The doggie hits the road

How far away is your vet? Do you need to grab a bus to the closest park? Maybe you want to go on holiday and bring your pooch along.
 

She wants us to take her with us when we leave. Sometimes, we do.

 
There are many ways to travel with your dog, the most common being the walk. But if you have a long way to go, you might need to go by bus or car. And there is something that can prove a big problem if you don't know about it: dogs can get motion sickness, just like children.

Motion Sickness - Preventing and Symptoms

You're in a car or bus with your dog and it suddenly starts salivating and panting and looking pretty uneasy in general. Then you might see again that quick lunch you gave to your dog before going on the trip.

It is embarrassing if you're in public transportation and people start turning their noses at you and your sick puppy. It happened to me and I was caught by surprise. I had some tissues to clean everything up, but an old man still thought it was his duty to scold me about it. If you can, try to take your dog in your own car, rather than public transportation.

I used to get motion sickness all the time as a kid too. My parents' car was the "ride of doom and nausea" for me. I remember I used a lot of things to make it better, from menthol to rubbing my wrists. Fresh air is the best though. And no eating in the car. I eventually grew up and didn't get sick anymore.

So how can you help your dog feel better in a car? Web MD has 10 tips to prevent dog nausea. Among them, some of the most useful are keeping your dog in a carrier and not feeding it too much before the ride. An important rule seems to be that the dog should get used to going for car rides, but I haven't tried that, as I don't have a car yet.

Also, there is medicine that prevents nausea, but if you want to try something natural, ginger has had proven effects on humans too and menthol is also recommended. You could make or buy dog biscuits with menthol in them.

Train is the way to go!

This summer, we decided to visit Scorp's mother for a nice holiday in the mountains. Since my own mother, who lives with us, doesn't have the time and patience to take care of our doggie, we took Aschiuta with us.

Of course, she got sick on the taxi, there was no helping that. But we always have a plastic bag and tissues with us now. Always pack these things, plus water and some food and even a toy for your dog when you go for longer trips.

The four-hour trip was going to be by train (I don't think dogs are allowed on the bus) and we were hoping Aschiuta wouldn't get sick there too. We bought her a dog ticket (half the normal price, just like my student ticket) and we were on our way.

She was very nervous during the trip and we had to sit on the hallway with her, but she wasn't sick at all and she didn't get the floors dirty. She did try to get out whenever the train doors opened, but it was alright in the end. Everyone liked her, since she is very friendly and cute.

The return trip was a bit better, as she eventually calmed down and napped a bit next to us.

More about the Brasov holiday in another post.