Buddy threw-up today in the car.

[osiris]

This is the second day in a row he has done this. WTH!! I'm wondering if I should change his eating habits. I have been free-feeding him at the advice of the vet since he is only 3 months old. Does that have anything to do with it? Do I need to change his diet all together? He hasn't thrown up anywhere else. only in the car. Could it just be car sickness?

[BabyElephant]

At 3 months it could be just car sickness. I believe the advice is not to feed them for 2 hours before taking them in the car. Try that and see how he goes. I personally wouldn't free feed, I would feed 3-4 meals a day at that age, but that's just my opinion.

[osiris]

I was considering changing his eating habits. To maybe 2 to 3 times a day before 6pm. Another thing I noticed, Even though we don't feed him after 6, what about water? We haven't been giving him any water either. However, one night after I came home from work, I decided to give him something to drink and he drank as if he hadn't had anything all day. Should I let him drink beyond 6pm?

[BabyElephant]

His stomach is only small, I would feed minimum of 3 times a day and would feed the last meal a bit later than 6pm (though that does depend on what time you feed the morning feed, if you are up really early then 6pm would be fine). Again, with water, he will need to drink AFTER he has had his last meal and it also depends on what time you put him to bed so to speak. So, just for your information, Poppy's routine at that age was, last meal at 7pm, last drink at 10pm, out for potty at 10.30pm, straight to bed, up again at 5am. IMO Water needs to be freely available at all times during the day, especially when there is food available. Also, if you exercise him after 6pm he will need water available after this time otherwise he will get dehydrated. Just to complicate matters it also makes a difference if you crate him.

[osiris]

Thanx. I will take your advice under serious consideration.

[Moo]

That's car sickness, but there's a way to prevent it. Yes, 3 meals a day, first.

I would car condition him. Lucky me, mine never had motion sickness, but if you drive for 2 minutes on day, 5 minutes the next day, 10 minutes the next day, etc, etc, it conditions the dog to the car rides. Also, try to occupy him with a special 'car toy' that he only gets for rides, so that his focus isn't on the movement of the car.

[dobermom]

Moo, I will have to give that a try! Clifford gets car sick. He usually doesn't ****, but drools like a hose. He gets that look in his eyes like, "Make it stop PLEASE!"

[Dax]

Dobermom, your vet might have some meds for you to give him too.

[dobermom]

I will have to ask the Vet. I have tried Dramamine, its safe for dogs, but didn't help much.

[ROO]

All our puppies threw up on the way home on the first day, but the more they are in the car the better it gets. Moo has a very good idea.