# Puppy vomit during or after car ride



## Justin0406 (Jun 18, 2010)

My pup vomits after riding in the car for 20-30 minutes. He will be doing fine and then when I stop after 20+ minutes of riding he vomits. His vet says its motion sickkness from the ride. Any one else have similar experiences. My last dog loved to ride but my current gsd is having a hard time adjusting to riding. Any suggestions...


----------



## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

Wolfie gets car sick too. We leave the window open for him to get fresh air, and we stop halfway to where we are going and let him walk around a bit. that seems to help. I also do a lot of short car trips with him. 5 to 10 minutes up to the lake, or to the drive through at the bank, for example. I have read that puppies can get motion sickness because their inner ears are still developing and they lose their equillibrium. What I have read says that as soon as the ears mature, they usually grow out of it, though some dogs are just like that for their whole lives. I am hoping that Wolfie grows out of it.


----------



## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

I have not had a similar experiance but have heard about pets with motion sickness. For mild to moderate cases, it can be overcome by conditioning the dog to travel. Slow, short and frequent trips in the vehicle, gradually increasing length of the ride, will help the dog. Make sure when you start the length of time doesn't cause him to vomit. If he vomits, the ride was too long. If he doesn't, its a good start, repeat the duration a few times and then slowly increase the lenght/distance. For more severe cases medication is required. I think they actually administer the same drugs given to people, like Drammamine, but do NOT give them without a recommendation from the vet. They would have to adjust the dosage.


----------



## kiya (May 3, 2010)

If it's any consolation, Lakota used to get sick. She's fine now. I tried to make sure I didn't feed her before a ride, but it didn't matter.Try to spend time in the car without driving. Then short rides, a fun destination. My other dog almost 8yrs still shakes and drools in the truck. He used to hide when I said "Come on lets go for a ride". Now he doesn't want the girls to go without him so he comes to the truck, shaking.


----------



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Hondo gets car sick, always. It doesn't matter how long the ride, he'll have a reaction. He will either vomit or droll like mad. I make sure I never take him for a ride after he has eaten as obviously his reaction is much worse. Even his water intake is monitored. 

I have medication from the vet for him if we are going on a longer ride. I also carry peppermint with me as it truly seems to help. The vet said that the sour taste in his mouth (due to motion sickness) can make his reaction worse. So I'll allow him a couple of licks when we stop. 

Due to his car sickness, we only travel with him in a truck and he is crated in the back. After we reach our desination, I give him some time to get his 'land legs' back. An example is training. I always get there early so he can recoup before we start working.


----------



## Veronica1 (Jun 22, 2010)

Panzer got sick a couple of times in the car. I no longer let him eat before we drive and that's helped.


----------



## VegasResident (Oct 4, 2006)

Thank goodness this is one thing my little land shark does not do! He falls asleep in the car wherever we go. He has taken rides from 12 hours, to 1 hour to 15 minutes and sleeps every time...phhheeewwww


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I crated my pups until they were about 5 mos old, never had any problems. Maybe try that for some short trips while he's little. Without being able to see stuff flying by he may just sleep


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Shasta gets car sick. her mom was a permant case who never got over it. I was warned about it when i picked her up from the breeder. We're working on conditioning her to rides. She doesnt eat 4 hours before we KNOW we're going somewhere. So far I take Shelby with us and Shelby seems to tell Shasta that the car isnt really bad. Shelby just curls up and relaxs or sniffs out the window. I'm hoping that once she's more mature (that whole inner ear thing as mentioned previously) she'll be fine and get in the car on her own! my vet said she can had a benedryl before rides. Shasta weighs 27 lbs so she can have one 25milligram pill. just talk to your vet about it but i would definitely try conditioning first.


----------



## Runswithdogs (May 8, 2010)

Regen had really bad motion sickness when we got her, and it lasted about two and a half months. What helped for us was:
-driving smoothly, no sudden turns/braking (duh)
-not feeding for an hour or more before car trip
-2-3 ginger snaps about 15 min before car ride (the kind with real ginger)
-taking frequent trips to places she loves (hiking, dog park)

She was throwing up every single trip and now it's very infrequent. We can tell when she is feeling anxious or sick because she drools a lot.


----------



## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

Dax did this as a puppy as well. There were many things I learned to do to prevent it and now I believe he has grown out of it.

1. Airflow- open the windows if possible, turn the a/c all the way up, aim vents directly at your puppy
2. Seatbelt- we put Dax in a doggie seatbelt for so many reasons- first of all his safety, our safety, the safety of others, secondly so he can't lay on the floor or halfway on the floor which leads me to the next point...
3. Head Up- it really helped Dax if he was looking forward or at least out a side window. His favorite place to look used to be the floor but I've worked with him and now he finds the windows more interesting. I know I get car sick when I don't look out the window so it is no surprise that this happens to him as well.
4. No rides after a meal- If I know I'm going somewhere the I just wait to feed him when we get back instead of 1-2 hours before. This doesn't always help though- sometimes he would just barf up nothing.
5. Tire him out- Dax would always puke on the way to places and never on the way back because he'd always be sleeping on the way back.


----------



## Marissa (Dec 31, 2009)

My pointer drools profusely in the car, sometimes vomits. I pretty much have to put a rain gaurd through out the whole car for the drool though, disgusting!!


----------



## Okie2 (Aug 23, 2010)

Our Maggie, had motion sickness until she was about 5 or 6 months old. Now (13 months old) she loves to travel; just mention the car or truck and she runs to the door.

Early on, our vet recommended over-the-counter motion sickness,( Drammamine)and that helped. But as said by others always consult your own vet.


----------

