Travel sickness .. what to do NEXT ...

Hiya

Chloe (4) is a rescue dog, had her for a fortnight... have listened and followed all the recommendations for curing/easing travel sickness.

She has to come with me to work everyday as I cant bear the thought of her being on her own all day ...

have tried ... brown paper (worked for 1 journey), crating (hated it), ginger biscuits, DAP's, Riding in the boot, then the footwell ... changed feeding times to not co-incide (sp?) with going in the car .... ALL have worked once, have even used them alltogether for a week but she keeps chucking up. Now i am getting worried because i never know how much she is eating, her poo 'body clock' is all over the place and retraining her is becoming unpredictable.

Has anyone got anything else they can recommend or is it just a question of continuing until she gets used to it...
oh, BTW: she never does it on the way home - only the way there?!! so i had thought that it might be anxiety related?

Sheryl xx

Luckily, I've never had this problem with my lot, but someone I know has had some success with Zylkene. Apparently its made from a milk protein and calms them down.

Worth a try

Hi Sheryl dogs can have motion sickness like humans then doing as you have done preventing the dog from looking out of the window at moving objects (in a covered crate/sitting in the foot well )and ginger capsules from the health food shop can be helpful.

Dogs can also have a fear of travelling in cars. If this is the case with Chloe it can helped by habituating her to going in the car starting with feeding her in the car/leaving the door open and throwing bits of chicken in there/sitting in there/playing with a toy , then progress to 5 minute journeys. This can take some time to have an effect.

ETA Wysiwyg posted a link to a helpful article by the APDT and I have found the link for you

http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/fourwheelphobia

Do you go anywhere else in the car? Is she ok then?

Slow down a bit you've only had her 14 days. Treat her like a puppy for toileting & car travelling. Poor dog she won't know whether she's coming or going.

Firstly if you want to train your dog to be safe in the car, then crating her is the way to go, however it's not justa case of bunging her in the crate & it magically works. She has to be enjoy being in the crate & know it is a safe den for her. So crate training has to start indoors. feeding her in the crate & putting toys in the crate with the door open is the start. You can actively train her using treats & a clicker so she knows going into the crate is rewarding & not the same as being locked in a kennel/crate as punishment.

I woiuld never travel any dog loose in the car, the Highway Code(ie the Law)requires dogs to be under control in the car at all times. I always travel puppies in the middle of my car(which is in a crate BTW)as the middle of the car moves less that the front or rear. As she's an adult you need to know what exactly is making her sick, is it motion sickness ? is it fear/excitement ? You need to watch her(or have someone else watch her to see watch sets her off)

In 14 days you haven't given her time to learn that car travel doesn't mean being put in kennels, given away or change homes.

I wouldn't be taking her to work everyday, give her a period to adjust & do the training to aclimatize to the car very slowly.

BTW Mini advice is spot on

Thanks for this, all sound advice...

Obviously I know it's not an overnight change! I'm not expecting that... But being self-employed means she comes to the office or she's alone all day which is equally unfair and confusing for her and doesn't help me with trying to train her

She's a gorgeous dog, love her to bits ... I am not worried for me or the car, just for her happiness It's all cleanable at the end of the day!

I just meant if there is anything more I can be doing to make it more comfortable for her and get her routine going then that's got to be a good thing?

As i put in my opening post, is it just a matter of riding it out? (or words to that effect)

I think it IS an anxiety problem as she freezes up when we get near to the car. SO I am going to take your advice and try and encourage her that the car is a good place to be.

She's ok on short trips, 5-10 mins.. doesnt help that we are in the Wye Valley - lots of snakey, bendy roads

just a quick update for all those who gave advice and helped out:

Chloe is much less stressed, gets fed when she arrives and that seems to have solved the problem.. not been ill for a few weeks now which is brilliant ...

just think she needed the routine, the patience and the love.

She certainly has come a long way since we rescued her. Bless