm not keen on pumping her full of tablets every day.

It'd be nice to hear of some other people who have had the same with their pup, but they gradually got better and grew out of it. Just to give me some hope!

Thanks very much
Rhiannan

chances are your pup will grow out of it as it's a combination of fear and car sickness.
Carry on with the short trips and also try putting the pup in the car at home for a couple of minutes at a time and leaving the boot open, if you can sit in as well for the first few times this may help.
hopefully once the pup realises that only good things come from getting the the car it will calm down.
Try getting lots of fresh air going though the car as it's very hot right now.
My parents dog loved the car but was always sick and they found that having the windows slightly open on all trips stopped the sickness.
hope things get better,i'm sure in time they will.

our pup timo was car sick for the first few trips but we let him sit on my lap as he was tiny for a few short journeys and his fear went and now hes no longer sick at all, we also kept the car cool as he was more sick if the windows were up, we drove all the way to bath show and he was fine.rumble loved the car from day one,has always travelled fine and can pick out our car(or any other red ones!) in a car park!

I had this with my puppies.  Terrible sickness even on a short 10 minute trip.  We had a 300 mile round trip planned to a club show when puppies were 4 months old and I was dreading it.  I fed them a small breakfast before we set off, travelled them in a covered cage so they could only see out of one side and gave them plenty of chews (which they love). I was amazed that all the way there and all the way back there was not one sick or dribbled.  From then on we have had no trouble at all. 

If your pup is now afraid to go in the car, I would personally avoid it if you can.  Instead, try desensitisation (hope I've spelt that right!).  Open the back of the car, pop the pup in his crate, tell him he's good and get him out again.  Proceed very slowly - you can do this half a dozen times a day, tho' not all at once.  When he's happily sitting in the crate, go round and open the driver's door.  Shut it again, and let him out.  Car sickness is very much in the mind, and you need to break the link in his head.  Proceed slowly until you can sit in the driver's seat and read the paper for 20 minutes with him in the back, settled down and probably bored.  Then turn the engine on.  Initially, turn it straight off again, ignore the pup for a few minutes until he's calm again, and let him out.  Try to avoid too much praise or cuddles - a "jolly hockey sticks" approach works better.  Cuddles can convince him that there's a problem.  Carry on like this - your first drive will probably be only about ten yards before putting the handbrake on, turning the engine off and ignoring him again until he settles back down.  I have done this with two dogs, one my own and one belonging to someone else, and it works, although you have to try and arrange not to take him in the car until you've been right through the retraining.  It should take about four to six weeks - I know! But it's worth it.
Sheltpap is also correct - if it's just car sickness, not fear of the car, covering them up so the world doesn't rush past their heads will also help - and it's a good time for your best BSM driving - no sudden acceleration or braking, no swooping round corners etc.

My girl was always car sick until I bought a car harness and she sat on the backseat, no problems at all after that. Another tip given to me was ginger biscuits which worked for my morning sickness but not for my girl.

I bought tablets from the natural healthcare shop. I dosed as for small child & also fed a ginger biscuit just before a journey. Zak showed exactly the same symptoms, although he never did a number 2! Gradually he got used to the trips & after about a year I stopped the tablets. He can travel now for a max of 2 hrs! I still don't feed him though before I set off anywhere, but if I am at an agility show I give him tinned rice pudding when I have a break. This is very light & easily digestible, it never has come back yet! In the mean time, don't always start the car up, take Bailey into the car & give her a bit of fuss & a treat, without starting the engine. Good luck.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

To start with Bailey loved going in the car, used to run over and want in when the door was open. We did all the treats in the back, just run the engine and not go anywhere etc and she was happy as anything. It's just as soon as we moved she started drooling and was sick :(
No after a couple of weeks she thinks uh oh, I'll be sick in there so doesn't really likes going in. We even tried feeding her in the back but she still didn't want anywhere near it!! And this Dalmatian loves her din dins! (don't they all lol)

We feel a little stuck between a rock and a hard place as she is so young and we live in the middle of the country side, we need to be taking her out and about to see loads of new things to get her socialized properly but feel restricted to where we can go as we know she'll be sick. I think intially it was just motion sickness but now a little anxiety too. I've bought travel sickness tabs which I think I'll try, I was a little unsure but worth a go I guess.

We tried her in the front on our knee and she seems a little better, but still gets sick - as I discovered!!!! All over my arm and down the door...! She seems better with my driving funnily enough....must the the OH's inner Damon Hill that she doesn't like lol!

I'll try covering her crate to see if that helps.

Thanks

Rhiannan M, my youngest dog used to be sick but gradually stopped over time. I did lots of very short journeys with him to help him get used to travelling. When I went to collect the kids from clubs and activities I'd take him for a ride in the car too.  Some journeys ended in an exciting place, some to the vet and some round the block and back home again.  It's good to do a few very short journeys that stop before they are sick - even if it's only to the end of the road and back.

One day I realised he'd just stopped being sick. Smoother journeys certainly helped but one thing that made a noticable difference was reducing the size of his car crate. He was better able to brace himself on corners and it minimised the swaying effect when he was standing. I put a non slip car mat in the bottom to restrict his sliding movement still further.  I also strapped the crate in to ensure that didn't move either.

I didn't use any drugs and I never witheld his food. I found that he was very distressed by being sick on an empty stomach so I continued to feed him at his usual times even if we were going on a long journey. Disgusto dog would sometimes just eat it again anyway - yuk!

His travel sickness had stopped by 6 months but I continued to carry a 'car sick pack'  for a while longer; kitchen roll, newspaper, bin bag, water/deodoriser spray and a damp flannel for wiping his chops.  Nowadays he shares boot space with my other dog and we just have a tailgate guard.  Sometimes all I can see is his paws in the air as he slips gently from side to side, whilst snoring loudly... :)

Thanks for that, I really hope Bailey will be the same and gradually get used to it.

I know all about that "Car Sick Pack"!!!