Problme dog. Suggestions?

We have 2 medium sized dogs (60+lbs). One is very energetic and loves riding in the car , the other is quit lethargic , extremely nervous (yet very friendly towards strangers and other animals) and vomits in the car every time we try to take him anywhere. Once we arrive (at a park or someplace) he's quit interested in investigating all the strange smells as most dogs would and seems to enjoy the outings.

He's particularly clingy with me , following me around the house , curling up at my feet , crawling up onto my lap etc.

We're considering a move across the country (about 2,500 miles) and the thought of re-homing or worse , abandoning them in a shelter just because they're an "inconvenience" is out of the question. They are part of the family.

We tend to pussy foot around him and try to accommodate him and his idiocracies as much as possible but I'm starting to wonder if this is the right thing to do. Maybe we should just be treating him like a normal dog.

We could just physically put him in the car and take him for short jaunts to someplace interesting in the hopes that he'll eventually realize that traveling in the car leads to pleasant things.

We were told to simply put him in the car and head off and not to get upset with him for any accidents in the car because they are a result of his nervousness and getting upset would just compound the problem. It would take about 8 days to drive there and by the time we got there , he should be used to riding in the car.

I'm not too sure about this approach so wanted some opinions. And 8 days is way too long to keep him sedated.

Thoughts?

My attitude is Get Used To It. I have a couple who aren't overcome by the thought of getting in the car, but there are times when they have to go in it anyway, such as vets for instance. I also drive all of mine over to the river, although its only a short trip, I won't walk all of them there as I'll probably come across some eejit with a yappy hairy thing on an extending lead and my girls will take off, so a couple of minute car trip is preferable. So now the ones that aren't in love with the car, know that sometimes they go nice places, sometimes they go places that aren't that wonderful,but they go anyway.
I would think you will be stopping off overnight and having breaks along the way on your journey, so just be matter of fact, make sure there is plenty of ventilation, maybe a cool mat for each of them to lie on and places to stop for a drink and food. 8 days is a fair length of time so by the time you get where you are going it will be part of life by then. Yes there will be sickness along the way, just clear it up and say nothing, take plenty of old sheets for them to lie on, just change the sheet and carry on going.

Some dogs do suffer with car sickness and there is nothing they can do about it and may suffer with it their entire life. There's not a great deal you can do about it except clean it up. Sometimes travelling in a different part of the car helps. Taking him on short trips may help buy I would have thought you'd already tried that. Try feeding him later in the day so he has nothing to vomit, if it's true car sickness he'll probably drool a lot.

Sometimes they just drool and aren't sick. 8 days travelling in a car, its Kill or Cure really and there is no other way he is going to get there. Is there any place within a very short drive you can take them that they really like so they connect the car with going on a nice short trip

I don't know how old your guy is, but car sickness is quite common in youngsters. My previous girl was terrible for it until she was approximately 12 months old. We had a caravan at the coast at the time and went every weekend. She'd be sick before we'd gone two miles and then settled down to sleep the rest of the way. She eventually grew out of it

Yes there's a park just a couple of miles away. Think we'll start taking them down there a few times a week.

Fortunately the move wont be until much later this year so we have plenty of time to try and get him used to the car.

You could try desensitising him to the car - ie feed him in the car while it is stationary, sit in it without going anywhere (you can read a book or something) and reward him for calm behaviour. Once he seems happy with being in the car, start taking him for very short trips with something that he loves at the end of it - ie a favourite treat, an interesting walk, a training session etc. You can build up to longer journeys once he is more comfortable.

Sadly some dogs never do get over car sickness or anxiety in the car but certain things can help - such as a covered crate, sitting in a different position (ie if he is sick in the boot, then try him in the passenger footwell etc).

We have a sheepdog who detests travelling but he does seem to be getting a little better with age. How old is your dog?