I recently traveled from the west coast to the east coast to deliver my daughters two dogs to her; one of them is a five year old Husky mix and the other is a two year old Australian Shepard. I have traveled, extensively, with the Husky before, so I knew what to expect from her; lots of sleeping. The Aussie, however, had never really been on any car rides, other than to the local store or around town; I really had no idea what to expect from him.
Well, as dogs often do, they surprised me! Both dogs were pretty settled into their back seat fortress, complete with blankets, chew toys, play toys, and a non-spill water bowl. The Aussie ate and slept, every day of the trip, as if nothing was different. The Husky, didn’t touch her food for three days…which can be normal for her during travel. I figured that she would take back to it once she was reunited with her true mama.
Kyra, the Husky, was very happy and excited to reach her new home with her lifelong owner, but the stress of the trip had taken it’s toll. Her stomach was in turmoil, despite the water that she was still drinking. Thankfully, two mornings after we arrived at our destination, Kyra threw up in the back yard. Now, normally, I would not say “thankfully” to a dog throwing up stomach bile, but clearly her body knew that there was excess buildup, from the stress of the trip, along with the non-eating, that had to be righted, and the body did that, beautifully.
Now, what to feed her that her stomach would not reject. I immediately went to the local grocery store and was able to locate some wild caught salmon and some short grain rice; both of which are a staple in our home. As soon as I started cooking up the salmon, Kyra was in the kitchen, which was a great sign. I actually hand fed her the first half of the salmon fillet to make sure that she did not eat it too quickly. I let that sit in her stomach for about thirty minutes, or so, and them gave her the rest with a little rice and a couple nuggets of her dry food. After carefully eating most of what had been put in her bowl, she then started the search for “her girl”. All had been made right in the world again.
There are a couple of things that I would do differently, had I to do the trip again: first, I would give both of the dogs a few squirts of our Chill spray, each day, before we took off. I have used Chill in the past, with Kyra, and it really helps calm her nerves, which keeps the stomach acid for building up so much. I would also consider using Rescue Remedy, which I have also used in the past. I like the ingredients of Chill a little better, but Rescue Remedy works and it is a little easier to find, if you are in a pinch and are near a pet store.
As for the upset stomach, ginger and peppermint are always great go-to’s. I carry a bottle of ginger oil, food grade, in my purse, and use it for myself and for my pets, whenever the need arises. It really does calm an upset stomach.
A word of warning: please use extreme caution when using things like Pepto Bismol to help stomach issues in dogs. There are several medical conditions that can be triggered by some of the ingredients in those over-the-counter medicines.
Many blessings to you and your four-legged-loves ~ Tammy
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