Car Sick

[Adrienne]

Well I am now 100% sure that Gunnar suffers from car sickness. I tried only taking him in the car after he has had time to digest his food but he still vomits. It starts with excessive drooling and a few minutes later he vomits all over .
My vet suggested childrens Benadryl 1 gram per pound of body weight. Has anyone else tried Benadryl? Or does anyone have any other suggestions on alleviating his car sickness?
I know that it is critical to socialize GSD's when they are pups and we take plenty of walks etc. to socialize but I want to be able to take him to visit my family and their dogs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Fran27]

I have the same problem with my puppy... The day we brought him home in the car he was on my lap and vomited on me, it was gross! Then he did it again 3 days ago after a 15 minute ride.

So I could use some advice too...

 

[Renee750il]

Candied ginger is good for nausea. I don't really see how Benadryl would alleviate the car sickness - it's for allergic reactions.

Your pup might have better luck sitting in the back seat with a window cracked open so he's getting some fresh air, too.

When we brought Shiva home - a 2 1/2 hour trip - she had just eaten. The people we got her from wanted us to see that she ate well. I had some misgivings, but was anyone listening to me? NOOOOOOOO! She ate really well. Really REALLY well. They were friends with someone who had a butcher shop, so their dogs got fresh meat and bones.

I'd brought a couple of those large incontinence pads we had from Charley's mother's last illness. Good thing. I had no idea how much an 8 week old, 35 pound puppy's tummy could hold.

 

[Tronic]

I had the same issue when I brought my dog home from her previous owner. They fed her right before I showed up to take her, and it was about a 3 hour ride home in which she vomited no less than 8 times! I stopped the car so many times just to make sure she was ok, I had never smelled anything so bad in my life. Poor puppy.

She's gotten used to the car now though, she can go through a 6 hour trip with a couple of stops with no nausea whatsoever. Maybe she grew out of it, or took a bit to adjust to the movement of a car.

_andy

 

[shredhead (DOG LOVER)]

Start your dog off slow. Take him on short car trips until he gets used to it. He'll probably get less car sick. Also have the window open a little so your dog gets some fresh air.

-Jon

 

[GRdad]

If it's a really cronic problem, ask your vet about Dramamine. Also, dogs travel best on an empty stomach. Many of the dogs that I have had pretty much become accustomed to riding in the car and eventually outgrow the problem. Regards.

 

[Mordy]

ginger is truly excellent. candied, or fresh grated, depending on what the dog accepts.

and don't feed before car rides.

 

[Adrienne]

Well I tried the Benadryl when I took Gunnar to my family's house across town. I administered 1.5 mililiters about 1 hour before we left and he hadn't eaten in about 5 hours. It went pretty well. He did not vomit which was a big plus but he was still starting to drool excessively so I believe he would have vomited if the ride had been any longer.
I will speak to my vet again and see if he recommends continuing the Benadryl or if I should try something else like the ginger.
One bonus, I thought the medicine would make him drowsy, especially since we had just done a two mile walk, this was certainly not the case. He was a VERY busy boy when we went visiting. I was very happy about this.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and suggestions.

 

[Renee750il]

The best thing about the ginger is it doesn't have side effects. I keep Benadryl around for mine, but only for emergency allergic reactions, like wasp or hornet stings. I really wouldn't want to give it to a dog every time we took a ride in the car.

Hopefully he'll grow out of it before long. Nothing like a sick dog to make a trip miserable for all . . .

 

[moe]

I give ginger buscuits to my dogs in the early days, as time goes by they get used to travelling, but the buscuits worked everytime.

Mo

 

[Renee750il]

You wouldn't happen to have that recipe, would you Moe? I used to get some at the pet supply where I buy the food, but the person who baked those wasn't dependable enough and they stopped dealing with him. My dogs loved them! And ginger's just good for so many things!

 

[smkie]

Where did you find ginger buiscuts? Guess what..stray dog is has car sickness too..big time problem since we are in and out of the car half a dozen times a day.. I am going to pick up some dramimine tonight for tomorrow we are going to the off leash at 8 am..but do not want to put him on a steady diet of it..

 

[Renee750il]

Try giving him some old fashioned ginger snaps.

 

[Saje]

Maverick urped in the car a couple of times. I think it was steve's mom's driving. but he got over it. He was find on the long, long drive up here.