Hi! Welcome to YT, I'm pretty new too, it sounds like we got our babies about the same time. My "baby" Lily is 2 years old. She also suffers from car sickness
On the ride home from adopting her, she vomited 3 times in the car and that was without having breakfast! Just bile. Prior to her adoption, she had been in the car less than 5 or 6 times and each time she either went to the vet or the groomer - both not fun destinations. I work with animals all the time as a trainer and caregiver and being able to bring Lily with me is a big deal to me so I can tell you that I've done days of research on this topic and I'm glad to tell you that things have gotten MUCH better.
First, for long trips and special occasions, please know that Cerenia is a miracle drug. It was specially designed for dogs and can be prescribed by your vet. We live in Los Angeles and just spent a weekend in San Diego and Lily made it 200+ miles (round trip) without any discomfort! It almost brought tears to my eyes, I'm not kidding you. I wrote the company a testimonial letter and sent my vet a thank you card. Hahaha! Traveling with her is a big deal to me.
Secondly, for short trips around town, I can't express to you enough how powerful easing your pup into the car gradually will help. Lily shook the first time she got in my car - full on trembling fear. DH and I spent about a week just bringing her to the car, hopping in and getting her to feel comfortable. Even just sitting in the back seat without the engine on and rubbing her belly until she was wagging her tail! Next we did the same thing with the engine on and really
focused on our own energy to make sure we were calm and shared that calm, happy feeling with her. Over the next few days we took her down the block, a mile or two and now we've worked up to short drives to the park or to see friends - happy destinations! (Luckily I can walk her to the vet!) Now, I will tell you that on the short trips we've had about an 80% success rate. There were times she would salivate heavily and times that she did vomit. The times she vomited on the short trips were the first few that I was so happy I just said GOOD GIRL we MADE IT! And then she barfed. Haha! Again, it was my energy helping her to feel calm. Since then when we arrive, I stay calm and use a soothing voice with her to help her out of the car and take it very slow.
Lastly (sorry this is so long but I can so appreciate your pain here!) Something that really helped is having her sit in a car seat. I read that sometimes pups get carsick when they simply cannot see out the window (think about seasickness, the thing that helps is staying on deck and viewing the horizon.) and also the fresh air helps, making sure that all windows of the car are down at approximately the same level because this stabilizes the air pressure inside the vehicle. I purchased the Kurgo Skybox about $60 at PetCo but I've found varying prices online. Best $60 I've spent on her, giving her that stable footing and security of being able to sit/lay down/stand up to look out the window has helped tremendously.
I hope my long novella of a post can help you in some way! Good luck and keep us posted on your progress with your baby!!
