nervous about the car

[1whisper]

My husky/collie mix is pretty nervous about the car. If she knows shes going in it she'll run and try to hide but once on the lead she jumps in with no problem. The thing is, she starts to sliver heeps after a short time and if in the car for about 20 minutes or slightly more she will be sick.

I don't feed her now if I know she needs to go in the car so that she won't be sick but the slivering still goes on. I'm not really sure if she is getting worked up about being in the car or if it is just travel sickness she suffers from.

She used to shake quite a lot at the beginning and wouldn't lie down but at least she will lie down now and has stopped the shaking.

I don't know what I can do to make her feel more comfortable during longer journey's so would love any advice anyone may have.

Thanks
1whisper

[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi there.

I can clearly see how nervous your dog is when riding in the car.
My dog had a same problem. When we first adopted him at the age of 1.5 yrs (we never knew exactly how old he was nor any of his history since he was from a shelter) he hated/was very scared of riding in the car. I even had to get inside the car in the back seat with him and tie him on the leash otherwise he would come up to me to the driver seat when I was driving.

Just like your dog he had excessive slivering and panting. He was clearly nervous since he was not used to be in the car, I figured. Of course he threw up and even pooed in the car.

I don't know how long you have had your dog but if you just got him recently it is possible that your dog is simply not familiar with riding in the car, vibration, smell, instability, anything about driving. Or, he might have had bad experience riding in a car in his previous life, such as he was taken to a vet in a car (although all of my dogs LOVE vet visits many of dogs don't like them), or to a shelter, etc. However, it is very possible that he will get over it not so long.

What I would suggest is to give him a lot of opportunities to get familiar with riding in the car, very short trips but to fun places, such as dog parks, pet stores, just to a nearby park where you can park your car and take him for a nice walk, etc. This way your dog will not only get used to riding but also will associate car ride with something good/fun for him.

If you don't see any progress in, say a couple of weeks, you might want to consult with your vet. He might have some other medical problems. I also heard that there are herbal remedies to calm him down.

Hope your dog will get over it soon!

[Steph&Wyatt]

hi 1whisper,
The poor baby, If all else fails and you do decide to try a "herbal doggy downer" theres one called "Rescue Remedy" kind of like a liquid valium for dogs, we used it on Wyatt when we first started taking him out on the Sailboat, and a friend of mine uses it to calm her border collies during thunderstorms, it seems to work really well, there are also a few in tablet form, you can find them in health stores most everywhere.
good luck
Steph & Wyatt