How to Help Prevent Motion Sickness in Dogs

Whether you’re in the car for 10 minutes to the dog park or 10 hours to visit family, your dog can still get car sick. Just like humans, dogs experience motion sickness. The cause is for the same reasons as humans, your sensory nerves, inner ears, and eyes feel motion while the rest of your body does not. Unlike humans, dogs don’t experience the same clear hints as humans do. When you get sick, you get paler. Dogs don’t have this clear evidence. Hints that a dog is getting motion sickness include:

Yawning
Excessive drooling
Whimpering
Disinterest
Inactivity
Uneasiness
Licking their lips
Vomiting

To not see the bacon you gave your dog while eating breakfast this morning, try these easy preventive measures:

Have the windows open instead of having the air conditioning on
- The fresh air can make your dog feel better
Try to make your dog face forward rather than look out the window
Have something or someone distract your dog
Make sure the dog doesn’t have a full stomach of food
If the car ride is at least an hour long, make a stop to ease your dog’s stomach
- Walk your dog around and give him/her some water

If these tips don’t seem to help, ask your doctor about medication your dog can take to help prevent motion sickness.

Now that you know how to help prevent your dog from getting motion sickness, you can enjoy a car ride to the dog park so s/he can enjoy playing with friends!

dog in car

Do you know of a canine charity that deserves recognition of their commitment to the healing power of the human-dog connection? Nominate them in our DGP Cares “Paws For A Cause” contest and they will be eligible to win a $500 donation.

See More: The Secret Life of Pets