Trembling when we go riding
 

Hannah trembles and becomes anxious when we go for car rides. She also has the occasional car sickness. Why is this and what can I do to stop it?:confused:

My two furbabies suffer from the "shakes" as well when we are in the car. Its so bad that even when I have my girl put in a car seat she will jump out to be in my lap. I've noticed that it seems to be the engine that scares them the most (my little guy calms down after a minute of starting the engine), or when I hit the "wake up strips" on the side of the road I have them climbing to get as high as possible in my lap. I don't take them very far without being in a crate to travel, just the occasional downtown trip. Maybe its a small dog thing? I don't know what to do either. Good luck!

is she in a doggie car seat? I know for my maltese and my baby yorkie they feel safe and secure in their carseat. and look out the window or fall asleep or just look lovingly at mama :) there's at least on picture in my photo album of them in their carseat

My Alex in my avatar has been shown all over and even at 4 years of age he still gets car-sick. I can bet on 5 minutes before he barfs. Nothing helps him. I have tried just about everything. As a puppy, I kept hoping it would be breezy and warm so I could dry his face before going into the ring.

Well in Mika's case I kind of understand the trembling when riding in the car. You see I inherited my Mom's Saturn station wagon. The passenger front door was hung incorrectly from purchase, but my mother always said the ghostly sound it makes did not bother her, and even though she could have gotten it fixed free, she just didn't (you'd have to understand Mollie's mind).

So it makes this sound almost like a ghost when you drive, and it is louder on the expressway.

Poor Mika looks at that door the whole time she is in the car like it is my mother coming back from the dead, and just trembles her little self to death..

Miss Maya on the other had pays it no attention.

Lucy has gotten carsick from the day I brought her home. She is now 3 years old and it STILL happens occasionally, but here are a couple of things that have helped her:

1. Don't let her eat or drink 1 hour before getting in the car
2. I give her Rescue Remedy 30 minutes before getting in the car
3. She rides in a carseat with a 6 inch thick piece of foam underneath it so
that she can see out the window comfortably
4. I talk to her CONSTANTLY while we're riding

She does better now, and doesn't throw up every time we ride, but she still drools. I put a pee pee pad in the carseat so that if she DOES get sick, I can pull over and clean it up quickly. I always carry several pee pee pads when we ride.

I started out with short rides and the longest we've ridden is 45 miles without an incident.

Mine do the same thing. I would get a Car seat...

Precious shivers & shakes when we go in the car too, but I think it's because she thinks shes going TO the vet or the groomer both of which she hates. I say this because when we leave the vet or the groomer to go home she does NOT shiver! LOL So I have begun to take her for rides when I go to the bank, or pick up a prescription at the drive through or to Petsmart & it is helping a bit.:aimeeyork

My Silky terrier had the excitement and shaking problem when in the car..
even tho I have a nice car seat that she can see out the window, my holistic vet suggested that I give her calm down 30 minutes before a car ride, I works for us, she looks out the window a bit and then settles down in the seat and goes to sleep, we tried rescue remedy,Pet calm by Richard's organics and nothing then we tried calm down and finally it worked..so you really have to find out what works for your pup.
best of luck.
hugs,
Carmen in nj

Awwwwwwwww hope it gets better soon.
My Mia isn't a huge fan of the van but to be fair she's only been in three times and that was to leave her home, go to the vet and stop by the groomer to show me how to express her anal glands so I'm not sure I'd be a huge fan either, lol!

Ive just been reading about 'The Tellington touch', and theres a section in that about car sickness and how it can really help. I have tried it on molly if she gets stressed and it works well. :thumbup:

Bella too
 

Carmen what is calm down. Bella shakes horribly in the car since day one. I think sometimes she just going to fall apart from shaking so much. I hate it because we love going for rides and taking her and Luigi.:aimeeyork:confused:

yeah i know what you mean. Tyke shakes when he rides too. he gets sick if you put him in a carrier. i haven't tried a carseat for him because he trys to get to me and sits in my lap. i did buy a seatbelt for him and put him in the seat beside me....well that didn't work i had to stop and take him out. he was about to choke himself trying to get to my lap.

I was told to use Benedryl before a trip, but not sure about it though. i have to figure something out because in April we are going on a trip 2 1/2 hrs away and he has to go with us.:eek: I just hope things go well.

i just don't want to waste money buying a carseat he's not going to sit in.
i'm looking for suggestions too.

a good car seat will have a teether to strap to their harness so they have limited mobility. Like everything else they have to learn how to behave in the car. Madison would get out of the carseat onto the seat of the car ( if that makes sense.) I'd pull over and calmly talk to her and put her back into the car seat.
I purposely run errands with her in the car to get her used to being in the car. Now she looks forward to it.
I'd go for a drive with my furbaby starting with 10 mins a day. and each day add a few mins. before you know it your baby will look forward to going in the car. Mine go bazerk with excitement when I say "do you want to go for a ride in the car?"!!

^^Is this the same herbal Rescue Remedy that humans can take? I need to give my puppy something for when she is in the crate. She cries almost all night long in the crate. She is 10 weeks old. We've had her for two weeks.

hey girl, this is what it is..
I did not write this is taken from a flyer I got at my holistic vet's office..;)

Calm Down
I'm sure all dog owners/handlers/trainers would wish for our little monsters to calm down on numerous occasions (!) but 'Calm Down!' has been compiled specifically for dogs that have aggressive or nervous tendencies, suffer with car sickness, have an aversion to noise, or perhaps have anxiety complexes. We now have several winners in the show ring that prior to using 'Calm Down!' would not go near a hall. Some of the feedback we have received is almost too good to be true! I am currently using this product to help one of my trials dogs to concentrate and focus on his work. It does seem to be working very well - no wrong commands taken since! P>
Ingredients Camomile, Lemon Balm, Vervain, Lime Flowers, Skullcap.
Camomile is valuable in helping support the nervous system. Commonly known as the most popular herbal tea for a "relaxing sleep", Camomile is often used as a 'calming and digestive aid'. It can also help maintain healthy skin.
Lemon Balm is known for its 'calming' action. It was thought historically that Lemon Balm revived melancholy or in our modern terms "stress".
Vervain's main property is to help support the nervous system but is also a 'calmer' and can help give the dog a general 'boost'. Lime Flowers is used mainly to help support the immune and nervous systems. Skullcap can be beneficial for dogs showing signs of excitability and general restlessn

We have an Aussie that shakes and pants in the car. I tried Rescue Remedy for Pets on her when we went for a long ride and it worked very well. She actually finally fell asleep.

Please be careful about giving human meds to little dogs. There are some that is OK and others that are NOT. ALso you must know the correct dose...... if not, you could have serious problems. I would consult my vet.

Yes, I agree, I don't give my pups nothing that I had not pass thru my vets, either my regular vet or my holistic vet, the calm down remedy was given to my silky under my holistic vet recomendation and is made specially for dogs. Usually the herbal remedies that she gives me are a bit pricey but worth the money when my regular vet runs out of options..:D
hugs,
CArmen in nj

Jackson was VERY much like this at first. So shaky and nervous. But now he's usually pretty cool. I can feel him shaking a little bit as I'm holding him as we walk to the car but once we're in there, he's fine and sticking his nose out the window.

Daisy trembled and cried when we first started taking her out in the car.
Now she LOVES the car.

What we did was have someone hold her in the passenger seat to give her a sense of security and so that she could see out the windows as we were driving. It took numerous rides but each time after she got a little more calmer. We weaned her into a doggie booster seat after the crying & trembling stopped. She loves the car now weather or not she is in her seat.

Best of luck. Hope it works out for you. :)

Yikes!!!
 

:eek:
It scares me to read that so many of you are not using crates when your dogs are in the car with you...

What if your dog is not restrained and you are in an accident? Even a small bump on your car can make the air bags go off, and then your beloved pet would be fatally injured.

Car booster seats for pets will not protect them from this either, and can cause a dangerous "hanging" accident if you are involved in a crash...and what if the police has to pry you out of the car? Your little one could escape in the panic and get lost or worse...

Please, please use a crate in your cars!
As for the car sickness issues, it is usually that they are nervous and not used to it. Take them for very short trips and reward them whan you exit the vehicle. Get them used to going to "happy" places, not just the vets or groomers.

Sue :animal36
Crown Royal Yorkshire Terriers