So my wife and I have a 3 year old American Staffordshire Terrier, and he is amazing! We do not have any kids, so we treat him like our child! We will be getting on the road to Full Time this coming March, and I am a little concerned with how my dog will almost randomly get carsick... 

For example, we took a 1,000mi round trip from Florida to North Georgia and back with the dog and he was fine on the way there (we gave him 1 small Benadryl to calm him down before we left) and then drove him around with us for 3 days WITHOUT any Benadryl or calming treats and he did great! Then on the way home, he made it about 2 hours then threw up and looked miserable for the rest of the drive home.

When we do shorter trips to the beach and such, he does fine 4-5 times in a row, then will throw up randomly on the 6th.

What are some things that you all do to keep your pets calm and comfortable during longer trips? I HATE having to give him calming treats/Benadryl, but that seems to work most consistently. Even when I give him those, it doesn't completely knock him out, he just seems more comfortable. 

Thoughts?

Here's an article that may have some tips for you:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/08/28/dog-car-sickness.aspx

Not mentioned in the above article, but I've read elsewhere, is to give your dog a sugary treat (like a jellybean) before traveling, which seems to help in reducing sensations of nausea.  However, do NOT give your dog chocolate or anything that has Xylitol in it, since these are toxic to dogs.

  On 10/3/2017 at 11:03 PM, LindaH said:

Here's an article that may have some tips for you:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/08/28/dog-car-sickness.aspx

Not mentioned in the above article, but I've read elsewhere, is to give your dog a sugary treat (like a jellybean) before traveling, which seems to help in reducing sensations of nausea.  However, do NOT give your dog chocolate or anything that has Xylitol in it, since these are toxic to dogs.

Just read through the article, thanks! The essential oils trick will definitely be something to try, or the peppermint pills (I know those helped my stomach!). 

Interesting thought about the jellybean, I will have to check into that! 

Anyone else have a carsick dog?

Maybe try a Thundershirt too...great for anxious dogs with thunder storms and other loud noises. Might help in this instance too.

I only feed once a day, at night, maybe you could adjust the eating schedule to only feed after traveling.

Doggie Dramamine.

Giving the benadryl isn't all bad.  I got car sick as a kid and falling asleep kept me from getting sick.  If the benadryl lets him sleep and avoid being miserable, why not.   Vets do prescribe benadryl for allergies to be taken on a regular basis during allergy seasons.  They must consider it a safe med to give.

  On 10/4/2017 at 3:04 AM, DuneElliot said:

Maybe try a Thundershirt too...great for anxious dogs with thunder storms and other loud noises. Might help in this instance too.

I only feed once a day, at night, maybe you could adjust the eating schedule to only feed after traveling.

Thundershirt could be good since it makes the dog feel like you are giving them a big hug. Has anyone tried it for car rides? I have a friend who swears by it for thunderstorms, but my dog loves thunderstorms, so I never tried it with him.

  On 10/4/2017 at 11:06 AM, LFDR3116 said:

Giving the benadryl isn't all bad.  I got car sick as a kid and falling asleep kept me from getting sick.  If the benadryl lets him sleep and avoid being miserable, why not.   Vets do prescribe benadryl for allergies to be taken on a regular basis during allergy seasons.  They must consider it a safe med to give.

And that is good to know that the Benadryl cant be all that bad for dogs. But somehow, it didnt knock my dog out, he still was very fidgety and wouldnt just lay down! One Benadryl can knock me out sometimes... 

Try to eliminate the possibility of claustrophobia.  I was treating my Siberian to no avail for motion sickness, vet said to let dog stick nose out and get plenty of fresh moving air.... tada! no more upchucks.