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Puppy motion sickness

Michele83

Michele83

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Hi all. I'm concerned that Piccolo has chronic motion sickness but wanted to check with you all what your experiences of this have been.

When I collected her at 8 weeks old, it was a 1.25 hr journey back to my house and she vomited 4 times (spread out over the whole journey, the last vomit was on my own road).

I left it over a week before I took her in the car again and I started by just letting her sniff it, then next time put her in crate only, then next time started engine, then next time reversed back out and in again. All very slow increments. Eventually I did a couple of 4 minute journeys where she seemed fine. Then another time she went very quiet and was obviously feeling very ill when we got back but she managed to hold it in. Then we went on another trip where she was okay.

And now, at 11.5 weeks old, I have just taken her on another 4 min trip and she threw up all over the car crate before we got back home.

I know it can be caused by stress sometimes, but that doesn't ring true for me in this case. She definitely was not stressed just now, she is very comfortable with going out and about and is very confident generally. In fact she is a great pup.

Could it be something she grows out of? Has anyone else experienced puppies being car sick when they were young who were then fine when they got older?

I'm really cautious of NOT over doing it with the car. She's only been on one 4-min journey every 4/5 days or so. But now I'm going to give it a rest for a long while as I don't want her getting a negative association with the car.

It's also worth noting that at least two of her litter mates fell asleep in the car on the way back to their forever homes and didn't have a single problem.

I'm really worried about it because it is a massive thing if she won't travel well.... not just because I wanted our life together to involve lots of exciting trips around the UK, but because I also want to drive her to nice walking spots locally every so often. Also I am on my own so often I simply will have to take her with me places.

As you can probably tell I'm pretty deflated right now. :(
 
Sorry I also meant to add that Piccolo ate 6 hours before I took her out, so it wasn't a food problem.

Someone told me ginger biscuits help. Has that worked for anyone?
 
I use Adaptil spray around the crate/blnakets we carry our dog in which is supposed to settle them a bit. Also, temperature is a concern, making sure it's not too hot or cold. Our dog dislikes car travel but will tolerate it. He has a restricted view out of his crate so he can't see oncoming trafic and bark at it (a huge distraction when driving), so perhaps ensuring a view to the outside will help if your dog doesn;t alreayd have it. Hope it helps, others will be along with their exepriences shortly I'm sure.
 
Our Springer had the same as a puppy , we had her in a crate and she was sick for a good few weeks but then it settled down the more we took her out, not very nice for them feeling poorly and not pleasant having to clean it up every time ;) she’s nearly 9 now and never been sick once! Hopefully your little one will get used to it eventually.
 
Like kids, a lot of them do grow out of it. And yes, a ginger biscuit before travelling does help.
 
Most puppies will grow out of it as their development progresses.
There are two types of cR sickness, motion and anxiety , anxiety shows in drooling, and motion shows itself as being sick .

Most motion sickness is down to the inner ear not being fully developed, time will sort this out, and it should fix the motion sickness, the anxiety will be secondary to the motion.

Short journeys and confined spaces ( covered crate ) should help along with an anti sickness tablet or a ginger biscuit , But on the whole just give it time.

I used to put puppy pads in the crate and carry baby wipes, if on a long journey stopping frequently and wiping pup down and changing the pads
 
Murphy used to get the lumpy burps in the car too.. We dare not give him anything to eat for hours before going out but nowdays he is fine and loves to go out in the car.
 
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G-forces can also be a potent factor.
Being very conscious of livestock in the car is important -
accelerate slowly & steadily,
DEcelerate by moving one's foot off the gas pedal B4 U ever begin to brake,
& avoid sharp turns at speed - slow down for curves, & go thru them smoothly.

All of those make the ride less-likely to trigger nausea due to sway [side-to-side movement], surging [accelerate, then abruptly slowing], & G-forces affecting the dog's inner ear and sense of balance. :)

The driver has a steering wheel to hold onto which serves to stabilize them in their seat, plus they "know" what they're about to do [slow down, speed up, turn right or left...], & anticipate the car's movement accordingly; they aren't affected the way passengers are, by speed changes, turns, & stops.

My elder BiL is a horrible driver - he hasn't been in many accidents, but i'm sure that he's caused many! :eek: He springs forward aggressively from every standing start, tries to reach the speed-limit every time even if he's only going one city-block between traffic lights, & he can't stand having any car in front of him - he MUST pass them.
He switches lanes constantly, & is always accelerating or decelerating.
If i ride with him & i'm in the back-seat, i often get nauseous - & i'm a rider who reads in the car, i normally never get car-sick. o_O Not with Jerry - i turn green.

- terry

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Thanks all for the reassurances that she will probably grow out of it. I'm hoping she's not one of the few who don't.....that would be an utter tragedy, I'm not sure what I would do as I am definitely not prepared to be home-bound!
 
Let us let us know how you get on, often, when they realise they’ll have a lovely walk at the end of the journey they have something more to focus on and will associate the car ride with fun! Fingers crossed it works for your little one :rolleyes:
 
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Some dogs do better riding on an empty stomach - some after a very small snack, & a ginger-biscuit is a good idea, in either case. :)

Also, as another option, if the pup does *not* improve as they're approaching 6-MO [given that U drive with awareness, & are not rapidly accelerating, abruptly braking, or taking fast curves], a grounding strap on the car can be a Godsend for dogs with a habit of car-sickness.

They're not expensive, & handy folks can install their own, if U own or can borrow the 4 drive-on wheel-lifts that elevate a car, allowing U to slide under the chassis & safely work beneath it. Anyone with access to a car-lift or an auto-repair pit can also put the strap on for U. They mount on the axle, & the end of the strap conducts any static generated by the car, to the ground.
When the end of the strap wears off, some models can be re-set to once again reach the ground; others are discarded & replaced, but eventually, friction will wear off the end, & the strap needs to be replaced. Generally, that takes over a year, 18-mos to 2-years, unless U drive more than the average, or over very rough surfaces.

HTH,
- terry

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Mad Murphy said:
Murphy used to get the lumpy burps in the car too.. We dare not give him anything to eat for hours before going out but nowdays he is fine and loves to go out in the car.
Click to expand...
Lumpy burps :)

Our pup was motion sick for quite a few weeks. Even if we hadn't fed him for aaaagges before getting in the car. He'd still find something to barf up. I think by the time we finished puppy class (about 4 months) he'd stopped and hasn't done it again since.
 
Think I am driving my hubby mad. Dudley was sick often as a puppy. He has stopped now but my motion sickness (which I thought had stopped) has returned with a vengeance. Four stops for me to be sick on a 100 mile journey just last week..Even worse a much wanted steam train journey had to be aborted yesterday when I was sick half way. So the dog is now fine but the wife is causing problems.
 
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it's always SOMETHING. :rolleyes: LOL! :p


I do hope Ur stomach calms soon, & trips are a pleasure again. :)
- terry

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If it makes you feel any better @Nanny71, I suffer terribly with travel sickness. In a car, for work journeys, I have to drive, so it means picking up colleagues before the drive! I feel so ill as a passenger it's ridiculous! I was the same on boats, but after having one for a few years some time ago, that got better. Planes are the same, make me want to throw up, trains less so.
 
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