How to deal with a car phobia?

[GrandmasCat]

We have a lovely dog, came to us as a rescue and nothing is known about her past. She is so sweet and affectionate, I cannot imagine her being abused or badly cared for, she just got lost in a tourist area and had no microchip so after months of fostering her for the RSPCA with no one asking for her, we decided to keep her.

Problem is, she doesn’t travel. Over the years we have tried every solution under the sun, from pheromones to homeopath remedies, calming sprays, sitting in the car for ages and moving up to the car moving, I had tried her with the window a bit down but she hated it so much she tried to jump out of the car (thanks god she was wearing a seatbelt!), I have had her on crate ever since but she still gets sick in the car.

The only thing that has worked to stop the sickness is Cerenia tablets, but they mess her stomach for a week and she still needs to be nil by mouth on the day she needs to be in the car otherwise she gets so nervous she ends up with diaorreah.

We would like her to join us in days out, as we are often out for walks I’m sure she would enjoy but she is terrified of the car.

Has anyone succeeded in sorting a dog’s long term travel sickness?

I used half a Stugeron 15 with my rough collie as a puppy, and no food before traveling that day. A whole one when he got older. He's fine now. You could also try putting a duvet/thick blanket under the crate.

Can’t help with travel sickness but the fear of journeys in the car was fairly quickly solved with 2-3 journeys a day, some long some short.

Make sure you have decent dog bars.

Interestingly she still hesitates to jump into the boot of one car but is airborne as soon as you touch the boot handle on the other.

Our rescue was so very scared that we started feeding him in the back to get him to have positive connotations with the car. We also started to drive for walks (not environmentally friendly I know) - he is now jumping in every time we want him in the car. It takes time and patience though

Thank you, will talk to the vet about Stugeron, hopefully that would allow us to get her less scared by taking her in the car several times a day.

I tried feeding her treats in the car but as they made her sick after a little while, she is now refusing them 😕

I really don’t know if she is so anxious because she ends up feeling sick in the car or she is sick because she is anxious.

Cerenia is the gold standard for travel sickness so if this is not helping then Sturgeon is unlikely to and you will still have the issue of the loose bowels.

If you have been trying for years I would get the vet to refer you to a qualififed behaviourist - this sounds like a very deep seated issue and unlikely to improve with basic cc or desensitisation

Sturgeon is unlikely to help as she is busy in Scotland (!) I meant Stugeron

This sounds very extreme, poor dog.
Have you tried feedjng her meals in the car? Just while parked at the house, no engine running.
This is before progressing ( as I think you've already done) to turning the engine in and off again, driving to the gate and back etc.