Motion Sickness in Dogs

The medical term of 'motion sickness' covers road, air or sea sickness and refers to the reaction of people and animals to unfamiliar, passive movements, when in a car, on a plane or on a boat. Therefore, it is sickness caused by movements.

Causes of motion sickness:

There are two main causes of motion sickness in dogs, which influence each other and can take different dimensions:

- Passive movement

- Fear of transport

The organ of balance in the inner ear is responsible for perceiving and processing the movements of the body. Originally, this organ was designed to register the movement on foot. But if the body accelerates without being active, the organ of balance perceives this as a kind of illusion and therefore becomes sensitive. Thus, the autonomic nervous system is irritated and the "movement disorder" occurs = motion sickness is caused. This effect is amplified when unfamiliar stimuli act (e.g. car, air or maritime travel) or if the visual stimuli are not the same with the ones acting on the vestibular system (e.g. if an animal is in its kennel, it cannot see the movement of the vehicle, but it can feel it).

However, travel anxiety is caused by a lack of experience or by bad experiences. Moreover, the uncertainty of foreign sounds, smells and nausea frighten the animal. The car may remind a puppy of the moment when it was separated from its mother and siblings or its familiar environment – this is a frightening experience so it is not surprising if it associates it with driving. The fear of travel sickness is intensified as these fears have a direct influence on the kinetosis.

Symptoms of motion sickness

The classic image of motion sickness is shaped by anxious behavior, nausea and vomiting. The following symptoms are the most frequently encountered while driving:

- Increased panting, trembling, salivation

- Hiding

- Barking, whining

- Urine, defecation

Treatment of travel sickness

It is best to get the dogs used to the car ride already as puppies (early habituation). You should try to leave the animal in the car with the engine romping for a while or play with it in the car and then it will be much easier for you to take it on car rides with you in the future. The puppy should be handled extremely carefully when traveling to their new home if they get another owner, whether they are taken by car or not, because the separation from the mother and siblings is difficult enough, so there should be a lot of encouragement, no door slamming, no crying or shouting or sudden acceleration, no distractions and longer trips should contain short breaks. The little one learns to be as relaxed and stress free as possible when travelling by car.

The dog must be trained to cope with the car before going on a trip. The principle is based on a classical counter-conditioning. That means that the dog should be accustomed to uncomfortable driving but also with pleasant experiences until it learns that travelling by car is great. Depending on the seriousness of the case, the dog should be rewarded if it dares to get near the car.

If this works smoothly, the next step is to take it in automotive interiors. If the animal accepts the whereabouts in a relaxed way, then it should also be fed inside the car. Less greedy animals can have a bowl of food in the car or a nice place to cuddle. Whatever you do, it is very important that the animal is never overwhelmed, that you never get impatient when the dog shows discomfort or even fear and that the training session is canceled and taken up again the next day with extreme care.

Next, the dog should be accustomed to the place the vehicle it shall sit in while travelling (e.g. back seat, combi boot, shipping box). The doors should then be closed gradually, take your place behind the wheel, start the engine and eventually start to move. All these should be done gradually in order to prevent relapse.

This counter-conditioning deprives the dog of the fear of driving, and slowly increasing travel time gives the animal the opportunity to get used to the passive movement.

You can give the animal an anti-emetic (= remedy for nausea and vomiting), especially the first few times. There are sprays that contain the so-called “dog appeasing pheromone”, which remove the fear very quickly. The mother dog should calm its pups by feeding them breast milk. Thus, it shows the puppies that they need not have any fear, that everything is in order and also gives them the opportunity to smell something familiar. This effect is now possible with synthetic pheromones.