Hi My 4 month old puppy (GSP girl) has never been good in the car. She is often sick even though we haven't fed her. She doesn't make a sound and lays down in the back of our hatchback. Lately as soon as we put her collar on to go out in the car she starts drooling excessively. We've tried sitting in the car with the engine off, tried doing short drives (5 mins around the block) Tried coaxing her in with treats food etc. Don't know what else to do and I'm worried that she'll de-hydrate with all that loss of saliva! I've asked my vet and he suggested anti- sickness tabs ..I don't think that is the main problem but that she has a major anxiety about going near the actual car. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. She always gets a lovely walk at the end of (usually 15min) car ride. We will be taking her on holiday with us in four weeks time (about an hour and a half drive) so would like to sort this problem out. Thanks. 

I have found with drooly and sick pups the best cure is a few long journeys, they just get used to it the more they do it.

It's really odd but I have rarely had one sick or dribbly on the way back.

I have used DAP pheromone spray in the car and this seemed to help, but could be co-incidence.

A couple of people I know swear by a ginger biscuit like for humans.... Not sure quite how healthy that is but they say it worked.

Anti sickness tablets may help as the association of the car with feeling ill will be adding to her stress.  I'd consider adding a calming supplement too - my go-to for any stress is melatonin.  It doesn't sedate, it just lowers stress levels and in most dogs (~80%) it is damn good at it.  I only have one who's not good with long car journeys, she pants and gets distressed but doesn't drool but if I remember to give her the melatonin 30-60 minutes before we go she is considerably better able to cope with it.  Just make sure you get one that doesn't have extra ingredients added (B vits are ok) - I get the Swanson brand one, it just has melatonin and rice flour in it.

Stugeron travel sickness pills tend to work really well -they are human ones. One tablet for any size dog an hour and a half to two hours before a journey REALLY does seem to help. But other than that I agree with Brainless. I have a 15 week old pup and I also still have her litter brother (waiting for pets passport before he can move abroad) and I also had two more pups for longer than usual -until 10 and 11 weeks. We have taken them out and about on not short journeys but long ones -up to 3 hours one way so 6 hrs in a day. The last week alone the last two went for a drive one hour 20 mins each way TWICE in a week and I think it really does help. The only time they have been car sick at all was the one time I forgot to not feed them beforehand. Also none of the pups that went to their new homes were car sick at all, and they all (bar one) had journeys of several hours. I had a lot of problems with car sick pups before so this time took all pups out before 8 weeks of age on shorter trips to get them used to it. I gave them filled bones (the ones you can get in supermarkets etc) and it took their mind off things straight away for the first few journeys.

she has a major anxiety about going near the actual car.

Is your car kept in your own driveway or on the street?
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she has a major anxiety about going near the actual car.

Is your car kept in your own driveway or on the street?
.

I get the Swanson brand one, it just has melatonin and rice flour in it.

Where do you buy it from Nikita?

Hi,

Not sure if it'll work for your girly, but Dorwest Digestive Supplement tablets worked for my girl. She wasn't sick when we first brought her home from the breeder's, but after that, she was sick every single time she was in the car. It didn't matter whether the journey was long or short, or whether she was in her travel crate or not. She hadn't been sick at all once I started the tablets, and then I gradually stopped giving them to her - she's now absolutely fine travelling in the car, going up and down the country :)

Good Luck, hope you manage to sort the problem out before your holiday.

Tried everything with my dog and nothing worked. Then!! I took her somewhere we had never been before, let her off the lead, threw the ball and she enjoyed herself.  Next day I did the same.  Now since "the somewhere nice" we can go anywhere and she never drools nor is she sick.

If she is afraid of the car itself, treat her while standing next to it.

When I got both boys at 5 months old, they had never been in a car and both would drool excessively to the point where they looked like they'd been doused with a bucket of water and even walk skittishly past it. Infact, on the day I picked them up, the 11 minute drive ended with two huge puddles and 2 even bigger piles of you know what on the sheet I'd put in.

I tried not feeding, sickness tablets, anti sickness treats, ginger nuts, DAP spray, regular rest stops etc but this is what worked in the end.

Use a high value reward like chicken, ham etc and stand next to the car. Have her on a loose leash and call her towards you. Everytime she comes over, reward her and fuss her. Then once shes got it, try with an open boot/door. Once she's happy with this, try feeding her her dinner in it. It will be a long drawn out process but well worth the effort. Lots of short trips to somewhere nice - even down the road to the park will also help.

My boy didn't get over his sickenss until 14/15 months old but he loves the car so much now that jumps in the boot for sneeky nap just as hubby starts to hoover the interior!

Stay positive. She will get better.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I have tried most of your theories but sadly they haven't been working for her! My vet suggested anti-sickness tablets but I'm not one for forever sticking medicines down her throat ( She's just finished 14 days of antibiotics!  ) Her walks to the local park are a dream- on foot! So maybe we'll keep to that for a while! Wondering whether all this drooling could de-hydrate her or make her ill. Although I can always get her to drink-esp. a warm cup of de caffeinated tea! Thanks as always your opinions are much appreciated.  Regards Liz.

> Where do you buy it from Nikita?

Health Monthly, you have to ring up to order it as it's not on the website.

I do sympathise, a dog I took on at age 6 ,was the very same, nothing worked for him, he was not motivated by treats or toys, the all singing all dancing anti sickness tablets did nothing. I even tried him travelling on the back seat rather than the boot.
I got a loan of a crate so I could cover it, he hated that even more than seeing out.
In the end he just had to lump it, but he never came to any harm from his excessive drooling, he traveled everywhere with towels under him, and I always carry water for the dogs anyway.

I know you say you don't feed her but I find that feeling sick and being sick on an empty tummy is awful so it's probably the same for a dog. Maybe a small meal will settle the tummy and your pup won't have the same horrible feeling. Good luck

our car is kept in the drive outside our side door.

If you're not keen on meds then ginger (as someone has mentioned I think) is good for sickness.  I've had gingernuts before for carsickness, if I'm not in the front I can get really nauseous and it does help.

If she's afraid of the car generally then you will need to desensitise her to it gently, pair it with yummy or fun stuff while it's not running and with her a little distance away to begin with and gradually work your way closer, then in, then with the engine on and so on.  Giving her something like a filled kong should work quite well as it's a big rewarding thing, tasty and brain work which is rewarding in itself.  So lots of good stuff to be paired with being in and around the car.

The important thing is not to rush it - every bad experience will set everything back.  If you can walk her to the park then keep doing that while you work on the car thing.  It's so much easier when you have that option - Phoebe's last people had to rehome her because being able to take her in the car was essential (they live out in the country but on a busy road, for safety and to get to anywhere nice they have to drive to walks).  She's absolutely petrified of cars and attacks them inside and out, she's been here nearly 2 years and I still can't take her out in mine but we're getting there slowly.  She can be in it and I can start the engine without a complete meltdown now, but she is the worst dog I have ever known for this issue by a long way.  But the key is that I don't *have* to take her out in it so I can take my time and go at her pace.

I've tried her on gingernut biscuits..she was sick on them..hence she now won't eat them!!! I've walked her around the car today and given her treats. She's not scared of anything ie vacuum, washing machine loud noises, heavy traffic on a busy road, dustbin lorries! She's s dominant character when meeting other dogs and is very friendly with everyone. This is why this car phobia is so strange! She must be too clever for her own good or a real dumbo...being a gsp I don't think it is the latter !! I do understand your grief with your Phoebe , at least my Saffi only drools and is still and quiet when we actually get her into the car! Thank you for your input on this matter Nikita. Ill write updates on this post...I see you also have a Saffi.. What a lovely name !

I have a Safi, she is three years old now.

I have a breed who are notorious in suffering car sickness in the first year of their life. I have spoken to a couple of breeders in my breed and experimented with advice over the last 11 or so years.

With my bitch, who suffered terribly, I always made sure that we fed her a light meal around 1 hour before a journey. She was bringing up yellow bile on previous car journeys which meant that her tummy was empty and probably made her worse. She travelled on the back seat, secured, in her first few months purely because she would not tolerate the boot of the car and also she always had someone sitting with her, facing forward.

Someone suggested a magnetic strip placed under the car, we didn't do this but it may be worth a try. Ginger biscuits and ginger supplements were also fed.

When putting dog in the boot of the car, I was told to cover the windows so that they can't see where they are going. This made mine worse.

Anti nausea tablets were tried but the problem in our case was psychological, so made no difference.

The only thing that really worked was a light meal before travelling, plenty of journeys, I.E. 2 short journeys every single day for at least the first year and time. Once mine got older they became far more tolerant.

It doesn't surprise me that she's only scared of the car.  It's got a lot more individual triggers than other things such as the hoover - noise, smell, motion, vibration, other cars/bikes/people coming near (territory can become a trigger too, some of mine bark at dogs in the car but nowhere else), and so on.  One of Phoebe's triggers used to be the windscreen wipers!

My breed isn't known to be great with car travel, although I have had some who could care less as long as it takes them somewhere nice.    I've tried most things from feeding to not feeding, to using tablets to not and so on.   Fact is I now just make sure I take a 'sick kit' with me, and a bowl for water (you can buy no-spill bowls) and on a long trip, frequent stops.   It's a real pain with those who don't travel well but if you keep at it, hopefully your dog will eventually grow out of this.   I had one who took a grass seed in his mouth.  He'd been a terrible traveller.  We didn't know at the time, but by the time the seed 'pointed' just under his ear, we'd been to the vet so many times that by the end, he was cured of the car sickness too.   You might find travelling with a crate, covered, may help - those of mine who were particularly bad, were usually better when travelling at night.   Mine also travel better once on a morotway (freeway) where the engine note is constant.   And no corners!!

ps    One benefit of feeding just a small meal is what comes up isn't 'liquid'!!