Again

Another month, another trip to my parents' house, another drive made longer due to Airlie's car-travel anxiety.

After the events of the previous two visits, we were prepared to skip her morning meal, hoping that would prevent her from becoming nauseous. We worried a bit about being able to successfully prevent her from ingesting her usual plant matter while out in the yard for any amount of time prior to departure, but we thought it manageable.

Then DH caved. I was planning not to feed ANY of the dogs until we arrived at our destination (so I wouldn't feel bad about feeding Kansas and Leo but not Airlie. I thought I could prevent any confusion this way.). DH sorrowfully said "Well, maybe they can all just have a little bit..."

*sigh*

I fed Kansas and Leo their usual portions, since they don't have a problem with puking in the car, and gave Airlie some of her morning ration, but not all of it. We weren't traveling for another four hours, but I knew from experience that wasn't long enough.

Sure enough, within 15 minutes of getting in the car (as has been typical), she was distraught. Saliva streaming from her jaws, unable to lie down and relax, and she puked. I cleaned it up fairly efficiently, noting the amount and expecting the rest of the trip to consist of a few bouts of vomited fluid as she continued to drool profusely, lick her chops and swallow it. I'd secured her leash so that I could reel her in close to me in an attempt to catch the vomit, which would make disposing of it (and keeping the car clean) easier. After last month's adventures, we had thought that being confined to her crate during travel was causing the anxiety. An experiment on a return trip (where she was tired from playing with all of the other family dogs all weekend) seemed to prove true, as she slept loose in the back of the car with the other two dogs just fine for the remainder of the trip (after we took her out of the crate once she'd worked herself up and soiled it).

Initially I had laid down one of the towels I'd packed in anticipation, and then was able to just shake it out when DH pulled over after Round of Vomit Number One. I later realized that I had all 3 of the dogs' plastic travel bowls at my disposal and also two Frisbees. These would be quite handy. I was able to simply hold any of the aforementioned under Airlie (after watching her closely so I knew when she was going to blow again, reeling her in so that I could reach her easily), catch the refuse and (if it was just liquid) wipe it out with the towel.

This worked fine until the last bout of car sickness when DH got queasy himself and, in his frenzy to stop quickly at a high rate of speed and veer onto the shoulder, flung us and the contained upchuck all over the back of the car, all over Kansas- Leo had already narrowly missed being thrown up on once...

"I TOLD YOU "JUST DRIVE!" I shrieked, dabbing frantically at streaming saliva slingers, wiping down soggy doggies and cursing inwardly.

I got some pithy response about him and his weak stomach in return.

"I said I was handling it." I snapped. I mean, really, there's non point in pulling over when you've got two beach towels, three bowls, two Frisbees, two washable dog beds and an entire old comforter at your disposal. Something can always be folded over so the wet spot isn't smelling up the car or soaking somebody's fur.

I was then ordered to "Do something about it." before the return trip on Sunday.

I hit the internet, though I already knew what I would find. I'd left my veterinary care and holistic health books at home but I knew all about peppermint, ginger, chamomile tea, different herbal options... just not dosages.

What I found: Suggestions for ginger snaps- Easy, but vetoed by some who said their dogs just threw them up along with everything else. Ginger ale was also an option. Chamomile tea. Peppermint tea... Ginger, in powdered form, in a capsule. I was debating a trip to the natural care aisle at the local hometown grocery store for those when I remembered Rescue Remedy. Bach Flower essences have often been touted in articles since I've begun having and caring for my dogs. I've never had need of them. I've always been able to successfully treat my dogs' behavioral issues and other needs without resorting to it, though I have used Farnham's Comfort Zone DAP religiously and swear by it. Bach Flower essences and Rescue Remedy are the same theory, but, obviously, flower essences rather than pheromones. Essential oils are also another option.

I went to the kitchen, asked my mom if the town's one and only health food store was open on weekends. She suggested I cal (this is funny because it's the first thing I advise DH when he's looking to see if certain stores carry something). I got out the phone book. I called twice. Busy both times. I then remembered a local pharmacy I'd always heard great things about, but never been to though I'd always wanted to go. Bonus- it was just around the corner, in my parents' neighborhood, which was quite convenient as I didn't feel like driving all the way across town in small-town weekend traffic (it's bad). I called them. They answered their phone! I talked to a very nice and helpful lady who confirmed they had Rescue Remedy in stock, in all varieties. I asked for price quotes. She put me on hold. When she returned, I explained about having a carsick puppy and she said "Oh! You want the pets version! We have that! You definitely want that! It's much better than the spray for humans. I can tell you from personal experience all that does is make my dog mad!" She told me how much the dropper of the pets formula cost and I thanked her and said I'd be right down.

I then asked my mom if she wanted to go with me. She did, but she needed to get something from another store, and insisted we go to the pharmacy's new alternate location (which I hadn't known about, on the other end of town) that was closer to the stop she needed to make. I felt bad, because I wanted to talk more with the helpful lady I'd been in touch with, and had a feeling that the new location Mom wanted to go to wasn't the one I called because there was only one number in the phone book. Sure enough, we pulled into the parking lot at the new location, walked through the door and there was just one person working there- the guy at the counter. We explained I'd talked to the woman (by name) and what we were there for. He was kind enough to phone her at the other location, ask if they carried the product at the one where we were, explained what had happened... Yes, they did have the product, and so I bought it, but I felt bad. Mom felt so bad she insisted we go by the other location after we ran her errand. I was annoyed by that time and tired of bothering people, but I had always wanted to see the store, plus I'd heard they had a neat gift shop. So, we did go, and introduce ourselves to the wonderful staff, spent a lot of time talking to the woman I'd spoken with on the phone, spent even more time browsing the store's wellness section, investigating all kinds of essential oils and delivery methods and getting several tips, not to mention free samples, pamphlets, etc... One other thing the woman suggested was peppermint oil, a few drops placed on a cotton ball and set on the dash of the car to warm in the sun. She said there was a diffuser system that actually plugged into the car's cigarette lighter, but that the cotton ball idea was simpler. I may try that next time. Also, this facility is willing to ship anywhere, and they have some items I want to return and purchase in the future- like that roller ball wand of mint oil. Oh! The employee we were talking to has a heeler of her own, and mentioned some products she used herself!

To make a long story shorter, we ended up adding the recommended 4 drops of Rescue Remedy to an ice cube, which Airlie loves, but wouldn't sit in her stomach the way a treat would (the directions said to add it to food, water or a treat, or to just put it directly in the mouth, ears, on the nose or a paw) and would be more certain to be delivered to her body than a bowl of water she may/may not drink. I gave it to her 30 minutes before we got in the car, knowing from experience that when tranquilizing animals (the cats have to be sedated for long trips, like when we moved across the country) you have to dose them BEFORE they get a chance to get anxious. I didn't know how long the stuff would be effective since it said "repeat as needed". I could tell Airlie mellowed right away. She didn't bark when out in the yard with the other dogs like she had been and she didn't jump all over me when I went out to round them up so we could leave. She managed NOT to throw up for the first 40 minutes of the trip, but then she did. We did feed her this morning, as the internet said not to feed for "at least 6 hours" before travel and we'd planned to leave right at 6 hours after. But we had to have a way to determine whether our experiment was working or not and if we had given her the Rescue Remedy and not fed her... what would that prove? Plus, we knew she'd be eating sticks and plant matter out in grandma's backyard all morning and would probably be puking one way or the other.

After that she lay down and dozed for the remainder of the trip. Here's the thing: as long as she's lying down (and this is quite common according to everyone on the internet with the same problem), she's fine. Keeping her lying down, however, is the problem. She refuses to lie down if she's crated. If she's loose in the car, she's better about following the other dogs' lead, finding a spot and curling up. BUT Kansas and Leo are just like kids. If your planned route of travel takes a turn that causes the sunlight to pour into the side of the car where Kansas has been sleeping, she gets up and moves out of the sunny spot. In tandem, if the sunny spot Leo is napping in suddenly shifts, he gets up and seeks it out. It doesn't happen more than a couple of times each trip, but this is often enough for Airlie, who has been quite calm and relaxed, to sit up. That's when she starts looking around, and drooling, and if you don't convince her to lie back down in a hurry you then find yourself watching her sides for the telltale heaves and reaching for a towel and a bowl.

Leo doesn't get car sick or anxious.

Kansas doesn't get anxious but she can get car sick. We learned a long time ago that repeatedly rousing her from her nap with calls of "Kansas! Look out the window at the cows!" was a sure fire way to get her to puke. That and bringing along water to offer her. Once we ceased doing both of those things, we haven't had a problem. None of the other family dogs (save one of Little Sis') have ever had travel-related anxiety or car sickness. According to the internet, it's actually rare for an animal to have motion sickness (though it is possible) and most cases really are anxiety, as we know this to be and can understand from previous experience with Kansas.

DH doesn't think the Rescue Remedy worked, but I do. I managed to dab a bit on her nose a couple more times during the drive, whenever I noticed her getting restless, and I do think it helped. Poor thing could barely keep her eyes open and struggled to hold her head up. Granted, she was also tired from playing hard all weekend. Still, she only threw up during the initial part of the return trip, and once again when we stopped for gas, 5 minutes from home. She was up and about in the stopped car while we were refueling, and she tossed her cookies as soon as we got back on the road.

I think it worked. I know I'll be using it again. All research indicates she will outgrow it and I can definitely spend more time taking her on short trips. For example, she has not yet puked during our monthly drives to and from the vet for her weigh-ins and monthly flea/tick and heartworm medications. She's actually started to like it.

I do think, however, that it's time to invest in a car safety harness system for all 3 of the dogs. There isn't room to crate each of them and having all 3 of them loose in the car is just unwise, unsafe and nerve-wracking. I had my suspicions about car harnesses, but I've seen a few blogs by folks who have investigated them and I think that it's a route we should pursue.

Tomorrow, I'm going grocery-shopping and I'm going to see what goodies I investigated at the pharmacy that I can pick up at my store's natural care aisle. I've been pondering some things for a while and now that I'm informed and forearmed I'm eager to pick up a couple of things.