# Serious car anxiety AND sickness :(



## nattyk (Oct 10, 2016)

Hi friends, looking for lots of help here. My puppy is about 4.5 months. We have been in the car sometimes like when going to the park etc. He also was brought home 5 hours in the car but was so tiny he just slept. Anyways, now whenever he knows hes going in the car he starts that "drool" thing, a crazy amount depending on how long the ride is. I keep him in a car carrier bc the vet told me he would be and feel more secure in that. Ive tried him on the seat and he just hovers and shakes and looks uncomfortable. The 2 over 30min car rides weve been on, hes puked. We did an hour drive to our cabin last weekend, barely fed him breakfast, gave him benadryl, and he still puked (3 times!!) each leg of the trip!!  

My fiance thinks it could be that he cant see out the window, but we arranged him so he could last time and no luck. My vet said with training we can ease the anxiety, but if he gets sick he likely always will. Any one have experience with this??? All dogs I know looooove the car! My fiance is military, and we will have a 3 day drive to Texas after we get married this summer. And then we will be moving every year for the next 4...... so basically it would be amazing if he loved the car  dont wanna knock the poor thing out for the huge drives but I feel like hes my little baby haha and I feel terrible and a little sick watching him be miserable!!! Open to all advice!!


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## cfriend (Dec 22, 2016)

Hi, 
I don't have any experience dealing with this problem personally but I've read some things that might help. For example feeding his meals to him in the car (with it not moving) might help him associate the car with something other than fear. Maybe some play time and then slowly transition to the car moving.
Hope this helps a little bit!


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## cfriend (Dec 22, 2016)

Hi, 
I don't have any experience dealing with this problem personally but I've read some things that might help. For example feeding his meals to him in the car (with it not moving) might help him associate the car with something other than fear. Maybe some play time and then slowly transition to the car moving.
Hope this helps a little bit!


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## HenryPup27 (Sep 28, 2016)

I'm so sorry you are going through this with your puppy – it's not nice for him or you. There is a possibility that he might, just might, grow out of it. Our cockapoo is now a year old but he didn't like the car at first either, and he was sick every time we travelled anywhere that was over 45 minutes, it was like he had a stopwatch it was that exact! Shorter journeys were ok but he did used to whine and cry pretty much the whole time – our puppy school trainer told us to give him a little treat every time he was quiet, but that got a bit silly after a while.

We have two cars – in one he has a seatbelt harness, and in the other he has a cage in the boot/back. He is now absolutely fine with both of them, but that didn't happen until he was about 6 months old. He wasn't quite as anxious as your little puppy sounds, but he certainly would rather have been anywhere else but in the car. I think eventually he also realised that travelling in the car meant that we were going somewhere really great - every car journey had an amazing walk at the end of it. Once he grasped that, he was absolutely fine. And of course he was so tired after the walk that he would just sleep all the way home. 

Possible things to try in the meantime:
1. Take him out for a good walk or game of ball before you take him anywhere in the car, just to see if walking off any nervous/built up energy first might help with the anxiety?
2. For the next few times, every time you go in the car take him somewhere really exciting, so that he knows going in the car means good things happen
3. He might not be interested in treats when in the car if he's stressed out, but if he is, pop him one every now and again if he's being quiet
4. Try different (safe) places for him to sit in the car. Try the front seat with a seatbelt harness so long as you don't have an airbag maybe? Or sit with him in the back to reassure him that everything is ok? My sister's dog will only travel in a carry box in her boot – so it's dark and she can't see out! Odd.

I hope that some of that might help a bit – I really hope he grows out of it


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

My Max is not keen on the car, but he is getting better. He's never been sick, but he has drooled a lot. We gave him a pill from the vet, to keep him calm. Didn't really work. Just persevere. We've put the car on the drive and opened both doors. Thrown a ball into the car ( Max is ball obsessed). We've sat in the car just talking. We've sat in the car with the engine running.....but the thing that helped the most is the MH. An expensive solution,I know, but he adores the Motorhome. They both do! Oh yes, my brothers dog used to be extremely car sick. He's fine now. We had another dog that was travel sick, except when lying in the foot well.....so lots of things to try out and work on! Good luck.


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## nattyk (Oct 10, 2016)

thank you!! those are all awesome suggestions! I am hoping like you said he can maybe grow out of it...weather is warmer so we are trying to get him in it more just to sit and play...these are the things I never thought of being an issue!!!


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

So I have tried a whole host of different ways to calm them down. Aroma therapy. Thunder shirts. Massage. I even bought CD's that seemed to work at first but not as effective. Well I stumbled upon what I swear is doggie xanax for my two. There's a YouTube channel and you can get the music on iTunes but it's called relaxmydog. There's one for driving too. Beemer was barking in the car this morning and when I put it on, he yawned and curled up and fell asleep for the short car ride. Maybe it will work for your guy to be a it more relaxed in the car. 


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