car sickness

Are you coming from the south??  If so, drop that boy off here on your way thru!! 
 
Seriously, I'd check with the vet I know that they can take something over the counter.  I don't know if it's Dramamine or Benedryl or what??  Maybe someone will know but I'd still double check.

You can get motion sickness pills from the vet HOWEVER, why not try valerian?  Since Diego is a sheltie I'm wondering if the infamous sheltie nerves may not kick in (this from one with experience in nervous herders in the car!!)
 
It took me years before I finally figured out Foxy's major malfunction in the car!!  He'd be fine for a long while and then suddenly he'd go nuts.
 
Herder -- TRAFFIC!!!!  If he was travelling close to the house he was fine.  But when we'd go into a busy parking lot he'd go nuts -- because people and cars were driving "every which way" which to a herder was nerve wracking!! 
 
He'd be fine til we'd get on a different part of town where there was more traffic and if people were waiting at a bus stop or cross street traffic was busy the herder in him would go nuts!!  But finally get him to a big interstate and he was FINE (nice neat traffic in long lines!!!!  And bumper to bumper traffic bothered him less than people lane-switching!!).
 
He used to get SO nervous he'd make himself get nauseus -- so I wonder if helping calm the herder instinct might not help Diego??  Just a thot for you.  Chammomile can also help the tummy in a big way.  Make some chammomile tea and take a big plastic syringe (like you get for kid's meds) and squirt some in his mouth behind the big canine tooth -- that too might help settle his tummy. 

Willowchow-I'm coming from Mass. I'm sure Diego would love to meet you and your chow..haha

Caliecritturs-Diego is seriously a very calm sheltie. He's only 8 mo and he's very layed back. He's harnessed and and cannot see the cars and doesn't look out the window either. He's actually rather mopey from being in the harness. It's depresses him! He hates wearing it!!! He's sleeps the whole car ride wherever we go..until he starts dry heaving and then vomits...ugh [:@]

Casey on the other hand is very nervous in the car..yet never throws up..or ever has! And she's 11! Go figure.

But what is valerian?

Whoops! I just posted under my fiance's name! LOL...using his computer![]

So that was written by me! SheltieGirl

Valerian is an herb that is a relaxant.  mild and not addictive. 
 
But the surest way to make ME nauseus in the car is NOT let me see the road!!   You might let him ride out of the harness (I make mine stay in one place -- no running around allowed, but I know we all have our own preferences about that).  But he might do better without the restraint -- it may be nerves of a different sort.    You can get chamomile in capsules and you might want to try that as well -- that's good to settle the stomach.
 
The other thot I had was that he may get wound up (without showing it) if he has to potty and can't figure out how to tell you.  You may need to plan frequent stops for rest breaks. 
 
Honestly, I doubt it's actual car sickness if he goes that long without being sick -- it's apt to be some small thing you aren't thinking about.  And if you are deliberately keeping his tummy empty, then let him have a bit to eat -- small bits along the way rather than a large meal -- but it's likely stomach acid is actually triggering nausea. 

I tought my little yorkshire terrier from 9-th week of her life to travel in car. I heard, that in age around 9 weeks dogs can learn to travel in car. Now we can go by car for 10 hours, and she is sleeping almost all time. Sometimes she is looking around etc. But generally she sleep. But this will not help you at this time. []

Another great thing for motion sickness is ginger root.  I give a capsule 30-45 minutes prior to a trip and it works wonders.  (Works on people too).

Make sure you feed her at least 2 hours before the ride, and don't give her a full meal.  All that food sloshing around can add to the nausea.  Poor puppy!  

April has always gotten sick in the car, when we have to take her for a long trip I give her dramamine about 2 hours before we leave, she has been fine with this. 

I just called my vet and he recommended Dramomine. 25mg 45min-1 hour before leaving.
 
I've decided to give this a try!

If you trust your vet, that sounds like a good idea. Last year we were taking a 1300 mile road trip with Loki and I asked my vet about dramamine. He said he doesn't recommend using that (didn't say why), but benadryl has the same affect and is safe for animals. Loki actually did fine in the car, but we did give him a couple of tablets and it settled him down so he slept most of the way.

It looks like you've already made up your mind but if that doesn't work, try giving your dog a couple ginger snaps. I don't know what it is about them, but I heard they're good for settling stomachs (both human and canine.) My dog used to get carsick, sometimes a couple times on just a 20 minute ride. I gave her about 3 ginger snaps about a half hour before we left... worked like a charm! It's worked since then too. She's used to car rides now but whenever she gets an upset tummy for some other reason we give them to her and it helps.