He's always puked, since his first car ride (home with me, leaving Mom - very traumatic, naturally) (three times on that trip, alone).
I've tried Benedryl, Cerenia, and lately acepromazine. All worked, to some degree, but not completely. Even short trips would leave him noticeably disturbed. But most importantly, I finally took note that his drooling (which precedes his vomiting) could start even before we started moving. So, maybe it's not motion sickness at all, or maybe that's only part of it: anxiety about the trip seems to be the bigger problem.
I went off-label, on a trip where I didn't have the full dose of Cerenia with me, and gave him an SSRI. I don't in general recommend this: some human meds can misfire terribly in pets. But, in this case, I was desperate, and it worked beautifully.
Next, I considered the times he did well: traveling with Loie in the car, he would sit on her lap, and drool a bit, but (it seemed) not as badly as when he & I traveled alone.
On our last long trip (2 hrs), he was tranquilized on acepromazine. Heavily doped, he crawled from the back seat to my lap, where (at 40 lb) he really dominated that space, and crashed out. No problem driving with an unconscious doggy on my lap! The doping made him "forget his manners", and climb onto Daddy's lap. The comfort of that made him sleep.
So, on the way to Grandma's house today for a picnic (20 minutes, plus - usually - "OMG Dexter's getting sick!" time), I stroked him the whole way. No meds, just petting. He did fine.
Once there, someone fed him a few hot dog pieces, before I could stop him. Figured I'd be wearing that food on the way home... However, happily, my stroking on the way home had the same results: no drooling, and a pretty quick settle-down, lethargic state of resignment. No puking!
YAY!!!
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