Our Vet’s a Genius! 3 Steps He Shared to Cure Our Car Sick Puppy

photo credit: emdot

Rodrigo used to be a sad, car sick puppy, even on a 5 miles trip.  Johan said that he was like a frat boy after a hard night of partying – blowing chunks on the side of the car.  It was awful.  Everyone had a suggestion: ginger snap cookies, Children’s Dramamine, chicken and rice, etc.  Nothing worked, at first.  We eventually were able to take a trip without making our dog miserable and this is how!

get him used to the car

Our vet gave us an assignment.  For a few days, we would just load Rodrigo into the car and sit.  He would start salivating right away, but we weren’t moving so he was fine.  After a few days, we drove a short distance (about a block) and back; we did this for a few days.  Over the days that followed, we slowly increased the distance until we were making trips with no issues.

let him look out the window / don’t let him look out the window

Some people told us not to let him look out the window, because it’s the visual of things flying by that’s making him sick.  Others told us to let him look out the window, it’s actually the motion of the car making him sick.  We let him tell us what he wanted to do.  After getting him used to the car, this was really a non-issue for us.  He likes to hang his head out the window smelling the air.

our recipe for longer trips

A couple times a year, we travel to a beach house that’s 2+ hours away.  This is the recipe we follow for both of our dogs…

• light breakfast before an early morning departure time
• gingersnap cookies (one for each dog) and Children’s Chewable Dramamine (approved by our vet)
• two breaks along the way for potty (if they went before we left, then 1 stop), water, and leg stretching
• gingersnap cookies (1/2 for each dog) when we arrive along with Doggy Ice Cream – SweetSpots (which works to settle a dog’s tummy).

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