Help for carsick dog?

[ButterSticks]

Our Golden Retriever gets carsick. When he was younger, he would actually throw up during every car ride. He's about a year now and has stopped throwing up, but he drools A LOT. It's not just a little bit... he (and everything else) literally gets drenched because of the drool. It's really gross.

I've tried giving him food and/or water soon before we leave vs. taking it from him a few hours before we leave, turning up the airconditioner, opening up the back window. Nothing is helping.

He BEGS to go with us, though. I don't know what to do. I feel bad telling him no all the time, but he can't possibly be comfortable during the ride.

Is there anything I can do for him?

 

[bubbatd]

Just bring towels and let him enjoy the ride . He maybe afraid that he's going to throw up .

 

[mrose_s]

Hary hated car rides for awhile, they made him very sick. where does your goldy sit? Back seat or very back? Harry used to sit in the very back, once we started sitting him in the back seat he got a bit better, now he jumps in, jams himself on the floor behind mums seat and just goes to sleep with no worries.

Maybe a crate with a cover over it? if you think its anxiety based that might help.

 

[Tenebrion]

awe, brutus got sick the first time we brought him home.. he vomited all over my legs... i expected it though...

I'd suggest maybe, if he's just in a backseat, putting some extra towels down, letting him relax.. and not going for the ride right away, let him enjoy going in and out of the car and just sitting with the door open and closed for awhile.

We had to let brute get used to the back seat before we could take him without him getting stressed. He loved it, but he would drool and sometimes foam at the mouth from licking his face.

 

[Barb04]

One of my dogs did the same thing. Finally at about 1 1/2 years old, the throwing up stopped. The drooling still occurs but will eventually stop if the ride is long one and the dog becomes more relaxed. Towels are the best thing to have on hand.

 

[Dizzy]

We used to have a dog who got carsick.

If we were travelling any kind of distance she wouldn't have any breakfast. We'd make regular stops to let her have a drink of water. We'd also make sure there was a window open so that there was fresh air getting into the car for her.

Aside from travel sickness pills, there's not a lot you can do!

Also found this:

http://www.dog-car-sickness.co.uk/

 

[noludoru]

Drooling can be stress/sick to stomach related. When you see excessive drooling, panting, nodding of head or a tightening of your dog's flews... throwing up is probably about to happen.

Something that has always helped me and Middie (both of us get carsick - him more than me, because I've dealt with six years of windy country roads and he hasn't) is pepcid. Talk to your vet about the size (how many milligrams, I think?) and amount to give. For Middie I have the 10mg things and he gets a whole one. That always staves off carsickness... he's never thrown up after having a pepcid yet. I like to give it to him 15 minutes to half an hour before the car ride, if possible, and bring an extra one with me for the car ride back if we'll be gone for longer than a few hours.

Another thing I've found to help is blindfolding him. It may not work with your dog, but this has worked with EVERY carsick dog I have ever tried it on, it has worked on me and a couple of my friends who are carsick as well.You can't just ask dogs to close their eyes, so getting something dark to tie over them (like a bandanna or scarf) or using your hands is necessary.

I also would NOT feed right before you get in the car.... a full stomach always makes me prone to carsickness, and I can't imagine it's any different for them. Besides.... cleaning up everything my dog JUST ate for breakfast, completely undigested is much grosser than a few bits of food and some bile.

 

[Southpaw]

I have the same problem with Lucy, she's 2 years old. She used to throw up in the car, luckily that stopped, but now she just drools an insane amount. She's a small dog, so I can just put a towel in my lap and have her lie down. Sometimes its worse than others... last week she managed to get a pen spring wrapped around her back teeth, and in the car on the way to the vet I have NEVER seen her drool that much, the stress of having that spring in her mouth probably just added to her anxiety of being in the car.

I've just gotten used to the fact that we need towels on hand if Lucy's in the car, not sure what else to do.

 

[wishbone]

My wishbone never had car ride problems but my cousin's Lab is really bad. He really drool and vomit and always crying to go out. Poor boy.