Car Sickness & Anxiety in Dogs

Car sickness is a surprisingly common problem among our canine companions. While we can understand what a car is and prepare ourselves for travelling in one, dogs aren’t able to comprehend it quite so well. Travelling in a vehicle affects the brain's balance centre, which is what usually upsets your pooch. The motion of the car will usually trigger nausea in dogs that are not used to it.  

While it’s most common in puppies who are new to travelling in the car, motion sickness can last much longer if they don’t get used to it. Over time, anxiety can build in relation to car travel, and they can get themselves quite worked up. If they start to associate travelling in the car with not feeling very well, they can begin to show symptoms as soon as they think they will be getting in the car. 

Two different kinds of symptoms can be related to dogs who suffer from car sickness. First are the symptoms caused by feeling physically unwell. These can include:  

The main symptoms of car sickness are precisely what you might expect. They are symptoms that suggest that your puppy is suffering from feeling nauseous and may soon be sick. These are directly related to car sickness; however, there are more symptoms you might notice that are caused by the worry and anxiety associated with travelling. You might see some other signs, some of which may be behavioural, especially if your pooch learns to dislike travelling in the car. These can include:  

Most dogs will grow out of feeling sick in the car as they get used to it. The motion of travelling in a vehicle can be pretty jarring initially, but by twelve months of age, they usually have had time to adjust to moving in a car. As they get older, they’ll usually start to feel better in the vehicle; however, some dogs don’t get over it with time. If they begin to show behavioural signs of being worried about getting in the car, they’re more likely to continue to feel anxious it, even if they start to feel less physically sick on journeys. 

During a journey, they may not overcome feeling sick, and symptoms may actually get increasingly worse rather than better. They may be comfortable for the first portion of the journey, but once they hit their threshold, they’ll start feeling sick on longer drives. 

There are several ways in which you can help your pup feel better when it comes to travelling in the car. In more severe cases, you may need to discuss anti sickness medications with your vet to help them feel better. Medication can be especially helpful if you have unavoidable long journeys and you don’t want to cause the issue to become worse.  

In most situations, the worst symptoms of car sickness are the behavioural signs that are linked to worry and anxiety. The body can get used to moving in a vehicle over time, but the fear of how they’ll feel in the car is the most distressing part. You can help by treating them with anti-anxiety products to help curb the worry of getting into the car. While plugins are great for the home, you need to consider a stress relief product that can continue to soothe them in the car itself. A coat like the Thundershirt Anxiety Dog Coat is excellent, especially if you are unable to support and comfort your pooch in the car and focus on driving. Thurdershirts work by compressing muscles and make it feel like your pup is getting a nice, comforting cuddle.  

You can pair an anti-anxiety vest with something that uses pheromones to help calm worries, and the Adaptil Calming Dog Collar is great for that. Instead of plugging it into an outlet, they can wear the source of calming pheromones, and it can continue to help them on the journey.  

The best way to help with car sickness in dogs is ideally to prevent it in the first place. A significant element of car sickness is the worry of travelling. By introducing it in a way that doesn’t cause your pup to worry, you could avoid the ordeal altogether. If they’ve had their first trip and felt unwell, you can take it right back to the start and work on making it a positive thing instead. You may need to start by making the car a fun space while it’s not moving, giving treats and rewarding them for jumping in. Once comfortable, you can start by taking very short journeys to fun places like the park. If every time you take your pooch in the car, you take them to the vet; they’re not going to enjoy the trip to make sure it’s somewhere they like. 

Over time, you can increase the length of the journeys and have even more fun with your canine companion. When it comes to making sure they are travelling safely and comfortably, helping them feel secure can mean something different for everyone. Sometimes seeing out of the window can cause them to feel sick, so travelling in a crate will help them to feel much safer, and you can even cover the crate so they’re not seeing outside go by in a flash. If seeing out of the window actually helps them, a well-fitted car seat will give them a view of their surroundings while keeping them secure. Some pups travel better in the boot, while others may need to be in the back seat with someone to comfort them for their first few journeys.  

Avoiding car sickness and overcoming it is all about gradually working with your canine companion and at their own speed to help them feel better. For more advice about your pooch, have a sniff around at our blogs online.