My Dog Won’t Stop Getting Car Sick! What Should I do?

Bethany Stelzl
Nov 5 · 4 min read

Some tips on how to calm your dog in the car

Happy dog goals!

I have worked with quite a few dogs who get nervous in the car… one of the most common causes of car sickness.

I have had people come to me desprate to solve this problem… I’m gonna be honest some dogs just need the extra help of a medication to help calm their stomachs but in most cases there are some very smple tips that can help calm your dog and make car rides a much more pleasurable experiance for everyone.

Belle’s being a good girl in the car! No BARKING any more :D

Tip 1. Belle is a Dauchson/Lab mix, the sweetest pup you will ever meet, but she was terrified in the car… every trip usually involved a mess of vomit to clean up, constant barking, and excessive drooling, not to mention excessive pacing in the back seat. It turns out Belle was just scared of the gap between seats. A seat Hammock from Amazon solved the whole issue. It’s easy to install and totally worth the $30 you pay. You simply attach a small strap around each front headrest and drap the hammock accross the gap and onto the back seat, attaching the opposing straps to the head rests along the back seat. Easy peasy. Belle is a great car buddy now… she loves her car rides, and her owner doesn’t have to worry about any barking, or messes when they get to their destitnation.

Buddy waiting for me for to turn on the music! He loves his car rides now :D

Tip 2. Lets say your dog’s issue diffidently isn’t the seat gap… Buddy, my sweet Shepherd Husky mix would often get sick during car rides… It turned out he was stressed out a bit about taking a ride as well… but it wasn’t the seat gap because he would always settle down in a nest of blankets in the wide back of our 15 passenger van. The solution for him was he just needed somehting to calm him down… and for him it happened to be classical music… music can be very calming but classical music specifically is the best for animals. As long as he had his muisc he was fine… Thankfully he eventually grew out of it… but just for old times sake somtimes I still crank up the classical music… he loves it :D

Snickers and Scout being good puppers on the way to the beach!

Tip. 3 Snickers and Scout were quite a bit of trouble in the car. Their owner was desperate to find a solution after he dogs jumped in the driver seat with her and almsot caused a major accident. For these two… well they really dispised the thought of a rumple strip for one… but some of the things that helped these two included music of course, but they needed a little more… a seatbelt harness for starters, and cracking the windows were a huge help… They also really needed a confident driver… After the inital scare lets just say their mom was a little nervous about riding with the dogs… I mean who wouldn’t be… but all the same, it’s important to be calm and collected when working with a nervous dog… I spent a few weeks driving with them and their mom… We even took a trip to the beach… My presence helped to clam their mom down since she new I would keep the dogs out of the driver seat, and mom being comfortable helped calmed the dogs down too…

Some dogs need a little extra help or a combination of these things… I would also like to add that although car rides may be stressful for your dog and it’s tempting to try to comfort them with a treat I would strongly recommend not giving them food or water right before a car trip since this is more likely to cause an upset tummy or the need to pee if they become nervous. Better to save those rewards for after a successful car ride and use a favorite toy or blanket to help make the dog more comfortable.

Hope these tips help your pal in the car!

Good luck!

Enjoy this collection of true life training success stories told from the dogs perspective. As well as lots of other Doggie tips!

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