7 Tricks To Prevent Car Sickness
When you and your pup are heading for a long drive, on the spur of the moment you’ll find your pooch sensing uneasiness, and it will be too late before you get to know about its cause, as you will find the mess they vomited all over your leather seats.
Just like how humans feel uneasiness in vehicles, Some pooches experience the same. Car sickness among dogs can make even the shortest trip stressful for your dog as well as you. This kind of sickness may be for physical or psychological reasons. It is more likely to be seen in puppies and young dogs than older dogs, just like how car sickness is most often in children than adults. The younger ones often experience this because of the ear structure which hasn’t fully developed
“The best way to ease your dog’s travel anxiety is by taking several short trips before embarking on a long haul”.
Causes or Symptoms of car sickness in dogs are:
If your canine travels in a car only once or twice in a year and often consider it as a stressful experience or discontent during car rides, it is probably trying to tell you that something is wrong. It is very easy to spot the symptoms of car sickness in dogs, the common signs and symptoms are:
- Excessive drooling
- Whining
- Vomiting
- Inactivity
- Licking lips, etc.
Car sickness need not have to be a severe or lasting problem for your pooch, with the right treatment it can be eased. Don’t let these symptoms go untreated, the longer you wait can be more difficult for your dog to get rid of car sickness.
Car sickness is common in most dogs just like humans, so what do we have to do about it?
Here Are 7 Tricks To Prevent Car Sickness From Your Dog
1.Restrict Food Intake 12 Hours Before Travel
Limiting your dog’s food consumption before travel will reduce sensations of nausea. When the pooch has an empty tummy it will be less likely to feel unwell. Avoid giving chocolate or treats to your dog as they are harmful to dogs. An empty stomach reduces frequent potty breaks notably during long car rides. Don’t forget to offer water whenever possible, and feed the dog several hours before you hit the road.
2. Turn Off A/c and Lower Car Window
Lowering the car window will balance the air pressure inside and outside the car will reduce the canine’s uneasiness. It is very important to keep the car ventilated and refreshed. Turning off the A/c and allowing fresh air into the car helps to prevent car sickness in dogs, an open vehicle is more comfortable for the dogs. Allowing fresh air is alleviating and keeping the temperature low can reduce the discomfort of car sickness in a dog
3. Offer Toys and Drive-By Scenery
offering new toys will distract your pup and help you to be calm. Buy the toys that your dog enjoys and has access to only in the car. Giving new toys to dogs while travelling will help the dog to travel with fun, try to make your car a fun place for your pooch.
Try to adjust the seats so that the dog can look outside the window and focus on nature which helps in distracting the dog and prevent car sickness in the dog, at the same time one must also ensure the safety of the pup.
4. Changing Dogs Association With Car Travel
If your dog feels stressed and queasy while riding in a car, take a short car trip to places where your pooch enjoys. Choose a place which is ten minutes from home, that’s wide open and peaceful like a park. After you reach make the park visit fun by playing with your canine, take someone who can calm your dog while driving. Doing this routinely will make your pup build a tolerance to car trips and understand that car rides should not be the reason to get nauseated. Changing vehicles to avoid association with experience also can help in preventing car sickness in dogs.
5. Resume Travel Training
Take a short break of two to three days and restart training for your dog and provide a better experience in the car, once you find that they are pleased then steadily start travelling again. If you find any sign of your pup being anxious, then immediately stop training and give a break. Don’t forget to reward your dog at each stage, start encouraging your pooch to get inside the car. Once the dog is relaxed inside the car, start driving, ensure that your dog is happy and after a few good experiences in the car, they’ll be ready to take longer journeys. Keep them monitoring whenever they show signs of feeling anxious and queasy.
6. Holistic Approach
It is the best and really effective way which is worth trying by dog parents. For some owners who prefer natural remedy spray lavender scents in an effort to calm their pets, spraying natural peppermint, ginger, chamomile scents in the car are also one of the holistic preventive measures. Ginger is used to treating nausea whereas peppermint and chamomile help to calm the stomach and nerves of dogs. These are available in pills, discuss these holistic remedies with your vet to ensure it is apt and dosage is correct. Massage can also calm your pet before you travel.
7. Medication
Car sickness can be prevented through natural ways for some dogs, but in some cases, medication will be the only option. These are licensed and anti-sickness medicines that will be prescribed by your vet if your canine has serious car sickness. There are plenty of car sickness medications for pets, Non-prescription and human medication are more likely to have side effects. Anti-nausea drugs reduce vomiting, Antihistamines reduce motion sickness and calm nerves, Phenothiazine reduces vomiting, etc. It is very important to discuss with a veterinarian to ensure your pup is healthy enough to consume them so that it won’t suffer from any adverse effects.