Pet Haven

When embarking on a car journey, do you consider that your dog may get as car sick as your child?  It’s possible!  The younger the dog the more prone he’s likely to be to being affected by motion sickness, but older dogs that are not used to travelling in a vehicle are also susceptible.  There are ways of improving your dog’s sensitivity to car sickness however so try a few of these if you find that your dog is affected.

Don’t make the first time in a car a long journey.  Start off short, even if it’s just around the neighbourhood for 5 minutes.  Lengthen this out over a period of time until the dog looks more at ease when you travel.  Also, don’t let the only trip your dog makes in the car one that includes a visit to his veterinary, this won’t give him a good association with the car and won’t help the motion sickness issue.

If he’s prone to vomiting when travelling, limit his food intake in the hours leading up to the journey.  He will need plenty of water, but you can hold back the food so that if he does vomit, it’s not going to be such a mess to clean up and you won’t get so stressed about it – your stress will add to his distress and make things worse.

Make sure that your dog has a clear view out of the window, and that there’s fresh air circulating around – as with a child, both of these small changes can make a big difference in how they feel whilst they travel.

Stop your journey frequently at places where your dog can get out, take a walk and relieve himself.  You should also allow him water at these places.  Don’t let him off the leash however – he’ll be disorientated in unfamiliar surroundings and could get lost!  The frequent stops will allow him to settle into a reassuring pattern that the journey is temporary and that the car will stop, he can get out, answer the call of nature and so on. 

If you are going on a long journey, and you know that your dog is distressed when travelling, talk to your veterinary about it.  It may be worth giving your dog some form of canine travel sickness medication.  The dose should be prescribed by the veterinary and will be based on your dogs weight.  If your dog has any medical conditions, this may not be an option, but otherwise, it’s a good idea if you don’t want to have to make too many unscheduled stops on the way to your destination.

A happy, relaxed dog in the car will make the journey to your vacation spot a more pleasurable one, so think about how your pet is going to respond to the journey well in advance of the date so that you have time to assess his reaction to being in the car, and try to improve it if necessary.

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