What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

Hates the car.. Best way to get past this?

Blue

Well-Known Member
I thought of maybe a harness to keep him and one spot and maybe add a little extra stability but im not sure what I would hook it to. I haven't been opening the windows because it's been mostly too cold out these past few months but the times I did over the summer both captains chairs were occupied by kids so he would have had to climb on them to get to the window. Once when we first got him it seemed more as if he was trying to get out the window. Maybe I'll try a cheap crate mat inbetween the captains chairs so that's his place and then block off the third row. He doesn't try to get up front but he will go in from of the second row chairs while usually results in my son yelling because he's squishing his feet. I'll also give him am antler that he doesn't get very often and only give it in there from now on. I won't do treats because I don't want it to seem as if I'm rewarding the unwanted behavior. I'll go to the store over the weekend and start on Monday and hopefully all goes well and we can at the very least have short trips be ok for him.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
I don't think this applies to the OP but I'll mention it in case others are in similar situations. I've got a dog that whines, pants and paces in a car but his is due to excitement. He is calm until he realizes where we are going (there are several different locations that he really likes) but once he gets an idea of where he's going the degree to which the behaviors exhibit varies. I don't know how common this behavior is as Jiggers has proven he can be an oddball when it comes to behaviors but I just wanted to let people know that a stress reaction in the car can be caused by positive association also.


Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
 

Ronbow

Member
Our new pup (16 wks) gets terribly car sick. He threw up on the way home from the breeder. Threw up coming and going to the vet, both times. The vet prescribed some motion sickness pills for a trip this weekend and doggie looked spacey and droolie (which usually precedes the vomiting) but he did not vomit on the way. He did vomit on the way back in spite of taking another pill.

The vet's recommendation of not giving food or water a few hours before the trip is irrelevant because one time when he vomited I clearly identified food I had given him 12 hours earlier.

I intend to work at desensitizing him through sitting in the parked car, engine running but not moving, and short trips in the neighborhood. If doggie is going to be a member of the family, he is going to have to learn to travel. But I do feel horrible that I have made him vomit 6 times in the 10 days he's been with us. Poor thing is bulemic!

Does anybody have a older dog (1yr+) that continues to get motion sickness? I don't want to torture doggie unnecessarily, but all of our lives will be richer if he learns to enjoy road trips the way ALL of our previous dogs have.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Yes. We just returned from our Diabetes walk and my 6 year old boxer was sick on the way there and the way back. Dramamine helps a little,. Event meds like Xanax do nothing, so it's not anxiety relat
Our new pup (16 wks) gets terribly car sick. He threw up on the way home from the breeder. Threw up coming and going to the vet, both times. The vet prescribed some motion sickness pills for a trip this weekend and doggie looked spacey and droolie (which usually precedes the vomiting) but he did not vomit on the way. He did vomit on the way back in spite of taking another pill.

The vet's recommendation of not giving food or water a few hours before the trip is irrelevant because one time when he vomited I clearly identified food I had given him 12 hours earlier.

I intend to work at desensitizing him through sitting in the parked car, engine running but not moving, and short trips in the neighborhood. If doggie is going to be a member of the family, he is going to have to learn to travel. But I do feel horrible that I have made him vomit 6 times in the 10 days he's been with us. Poor thing is bulemic!

Does anybody have a older dog (1yr+) that continues to get motion sickness? I don't want to torture doggie unnecessarily, but all of our lives will be richer if he learns to enjoy road trips the way ALL of our previous dogs have.

Definitely go with desensitization, but know that if it's actually a physical issue it's not likely to help much. We took my boxer boy, Roy, to our Diabetes walk today and he was miserable on the half an hour drive there and back. He gets car sick and Dramamine doesn't really help him. Roy is six years old now. He's been having trouble in the car since he was a baby. I tried desensitization, thinking perhaps that because he got sick several times he associated it with bad things and that was making things worse. It didn't make any difference. We also tried event meds - Xanax - in case it was more anxiety than physical illness. It didn't make a bit of difference. I hope your baby out grows this issue, because it really sucks.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
If not mentioned above from the previous posts... make sure your dog feels secure in the car. Denna much preferred our truck - where she was tucked into the back seat (which which folded down flat), between the front chairs and the back wall on a soft foam cushion; very secure - versus our Subaru - where she has the full back seat and cargo area, with just windows to lean against, not nearly as secure. She's gotten used to the Subaru, and will just lay down in the middle of the car, but she'd fall asleep in the truck as soon as we pulled out of the neighborhood.

If you can fill the area with some pillows, add a harness, blanket, etc, to make it a 'cozy' area that feels secure, that might help the tummy settle a little bit (maybe).
That... or the opposite - keep a window open and let the dog poke his nose out. I'm one of those bad mommies that lets my dog hang her whole head out the window - but only at speeds under 35 MPH. But I have noticed our dogs have always been happier in the car when they can smell the fresh air pumping in through an open window.