# slobber chops



## rugbyken (Jan 16, 2006)

just got adorable red & white irish setter pup at 13 week's she has been incredible apart from the fact that as soon as she is in the car/motorhome she starts to slobber a stream of water from both sides of the mouth, 
we have tried the short journeys to a treat taking her out 4 times a day in the car to a different park/walk making a big fuss but its still like turning on a tap, i have 3 dust sheets that i put under her but cant use the same one twice, we've sat her in the front in the back someone with her on thier knee & no difference.
obviously we bought her with the intention to take her away with us but after 4 week's no change ??? anyone any ideas experience??


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## ToffeApple (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi there,
Not sure this will help, but my young 2yr. old Parson Jask Russell has always been travel sick. I've had her a year now & she was always sick in the car and the campervan. Tried the same as you, short trips with walks etc at the end but no joy. Tried her with Sea-Legs travel pills with limited success., to the point where she didn't want to get in any vehicle.
Have now bought some Traveleeze tablets and she has now managed two trips, there and back, without being sick. Only about six miles each way, but a huge improvement on previous trips.
Hopefully she will now happily get in the campervan for our (short!) camping trip at the weekend.

Hope things improve for you both - it's miserable having (and being) a travel sick dog.

All the best.

Chris & Tilly.

:wink:


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## Pyranha (Jul 4, 2006)

*Dogs*

It sounds like you're doing the right thing, except that I would probably only get her in the car once a day. The drooling sounds like an anxiety response, so I would try to walk locally (without the car) at least once a day as well

We got a Springer puppy last year. She wasn't sick on the first trip, but she was then sick on most car journeys after that (although always in the last 30 minutes, however long the trip).

We just found a really nice walk nearby - there are 2 or three between 5-10 minutes' drive - and took her there by car most days. We reckoned that making sure that the car was associated with a walk (and plenty of off lead time) would help her feel happier about it. She quickly got over short trips, but it took a few months to get over longer ones. We now have no problem, even on 2-3 hour drives.


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## mags52 (May 9, 2010)

We had this too. The drooling is anxiety and it also happens with nausea. We asked for the vets advice and were told that stugeron is best. Ours grew out of it but it was miserable for a few months. Now he runs outside and if the MH or car door is open he flies in with his tail wagging.


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## TandH (Jul 6, 2008)

We had a red setter with the same problem, slobbered constantly in the car but was never sick. She continued to do it for the 15 years we had her!
T&H


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## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

One of my springers was like this when we got him. (at 10 months old)
He was usually sick too. We tried most things including Bach rescue remedy, DAP infuser, not feeding him before a journey, ginger tablets , something from the vet etc etc.

We had 2 springers and they travelled on the back seat with a guard up, but we put the seats down once and he was fine. 
End result has been 2 new cars and dog crate in the back ....oh and 2 more dogs  

It must have been the softer, more unsteady surface he was sitting on. No problems at all now (he is 3 going on 3 months). Try not to make too much of a fuss of him when it happens as he just needs to stay calm and expect to be OK, not anxious.

Good luck as you'll all want to enjoy the trips.


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## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

One of my springers was like this when we got him. (at 10 months old)
He was usually sick too. We tried most things including Bach rescue remedy, DAP infuser, not feeding him before a journey, ginger tablets , something from the vet etc etc.

We had 2 springers and they travelled on the back seat with a guard up, but we put the seats down once and he was fine. 
End result has been 2 new cars and dog crate in the back ....oh and 2 more dogs  

It must have been the softer, more unsteady surface he was sitting on. No problems at all now (he is 3 going on 3 months). Try not to make too much of a fuss of him when it happens as he just needs to stay calm and expect to be OK, not anxious.

Good luck as you'll all want to enjoy the trips.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Hi Ken

Assuming she has no fear of the van itself (or the car) it might be worth letting her spend a lot of time in there so it becomes "her" van!

If you could take her in there quite frequently, _without any special fuss or encouragement_ (see later caveat) and feed her, do some simple training, leave her to sleep in her basket in the van for an hour etc., etc., it might just work.

When she is as confident as you can get her, start the engine and let it run for a short time - then a bit longer next time, and so on. With luck she will habituate to it as soon as she realises there is nothing to fear.

(Don't fuss her when you take her into the van or start the engine. Just ignore any signs of anxiety - though it's not easy I know :roll: . If you fuss her, in her mind you will be telling her she's a good dog for being afraid. 8O _Be very careful not to reinforce undesirable behaviour with misplaced praise or fussing._)

It helped a lot with our previous, dreadfully car-sick dog. Took some time and effort of course but worth it in the end.

Also worth noting that the only time the old girl was sick was if I was in a hurry and drove a bit faster than ususal. If she was shaken around she would still up-chuck, even though she was perfectly OK at a more sedate pace.

Worth a try? If nothing else it will help with the bonding. :wink:

Dave 

P.S. Pyranha's advice sounds good, but it's very difficult to be sure that the pup will associate the car with the enjoyable walk.

The only way to register that association is to keep doing it, but the risk is that the fear comes first - and by constantly repeating it you may well reinforce it so it's almost impossible to remedy.

By the time she gets to the walk she may be such a quivering wreck that she is in no state to enjoy it . . . then she has to get in the car to go back!! 8O

Best of luck. It's not easy!!!


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## rugbyken (Jan 16, 2006)

thanks to everyone for the help, situation appears to be improving or looking better at least , she came away with us for the first stay in the van.
my daughter has just bought a house near rutland water about 1/2hr away, had to go over and spend the weekend rewiring a couple of plug points and running a new gas main, so the m/home really was like a van 3 of us 2 dogs and scaffold tower etc so busy going there i dont thing molly got time to be anxious, the first night she slept straight through on the bed we made up between the seats until 8o/c then went out for a pee , second night got me up at 6 took her out and she did her business and came back in, took 20 mins to settle the slept again,
brought her home tonight didn't start to drool until we were almost home so fingers crossed, will keep on with the little and often trips and hopefully by the time you meet the little beaut she will be content


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## rugbyken (Jan 16, 2006)

just returned from 5 nights in wales stopped in shrewsbury on the way a journey of 2 hours for us molly made it to telford 15 miles short before she was sick, but over the week has settled superbly spent 2 nights on a wildcamping spot recommended by bryanador.
[ Address Details Llanberis gps location for Llyn Padarn campsite GPS Co-ordinates: 53.12859459825161 / -4.137210845947266]
possibly the best wildcamping location ever , and the girl loved it now sit's in the door like lady muck and we drove home this pm in 4 hours with one 1/2 hr break145 mls and the break was for me not her, she slept the whole way back no slobber no sickness , she was possibly just knackered from all the exercise but i truly hope she has settled down and is enjoying her big cage , only thing now is she spent 2 nights on my feet on the bed and when i barricaded her off she managed to get on jan's side???


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

not sure if this will be helpful, but it might be good for morale....

Chloe has a little boyfriend, Jack, who when his owners got him, he drooled and drooled and drooled when taken in the car.

One day he sat on my lap, and luckily it was a rainy day, as I was wearing waterproof trousers and coat.... else I would have been drenched.

Well, basically, the owners just kept on going, and after a few months, it just stopped. 

So maybe just keep taking him, day in, day out, and it may clear up all by itself.


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