Car travel is often a necessary part of a pet’s existence, but it can also be stressful. Many dogs and cats find themselves getting motion sick with the sway of the car, or associate the car with being taken somewhere they find unpleasant.

Helping your pet feel more at home with the vehicle can be done, but it requires a little bit of help from you. Here’s a few tips for helping your pet feel more comfortable in cars.

Spend time in the car with it off

Your pet may make itself feel even worse because they’re stressed about the ride itself on top of the motion sickness. If your dog dreads the car itself, try feeding him meals in the car with it off, and then immediately taking him inside.

This way, your pet can associate the car with something pleasant, and begin to relax inside the car.

Kennel your dog facing forward

Not only is it dangerous if your pet is loose in the car, but facing the wrong direction could be what is making your dog feel sick. When driving, face the kennel forward so your pet is looking the direction that the motion is. This alone may help cut back on nausea.

If you have never kenneled your pet before, spend some time kennel training it. Start with the kennel you intend to use for car rides, and leave it out for them to investigate on their own. Hide a few treats in the back of the kennel, and let them discover it.

Once they’re confident going in and out of the kennel on their own, you can start practicing sending them in with treats as lures, and bringing them out again. Never shut the door on the kennel until your pet is used to and confident with going in and out, so you don’t end up startling them.

Go pleasant places often

If you only ever put your dog in the car for the vet or the groomers, they’ll quickly learn that bad things happen when you go in the car. Try to go as many fun places as not so fun with your pet. This is easiest if your pet is a dog, but other pets can also enjoy outings, depending on how extroverted they are.

If your pet isn’t wild about any locations, you may have to skip this step and simply focus on making their travel kennel a pleasant place to be.

Talk to your vet about medication

If nothing else works, a veterinarian can often help straighten out motion sickness. It might be as simple as a little medication before the road trip to turn it from a miserable experience for you and the dog, to a pleasant one for everybody.

Most pets will have to ride in a vehicle at some point in their lives, and some find it more fun than others. Even if your pet never ends up loving car rides, helping them learn to relax can make it better for everyone, and can certainly cut down on nausea.