Traveling with Pets: How to Prevent Motion Sickness in Dogs

You’re in your car with your dog when all of a sudden, your dog vomits all over the backseat.

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. All dog owners know that motion sickness is a severe issue in dogs, and it’s not just related to long car drives. Even though most dogs enjoy car rides, sometimes, a short trip to the park can prove to be very difficult for them.

So how can you help your beloved pet to prevent motion sickness?

There is more than one way to solve this problem, and we will talk about them in this article.

What Causes Motion Sickness

Let us first discuss the causes of motion sickness in dogs. Interestingly, motion sickness usually affects puppies and young dogs. This is because their ears aren’t fully developed in young dogs. The sensory organs in the ear are stimulated, and this triggers vomiting.

What this means is that most dogs do overcome the problem of motion sickness as they grow older. However, not all of them do.

Fear of cars is a contributing factor to motion sickness. So is the frequency of car rides with your dog. If your dog experiences motion sickness the first time he rides in a car, then he may start to equate car rides with unpleasant sensations. This creates a connection that might take some time to break. Symptoms of motion sickness include:

• Uneasiness
• Whining
• Vomiting
• Drooling
• Yawning
• Lip licking

Existing Treatment

You can use available medications to help your dog overcome motion sickness. Veterinarians suggest that the same medications that help humans with motion sickness can help dogs, too (such as Dramamine). These sedatives and tranquilizers can prevent nausea and reduce drooling. However, do consult a vet regarding the proper doses.

Conditioning Techniques

If you don’t want to give your dog medications, there are other methods of helping your puppy enjoy his car rides. These conditioning techniques will help break the connection between cars and unpleasant sensations.

• Start taking short car rides to destinations that your dog enjoys, such as dog parks, in order to help him get used to them.
• Help your dog get used to the car by spending some time in and around it (but not starting the engine).
• Provide treats or toys that your dog can have only while in the car.
• Use a belt to help your dog face forward while driving.
• Maintain your car cool.
• Give your dog candied ginger or ginger biscuits.
• Limit the food and water consumption before the car ride.
• Take a break from car rides for one to two weeks.

CBD for Motion Sickness

You have probably heard about the various health benefits of cannabidiol or CBD, the praised component of the marijuana plant. Many people still hesitate to use CBD because of the controversy surrounding marijuana. However, the reason why this plant is so controversial is THC (the psychoactive component that gets you high) and not CBD.

What exactly is CBD?

CBD is one of the two prevalent components of the cannabis plant. Unlike its psychoactive counterpart, CBD doesn’t get you high. It has the opposite effect: It relaxes you and calms you down.

CBD can successfully be used to treat many health conditions in both humans and animals. As all mammals have the endocannabinoid system and thus produce natural cannabinoid receptors, we can process cannabinoids from other sources (cannabis).

CBD for pets can be used to treat nausea, anxiety, cancer, epilepsy, arthritis, inflammation, and a range of other health issues.

As it helps with both anxiety and nausea, CBD is an effective and natural treatment for motion sickness in dogs. CBD interacts with CB1 receptors, thus regulating the dog’s mood. As a result, your dog feels relaxed and completely calm.

A few drops of CBD oil added to your dog’s food can prevent motion sickness and make your dog fall in love with car rides.

Unlike medications, CBD does not have any side-effects and is completely safe to use for pets. Many pet owners have switched to CBD-based products to help their pets overcome specific health issues. However, do consult a vet before administering CBD to your dog in order to determine the right dosage. Bigger dogs might require more significant doses of CBD, as opposed to smaller dogs.