Car Travel Dog
It's that time of year when pets are likely to accompany families on holidays, so road trips are in order.
However, not all animals enjoy car travel. It's probably safe to say that dogs tend to be much cooler about a road trip than cats :) But even dogs can get really upset about car travel!
Signs of not coping in dogs include dilated pupils, shaking, panting, hiding, escapism, and vocalising. Some dogs vomit quite readily as well though this is more often due to the anxiety rather than motion sickness.
If you have just one, or a couple of trips to take, we can use anxiolytic medications to help your animal cope on trips, as well as antiemetics so that we keep that upholstery clean! (and vomiting is an awful feeling as we all know - it's misery)
However it's much easier to train your animals to the car as early as you can. This involves positive training and associations with the car travel: Start with small trips around the block and offer treats and encouragement. When your dog is comfortable you can increase the length, do night trips, go on the freeway.... expose the to different stimuli slowly and positively. If they already have a phobia, you may need to medicate with an anxiolytic to begin this program.
Lastly, make sure your pet is secured, stop regularly (with dogs) for toilet breaks and offer a small drink (if they don't vomit regularly).
See the link below for other tips :)
