travel sickness

[amandapyman]

hi all,

just wondering if anyone has any ideas for solving travel sickness, alfie is 4mths old and every since i have had him, he has been anxious and sick in the car, ive tried a few things, taking him on little drives arround my village every day, ginger biscuits, sickness tablets, putting him in the boot and the back seat and im running out of ideas can anyone help?

amanda, holly and alfie

[Carmel Murphy]

This works for me also. I am using sealegs at the moment with my new pup Abbey and so far so good! It worked also for Rua when she was a pup and she grew out of it quite quickly.

[Alison Ashley-Turner]

Hi!

my little one is now 6months old and still have a load of drewel on arrival to wherever we go!!
try Sturgeon sickness tablets..one night before and half in morning - trial and error but has certainly worked for me. One of my other dogs was aboslutely fine with Travel Sea Legs...

Ali

[Kate]

Hi im kate

When we first got her she was car sick, but grew out of it,round about 6 mth you could perservere and see if he does without making a fuss.

Or if its more down to nerves try opening all car doors n get him really excited play a game of hide the treat and get him to sniff out treats. so he knows car equals goodies. then if hes satisfied with that, turn car on open doors etc. Work at his pace

Also try not to give him any food or water before a journey i find that always helps.

hope that helps and good luck with alfie
kate and rubster

[Dee Rance]

I agree Susan
I was once told that travel sickness was a learnt response, and once they start to be sick then it will always be so, and I think that is correct. Sealegs will stop the drool, and the sickness, and it doesn't knock them out...they can still run around as usual, and this makes it a good thing, the dog will end up thinking ''this car thing is really nice to go out in, and I get a nice walk at the end of it'', and you will have a dog that you can take anywhere. Susan I have always given them half a tablet, from 8 weeks, they get half a tablet just half an hour before traveling, I have never starved them either, but this is up to the individual. Fin still gets half, whenever I remember.

[sue morgan]

half a *prima-tour * tablet 1 hour before trip,if you give from being young,they are not sick or frightened so never fear the car, then about 6 months old you should nt need any thing,as they have become used to the car,.....unfortunately,these tablets are only available from Holland.....BUT a friend of mine who is a chemist says STUGERON are the nearest thing ,these are available in the U.K........Happy travelling

[Jo Ottinger]

Hawk would get very car sick everytime he got into the car until he was about year old. He still runs outside if I pick up my keys even though it has been about a year since he was last sick. I did everything you have done and the only thing that works is using a harness attached to a hook in the back of the car this way he can move around without getting into any trouble. He will now get into the car by himself and I do not have to pick him up to get him in. It was so embaressing to see him trying to crawl under the car to keep from having to get in it.

[Barbara]

Hi! I have used the DAP Spray and now traveling is no problem.

[Margaret Sierakowski]

I give puppies half a Stugeron (cinnarizine) tablet about an hour before travelling.
Dont feed anything for several hours before travelling
It also helps to get them used to being in the crate in the car , by putting them in it several times when the car is standing still, before actually going somewhere. Do very short journeys at first if possible, and take them somewhere they enjoy - for a good walk, not a trip to the vet

[Jennifer Martin]

Went through all of this with Rio, posted on here for advice and have never looked back, there's no quick fix, no secret, you have to go back to the beginning, short journeys only a couple of hundred meters with a walk or run at your destination this reaffirms that the journey results in something pleasant. I also find not having the car too hot and driving with the windows open really helped.

Spend time in the car stationary, then with the engine running, put a bed or blanket of his in with him and leave him to settle down and sleep, don't make a fuss and one day you will be able to put him in the car and go.

I too tried all sorts of anti sickness remedies, the pheromone spray made him worse, one whiff of that and he got very anxious and would start to drool!.

At 16 months old Rio is a 'boy racer', any car, any distance, anywhere!, he runs and jumps straight in the back of the land rover, he is relaxed, happy and well behaved, no barking at dog's or people passing by when stationary, left in the car alone he will settle down and go to sleep.

Persevere it does pay off!.

.................now if I can just stop him stealing toilet rolls, tubes of hand cream, dusters, coasters, the occasional pen and paper he will be just perfect!

[Dee Rance]

No hope!!!! lets face it he wouldn't be an Irish if he didn't steal something....ha ha...;o))

[Cheryl Gorey]

With the recent activity on this topic last month, I was prompted to investigate further a solution for my little girl who has been suffering with travel sickness since I brought her home at 4months. I prefer to use natural remedies where I can if they are effective, but I found ginger tablets a bit hit and miss. Australia doesn't sell the Sealegs product which had been recommended to me and I notice on this discussion is noted as a good solution. None of the other travel sickness products in Australia have the same ingredients as the Sealegs product, so I had to look further.

So, I went to the chemist again to seek some options. I spoke a lady who also had dogs and used natural remedies with good effect for a number of things, so I was happy to be on the right track with the right staff member to help me.

I had been giving my girl, Australian Bushflower Rescue Remedy (but it wasn't working on it's own or with the Ginger tabs). I have used homeopathic products for myself, but not for the dogs. She introduced me to homeopathic medicine for symptomatic relief of Nausea and Vomiting. This isn't a product specific for dogs, but it is safe for them. This has been a great solution. I give my girl 4 pillules an hour before we travel. She still gets a little drooly at the start (cause she is expecting to feel sick), but she obviously doesn't feel sick, the drooling stops and she usually lies down and rests the whole journey. This has worked now on 4 occasions with journeys ranging from 30 minutes up to 1 hour. I still give her the Rescue Remedy with this, but I think I will try the homeopathic remedy on its own next time. The beauty of the pillules also is that I put these little pillules in the palm of my hand and she licks them off and eats them and looks for more!!!!

I am very confident I have found a longterm solution. I'm sure this product would be available worldwide from other companies, so I would encourage anyone having trouble with travel sickness to seek some advice on this. The pillules are lactose/sucrose and product is Ipecacuanha 6c.

Thanks for prompting me to have another look, Cheryl

[Dennis Doyle]

had same problem with my setter bitch from 10 weeks to 17 weeks but only on journeys of hour r more. She is 21 weeks now and hasn't had a problem for over 4 weeks. Some do grow out of it I understand although we do give her Dorwest digestion tablet before a journey as this contains a small amount of Valerian which helps calm. May be co-incidental but certainly she doesn't have a problem now and we have made sevral journeys of an hour or more. hope this helps - Dennis