Motion Sickness in Dogs

This week we are very busy getting some dogs ready for their trip to the border. This is a very complicated season, and we have had a lot of success adopting dogs out but we have not been able to send them home in the US, so this is the time to reinvent ourselves. We are driving them to the US border (over 1,000 miles) and from there, some of our wonderful volunteers will drive some of them to Los Angeles and
others will fly to Seattle.

Motion sickness is a condition of the vestibular system in the middle ear, which is a series of bones that function as a gyroscope and provide
the brain with information about the body’s position relative to the surface of the ground. This positioning system feeds on visual information and the dog’s posture.

When, for some reason, the system becomes overstimulated, it sends information to the centers of the brain that control vomit in the oblong marrow with the results we all know about.

Motion sickness occurs mostly in young dogs and fortunately they can get used to traveling by car.

How do I know my dog gets dizzy?

Dizzy dogs feel uncomfortable: lick their lips, drool, yawn, complain, hide and finally, what we already know: they vomit!

If we recognize these signs in advance, we can prevent them from vomiting, so it is always good to observe our animals when we travel with them.

How do I get my dog used to traveling by car?

First make short trips and watch the dog. If he starts showing signs of discomfort or dizziness, you can stop the vehicle, walk a little with the dog, and let him calm down. Then restart the journey.

You can increase the distance and duration of travel gradually.

There are medicines that control these stimuli and control the undesirable effects of dizziness, see your veterinary doctor.