Thunder Coat for Car Sickness?

[Psalms]

Hi, Friends!

I'm sorry if this question is in the wrong Forum section. I just wasn't sure where to put it because I don't know if 5-month-old Sammy's car sickness is due to fear or actual motion sickness. I was thinking of trying the thunder coat. Has anyone else had succes with it for car sickness? Is there any possibility he will just outgrow this? He has developed a fear of getting into the car because he knows he's going to throw up. I can't trick him, either! As you all probably know, Shelties are much too smart for that. All I have to do is think 'car' and he cowers.

Today I thought it would be nice to take him to Pet Smart for a little socialization, but it was really traumatic for him. First of all, there was the car ride, during which he threw up, and then for some reason all the smells at the store seemed to frighten him. He was not afraid of people. In fact, he tried to crawl into a little boy's lap and probably would have gone home with him if he didn't come in an evil car. He is very friendly and happy to greet other dogs, too. But he just kind of cowered through the aisles. It was probably also due to the fact that he didn't feel very well after the car ride. So I'm tryng to think of anything that would help him. If anyone has used the thunder coat for this, I would be so grateful to hear from you. Thanks so much. Janet

[mellie]

I have also wondered if the Tshirt worked for car sickness...sometimes the motion sickness improves as they get older or a not so full stomach or not completely empty stomach may help too. Sometimes a gingersnap cookie settle the tummy too.

[BarbV]

I think there are number of issues to be addressed here.

First of all, we have tremendous success with the Thunder**** at my store. I've never tried it personally, but we do have a 100% return policy and I've never had one returned because it did not work.

That being said, motion sickness at this age is very common. Many poster have had success with car rides by feeding a ginger snap to the dog a little before leaving.

Finally, I own a pet store, and I agree that its a wonderful to place to socialize your dog. And I do encourage my customers to bring their cats and dogs in. But my store is 3500 square feet....not 20,000 square feet. Petsmart can just be too much for a dog with anxiety to begin with. Add all the smells of food, treats and other dogs and it may just be too much for your dog right now. p.s. personally I get a little sick and tired of dogs peeing and marking all over the store....and its always Yorkies or Chi's.

What you might try is going to the dog park, with dog on leash and just parking yourself on a bench with a long training lead. Leave it loose and let your dog get confidence gradually in expanding his territory and meeting other dogs on his own terms.

[Jess041]

I agree with everything Barb said. We did a small petstore first, small dog park first. You have to ease into it. Luckily Missy didn't have issues with car sickness! She does have a thunder shirt for fireworks, and it worked great for her first 4th of July!

Also, I cracked up at the censorship of the misspelling of thundershirt.. lol.

[BarbV]

Hah! I thought maybe I was being censored for mentioning a brand! It never occured to me that I missing the "r" in shirt!

[Psalms]

Dear All,

Thank you so much for your help. I totally agree about Pet Smart. Even as I was walking around the store, I was thinking that between the loud music, the lights, the overwhelming smells, and all the activity....even I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. I do not like huge stores or malls, so I'm very sympathetic to my little pup.

I have taken him to a small dog park, where he does really well with every dog he's met so far, and their owners, too. But I will steer clear of huge supermarket situations for a while.

I think I willl try the thundershirt. I know there will be times when I'll use it, even if it doesn't work for the car. However, if it does work I will definitely report to all of you.

Now about the censorship... I am really new at posting on these forums, and I think the problem was at my end. I tried to edit my own post when I noticed that I was using the wrong term. Hee hee! I'm better with animals than I am with computers! Janet

[copper5228]

I bought a ThunderShirt for a recent foster dog. She was lovely in the car, no issues, but had anxiety over soooooo many things that are seemingly "normal" noises. It was not a miracle cure, but certainly helped. Can't hurt to try! Have you considered a Calming Collar? www.calmingcollars.com A very kind woman makes these by hand, they are basically herb-filled fabric collars. She uses different blends for various needs. I bought one for my Angel Copper when he first got sick w/ Cushing's Disease and started having anxiety. We saw an improvement and we still use it for one of my other guys when it thunders...

[Jaynie]

Originally Posted by BarbV

Hah! I thought maybe I was being censored for mentioning a brand! It never occured to me that I missing the "r" in shirt!

LOL!!!!!!

Seriously, though, I've had fantastic luck with my girls wearing Thundershirts (see I didn't get censored!) Bela was thunder and noise reactive and even now, she'll go get her shirt and drag it to me (I keep them on top of the crates) when she starts hearing thunder, which is way before I do. Gracie had one because of her car sickness, and it worked very well for that, too. I wouldn't have thought it would work had I not had personal experience with them!