Carsickness

[juxie]

My 3 month old Lab pup, Ruby, gets so sick everytime we take her anywhere in the car. Today she went for her second set of vaccinations, our Vet of choice is about 30 mins away, and she vomited 3 times. The poor girl drools like crazy, whimpers and is generally miserable in the car. We have tried taking her in a large carrier, leaving her loose on my boyfriends lap in the passenger seat, and hooking her up with a seatbelt harness in the front and back seats. Nothing seems to help. I am fortunate to live in an area with several beautiful beaches and I would love to be able to take Ruby to the beach with us when the weather warms up a little, but with her debilatating car sickness, she would not enjoy the trip.

Is there anything we can do to help her ease the nausea? Will she outgrow this? I had a Lab years ago that also had major carsickness issues. I assume its not a breed specific issue?

Thanks for any advice you might offer!

[Freedom]

Hi Juxie -

No this is not a breed issue. There are several options to work with to help Ruby.

1. Desensitize her. This means taking her on short car rides and NOT going to the vet. going to someplace where she has fun and is happy. You may have to start with a drive around the block and get out, give her a treat, and leave it at that until the next day. You want her to start associating the car with fun things, not vets and shots and surgery and such.

2. You may want consider someting like Comfort Zone, or Feliway. They are relaxers which help calm the animal. You can google them and read up, see if either appeals to you.

I am sure other folks will also offer ideas. Good luck!
Sandie

[juxie]

We do take her on small trips to her Nanny's (my boyfriends mom ) and she LOVES it there, but she still gets sick in the car.

I will look into those products and see what I think.

Thanks!

[critter crazy]

some dogs, just take longer to get use to the ca, and some never get used to it. She is still young, and has plenty of time to get used to it. My moms dog was 6 months old before she could ride in the car without getting siick. Sometimes, the vet can give you some ideas on what is best to use to help with the sickness.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Scullcap and Valerian tablets cured Tobey

http://www.dorwest.com/new_pop_ups/s...n_taps_vet.htm

[kimlovescats]

Gretta, my doxie, gets sick every single time she rides in the car. She has done this since the day we picked her up as a puppy! My vet told us to give her a bit of liquid Bendadryl about 30 minutes prior to leaving. It worked really well on our last vet trip! Just call your vet to get the proper dosage for your dog's weight!