What Can I Do About Car Sick Pup? Do they make dramamine for dogs?

[Tricia Campbell]

Well it seems that Riley can't travel more then a block without getting car sick & boy does he get car sick. Over the weekend he got sick 3 times in a 20 minute trip. He was on a towel but of cause got sick between the door & the seat. Then it went threw the towel all over my new seats fabric of cause.
Is there anything I can give him? Do they make Dramamine for dogs?

[Joy Williams]

Tricia, try giving him Ginger Snaps before you leave. Maddie has never had that problem, but Morgan almost always does.
So I give them both a few ginger snaps before we head out and that really seems to help. Ginger is one of the things recommended for humans who get motion sickness. They also recommend green apples for humans, but I have not tried giving her that yet. Hope it helps!

[Deena Womack]

I will have to remember the ginger snap solution. I sometimes get motion sickness myself, not always but maybe I just remember this idea before I fly or a long trip, it can't hurt anything.

As far as Cali, she always wants to jump in the car and she likes to ride with us. She tolerates it very well.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Hi there-I too have a pooch that gets car sick. I do not feed her if i know we are taking a trip and I give her a half of a dramamine tablet. (My vet recommended it and its the same dramamine people use--get it at the local pharmacy) It has worked very well.She is much more comfortable. Its sad that she is not one of those dogs that is thrilled to get in the car and go for a ride--instead she gives me a "do I have to?" look!
Good luck!

[Richard Crowe]

We had one Maltese that would always get carsick. In fact, we did not show this beautiful girl because we would not put her through the trauma of getting sick on the way to shows.

A half of a generic dramamine tablet about an hour before the trip would help for short trips but, nothing would help for longer trips.

Luckily, Holly is a great traveler. There is a major difference between a five pound Maltese vomitting in a car and a sixty pound Doodle getting sick!

[Richard Crowe]

I meant to stress in my above post, but, neglected to: you must give the Dramamine time to get into the dogs system. Giving it right before the car ride is of no avail. The dog will just vomit it up. At least an hour before the ride would be minimum.

For humans who get sea sick, the recommended regimen is Dramamine the night before the boat trip and then an hour or two before boarding.

Additionally, we occasionally used Dramamine as a low level tranquilzer. We had a Golden Retriever / German Shepherd / Wolf hybrid that was extremely scared of loud noises. We were in an RV campground in Washington State over Fourth of July. She panicked over the fireworks noise. A Dramamine tablet (a whole one - she was a very big dog) calmed her down.

BTW: I tried the newer, non-drowsy Dramamine and it didn't work for me!

[Tamara & Giada]

I have no advice..............sounds like the others had good ideas, but I have great sympathy for you/him. Hope he outgrows this:(

[Tricia Campbell]

Thanks all, I will keep you posted.

[Dori]

Hi - Teddy too is plagued by this. At a little over a year he seemed to outgrow it a bit - but had a nasty setback about a week ago - yuck. I think I got too comfortable and took him in the car shortly after he ate - which was a mistake. Glad to know I'm not alone! Good luck - Dori

[Nancy & Bisbee]

Well, our boy before (also a Riley) had this problem when he was young (6 - 11 months-- threw up all the way home when we rescued him... :) We would suit up, back down the drive and return, then drive around the block and back home. Little short trips to nowhere. For actual outings, about an hour before we would hold food/water, pop a dramamine pill (amount depending on size- 1/2 or whole) and eventually he outgrew it. Hope your Riley outgrows it too, I know it's not fun and they are so about the ride! Good luck.