Motion Sickness In Dogs: Signs and How To Help

Developed in collaboration with Andrea Johnson, DVM | Co-Founder | PetVet365

Last reviewed: April 22, 2024

Motion sickness in dogs is common, but manageable. Here we will look at 10 ways you can minimize and possibly even prevent motion sickness in your dog.

Your dog’s motion sickness can be an issue if it hampers your lifestyle. If you are used to traveling to hike with your dog in the mountains or just taking a short car trip to the dog park for exercise, motion sickness can keep you from your (and your dog’s) favorite activities.

Signs of Motion Sickness in Dogs

The symptoms of motion sickness and the signs of anxiety are similar. You may see signs like:

• Panting    
• Diarrhea
• Drooling    
• Retching
• Restlessness    
• Vomiting
• Trembling    
• Frequent Yawning
• Whining    

Your veterinarian may prescribe a customized, compounded medication. These medications are mixed by trained, licensed compounding pharmacists and often come in dosage forms designed to make giving or applying the medication easier and more accurate.

10 Ways to Prevent Motion Sickness in Dogs

There are a few things you can proactively do to make car trips a better experience for your dog. Remember that true physical car sickness and stress-related sickness often go hand in hand. You want to condition your dog to associate riding a moving car with a positive experience, so you need to do all that you can to make that happen.

Desensitize Your Dog to the Car

If your dog's first few car rides made them nauseated or with an upset stomach, they could be conditioned to equate a moving car with vomiting. Recondition your dog to associate car travel with positive experiences. You can start by feeding or playing with their favorite toy with them near the car. Then, try doing it inside the vehicle with the engine off. Next, try it with the engine running. Once they are more comfortable with it, take short trips around the block and work your way up to longer trips. This should help your dog's tolerance for the car.

Limit Your Dog’s Food Intake

Plan your dog’s meal around the car ride. Give them as long as possible to digest their food before starting your trip. If you are planning a trip in the morning, your dog can go up to 8 hours without eating. At the minimum, withhold food for 2 hours. And don’t give them too many treats for getting in the car. The less food in their stomach, the less likely they will be to vomit, and it may help with less frequent potty breaks.

Have Your Dog Face Forward

While this might be difficult at first, try to have your dog look forward out the front windshield instead of sideways out the side windows. When facing forward, there is less visual stimulus to trigger car sickness. Placing a car sunshade over the side windows can sometimes help to redirect your dog’s focus.

Fill the Car with Cool, Fresh Air

Just like in humans, a little fresh air can help reduce your dog’s nausea. Crack the car windows and, if it’s a warm day, turn on the AC. The cool air will help, as well. Also, make frequent stops and let your dog sniff and stretch his leg. This gives their brain a break from the potentially conflicting sensory signals that could be causing his motion sickness.

Use a Carrier or Crate

Many dogs view their crate as a safe space. Start by traveling with them in their crate (if you have the room) and then transition to a carrier or travel crate as they become more comfortable. From there, you can transition them to a doggie seat belt or safety harness. Note: Keep in mind that pets are better off in the back seat of a vehicle. Riding in the front passenger seat is generally not recommended because pets in the front seat can be injured by airbags in an accident.

Bring Smells from Home

Give them familiar and comforting smells from home like their favorite toy or blanket. One of mom or dad’s t-shirts also works in a pinch.

Create a Distraction

If possible, have a passenger sit with your dog and try to distract them and make them feel safe.

Use Prescription Medications

Sometimes medication is the best treatment for your dog’s travel sickness. Your veterinarian can prescribe anti-vomiting and anti-nausea medications like maropitant or meclizine to help. Or if they have travel anxiety, your veterinarian can prescribe anti-anxiety medications like alprazolam or trazodone to calm and sedate them.

Try Natural Supplements

Ask your veterinarian to recommend over-the-counter calming herbal remedies like kava, valerian, passionflower, ginger, or skullcap. These can ease your pet's symptoms as well as create a calming effect that makes traveling easier. Other natural remedies like Bach® flower (Rescue Remedy®) are available at your local pet store or order them online.

Also Try OTC Medications

Over-the-counter motion sickness drugs like Dramamine® and antihistamines like Benadryl® can help with nausea and sedition. However, it is important that you check with your veterinarian before giving them to avoid over-medicating and interactions with other medications they may be taking.

What Causes a Dog's Motion Sickness

Your dog’s motion sickness is most likely caused by either

• An underdeveloped inner ear or,
• Anxiety and stress from riding in a car

An underdeveloped vestibular system – the part of the inner ear that regulates balance – is generally the cause of a dog’s motion sickness. That is why motion sickness is more common in puppies and younger dogs than for adult dogs. This is because the vestibular system in puppies is not fully developed yet.

Many dogs eventually outgrow motion sickness once their ears have fully matured, but not all do.

In some cases, dogs are conditioned to get sick in the car. They have associated a car ride with an unpleasant experience, like going to the veterinarian. The stress and anxiety they equate with a car ride literally worry them sick.

Car-related anxiety is not true motion sickness; it is a conditioning issue, and it can be unlearned with time and effort.

Summary

Motion sickness is common in dogs. It can stem from physical reasons – like not yet developed ear mechanisms in young dogs – or from anxiety form a bad association with car trips. Many dogs will grow out of it, but for those that don’t, there are some things you can do to make traveling easier for your canine companion. These range from desensitization and behavioral modification to prescription, herbal, and OTC medications.

Talk to your veterinarian about ways you can help save your pet from the discomfort of travel sickness. It might just save your car’s interior.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is meant to provide general and not medical advice. We strongly recommend that a veterinarian be consulted for the specific medical needs of your animal.

Sources

Fetch by WebMD
Vets for Pets
VCA Animal Hospitals