Exercises to Help Dogs Suffering From Motion Sickness

For many dog owners, car travel can be a stressful experience if their pet suffers from motion sickness. Symptoms can range from vomiting and excessive drooling to restlessness, often stemming from a combination of inner ear imbalance, excitement, and the stress of moving vehicles.

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Learn to overcome car sickness, but without a car.

Kim Pacoti, a dog trainer, offers a different approach to managing canine car sickness. She argues that simply exposing dogs to more car rides is treating the symptom, not the cause. Pacoti emphasizes that the core issue lies in the underdeveloped vestibular system of puppies, which struggles to reconcile visual and auditory input with motion.

Pacoti's method involves gradually acclimating a dog's inner ear to diverse types of motion without ever entering a car. This can be achieved using common household items. Activities like sliding on a blanket simulate horizontal movement, while sitting on a vibrating washing machine helps dogs get used to vibrations. Carefully turning in an office chair introduces rotational motion, rocking chairs demonstrate horizontal swaying, and swings combine multiple movements.

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Most people think the solution is more car rides and exposing the dog to driving again and again until they get used to it. However, this is treating the symptom, not building the foundation.

By practicing these varied motions at home, Pacoti explains, a dog's inner ear gains experience with the types of movements a car produces. Consequently, the car becomes just another familiar motion rather than a novel, sickness-inducing experience. She advises short, 30-second to one-minute sessions for optimal results.

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By the time your puppy gets into the car, its inner ear will already have experience with all the types of movements that a car produces. Then the car becomes just another movement they have mastered, rather than a new and frightening experience that causes nausea.