Motion-Car Sickness

Most dogs love riding in the car. When the rear door is open they eagerly leap onto the back seat to join their owners for an excursion.

However, a significant minority of dogs despise automobile travel. Due to enduring motion sickness or an imprint from a prior episode(s) of motion sickness, the dogs may stubbornly refuse to enter a vehicle. In severe cases, they may even become fear aggressive toward the owner if the owner forcefully insists that the noncompliant dog come along for a ride. In anticipation of entering a vehicle or during travel, dogs who are experiencing or who have experienced motion sickness may exhibit full-blown panic attacks that include accelerated respiration, rapid pulse, drooling, and trembling. They may become catatonic or stuporous from fear. In addition or alternatively, dogs that experience the physical and/or psychological effects of motion sickness may become physiologically nauseous and vomit, which makes for an unpleasant cleanup at the completion of a journey. Certainly, when a dog routinely exhibits motion/car-sickness, a joint human-canine vehicle expedition is an odious travail for both the human and the pet.