Long journey for a travel sick dog

[lizzydrippin]

On Sunday Im going to be transporting a large dog on a 400mile car journey to his new home in Cornwall. The dog is quite happy to travel but suffers badly with car sickness (even if he isnt fed beforehand he still vomits saliva and bile). Is there anything anyone can suggest to make the trip easier for the poor dog. Thank-yoo

[Reverandfunk]

Get a jab from the vet.

The dog not you...

[lizzydrippin]

cheers rev, I did look into that first off but the vet tells me its not a good idea with an older dog (he's between 8-10) so I was looking for suggestions that didnt involve medication.

[lankeela]

Put him in a travel cage and cover it so he cannot see out.
If you have an estate care put him in the back with the back seat down, the flatter the better. Give him some plain digestive biscuits before he goes - better he has something to bring up than to strain and nothing happens.

Put lots of newspaper down and take up any wet sheets as you go along to keep him dry.

Give him a good walk beforehand so he is tired. Have plenty of fresh water available so you can change his bowl frequently.

The best place to travel them is in the footwell of the passenger seat, but not practical with a big dog.

[bensmum]

Good advice from lankeela. He will be better if he is kept calm and can't see out (and if he's tired)

[lizzydrippin]

Thank-you so much Iankeela for some excellent advice and we'll certainly put all those things into place. We're actually transporting a rescue dog who was abandoned some weeks ago but now has a wonderful new home to go to in Cornwall (the adopters have had their homecheck) and we so want his journey there to be as stress free as possible. Thanks again!

[lizzydrippin]

Iankeela, I was thinking about your suggestion of letting the dog travel in the footwell of the front passenger seat. Well it is only a small hatchback car (Fiat Sciento)but he did jump into that spot on the journey back from the vets and seemed perfectly comfortable there with his head laying on my lap (so I was able to stroke his head and keep him happy). Im now thinking that it might be a good place for him to travel (plenty of stops for a leg stretch tho). Anyway, just mainly wanted to ask whether is was legal to have the dog there?

[woofgang]

If he is restricted from jumping up onto the driver then IMO it shouldn't be a problem but I am not a policeman...you might have a prob if one saw the dog's head in your lap or you stroking him while driving.
Can I suggest trying rescue remedy to help him weather the journey, also you can also get a thing from the vet called DAP that is available as a plug in diffuser for use indoors or an alcohol based spray for using in cars etc, you spray the car where the dog will be about 30 mins before driving and let the spray dry and the alcohol fumes disperse. DAP is a synthetic version of the pheromone that lactating bitches secrete to calm the litter. and can be effective to help calm nerves. Only prob with the DAP is that it is quite dear

[lizzydrippin]

cheers woofgang, the DAP sounds interesting, I'll have a look at that. I won't be driving by the way, I'll be sat in the passenger seat (navigating, which means there's a good chance we'll finish up in Aberystwyth and thats using the route finder). I did wonder about the rescue remedy which Ive used on cats before. Wasn't sure whether it would be strong enough.

[kerryannkez]

hi there my dog was was the same no matter how many times i took her out just to get her used to the car she was sick until this one time i took her in the car and the window was open a little and she put her head out of the crack of the window the whole journey she was fine i couldnt belive it so now i travel from london to devon to see family and she has her dog seat belt attached to the car seatbelt and the window open a little in the back and she has stoped being car sick you could give it a try