Cars and puppies

Shavings

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So as you all know we have Daisy, she will be 5 month old at the end of the month (November)

she is great a real happy puppy, eats well, she did crack her shoulder but has bounced back and vets are trilled with her

but there is only one down side.. she gets car sick.. like badly

if we take her in the car any where (i was doing laps round are street with her daily at one point to see if that would help less then 30 seconds of the drive she was sick!)

even if we travel her "empty" she throws up flem/drool

which is a real shame as i like to take ac and hopefully her for walks on the bridle ways, plantations, fields at the yard, beaches and all the lovely places round the Island

i asked the vet when she was last there and they just said "oh she will grow out of it probably by 18 month"

18 month!! that is a long way off.. i have new paper all over the way! which as of this mornings trips is now soggy


any one any ideas how i can help her travel better?

i must add she isn't scared she jumps in the car willingly and often watches out the window, i have tired her in a crate, tired her in the boot, front seat, my husband even took her out in his transit van but no difference
 

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Chiffy

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I feel your pain although luckily it’s a few years now since I had a car sick one. You will get plenty of suggestions, one of the favourites is to cover up a crate so they can’t see out. I have not tried this method but have a couple of stories that might help.
My daughter took on a six month old rescue, she was car sick exactly as you describe. It was just essential that she learnt to travel as the dog went to work with her which was a 20 minute drive each end of the day. She just covered the car in newspapers and old towels and just drove. The dog was instantly happy once she arrived either end. It did take some time but she learnt in the end and travelled miles in her lifetime.
The other dog was a whippet/greyhound 16 weeks that I rescued. She had not seen the world at all and was frightening of parked cars, let alone those going along! She was car sick before I had lifted her in. I drove her daily round our village, always stopping to do something nice. 6 months on she could do small journeys but I wanted to drive from Herts to Badminton. I went to the vets and they gave me a sedative and cerenia tablets. She slept the whole journey. She managed the trip to the cottage we were staying in each night and seemed so much better. I risked driving home without medication and she was never sick again. We still have this dog age 9 now and she has travelled all over the country.
DONT give up, your dog won’t have much of a life if she can’t travel. Good luck.
 

Tiddlypom

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Part covering the crate worked wonders for the JRT. He was terribly car sick from a pup, and we assumed that was just him. We ended up travelling him very little because of it. Roll on a few years and I covered over the crate one day because it was hot and sunny, and I wanted to keep the sun off the crate. JRT wasn't sick, and hasn't been whilst travelling ever since.

It's a good use for old horse rugs, so win win :D.
 

splashgirl45

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i had a whippet cross border collie who was unhappy in the car. she used to dribble all of the time and then throw up. i tried everything, putting her in the car then switching engine on and that was ok but as soon as the car moved she started dribbling. we had to take her on holiday and it was a 4 hour journey so i got a sedative from the vet which made her sleepy but not completely out of it. she dribbled a bit but wasnt sick. while we were on holiday we went on short car journeys to the beach etc and she was fine so i risked the home journey without the sedative and she was fine for the rest of her life. we think she was frightened of the movement and once sedated realised nothing worse was going to happen. might be worth trying...
 

Cinnamontoast

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Mine were better if loose in the boot and if they could see out. I too did the ten minutes round the block. They eventually grew out of it. Poor little girl, it's horrible for them!
 

Leo Walker

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I've been here. He was 2.5yrs old before I cracked it! I've not read the other replies but this is what worked for us:

Always have the windows open a crack. I think its something to do with inner ears and pressure
Travel them a lot so its not exciting/worrying
and the thing that really did it was Sturgeon (not sure that's spelt right!) tablets. They are human travel sickness tablets and not very expensive. He got one before travelling and it pretty much stopped it immediately and we had tried everything before that!
 

Pearlsasinger

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WE had a Lab bitch puppy who was travel sick on every (short) journey. Our vet at the time, 50 yrs ago, prescribed a mild sedative for her. That worked and she did grow out of it.
Our current dogs are two Rottweilers, one of them emptied her bowels on every journey until she was about 8 months old. That was lovely! She couldn't get 5 minutes down the road, it took longer to prepare the car, then clean up again and re-cover everything than to drive to my Dad's house, which was our regular journey. It never happened on the way home.
 

Moobli

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I’ve had car sick pups that have just grown out of it after plenty of short journeys to fun destinations. We do have one collie though who’s now 4 years and he’s been terrified of travelling since a pup. A friend brought him home for us at 8 weeks and he was sick all the way. He’s never really got over it and despite trying all sorts of things (many suggested here) nothing has worked. It’s a real shame but seems to be just one symptom of his rather complex personality. He’s very highly strung, scared of gunshot and loud noises , very quickly associates the environment with any negative experiences. He’s also not really making it as a working dog as he is over excitable and just loses his head and he really frustrates my OH (who can see his working potential buried beneath all the sensitivities). I do sometimes wish I could find a collie experienced home who has the time and patience to work on his issues but it’s a big ask, and so he’ll have to stay here getting as much training and input as we have time for.

Sorry for going off on a tangent there!

Interestingly, we’ve met other collies from the same paternal line as ours who also totally detest travelling and who are always sick. I’d say you have light at the end of the tunnel as your dog doesn’t actually dislike the travelling itself.
 

Pinkvboots

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My jrt was really car sick as a puppy but grew out of it she is never sick now, I think it's just something you have to just put up with until they eventually grow out of it.
 
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