I’m very confused. Whenever Max gets into my car he starts making a weird sound that I can only describe as lip smacking then comes a steady stream of drool. This happens for at least 10 minutes at the beginning of any ride and he doesn’t do this any other time. I doubled checked his car harness and everything. Nothing is too tight or seems to be bothering him.
Any ideas of what this is? I’m wondering how long I’m going to have to stock rolls of paper towels in my car 
How old is Max? He is getting car sick.... And depending on his age, he should grow out of it....
My Jesse is 6.5 years old. This happens to him in the car without the drool - just a very uneasy look on his face. I have assumed it is car sickness. It seems like he is throwing up and swallowing until we reach a speed of 65 or above and maintain that. Then he lays down and relaxes. If we leave the windows open a small amount so that air is blowing his way until we reach the higher speed he seems a bit better.
Just 6 months and it starts when he sees we’re getting into the car — before it’s even moving. It’s quite weird.
It sounds like anxiety to me, and perhaps a bit of nausea. Possibly driving in the car makes him feel unwell and he is anticipating that. He likely will grow out of it, IMO, but perhaps not. My first Basenji used to get car sick, but she outgrew it fairly quickly and got to enjoy driving. The other factor is what he associates car rides with, e.g. trips to the vet or something else he finds unpleasant. The flip side, if car rides end up somewhere he wants to be, anticipation can still cause an upset because of excitement.
@sirronsunflowergirl - You might want to talk to your vet about seasick pills... and yes In My Opinion in the breed this is typically car sickness. Did you get him as an adult?
It sure sounds like motion sickness/anxiety.
I had a friend who adopted an adult basenji and took the dog on frequent long distance car trips for her business. The poor basenji had horrible car sickness and never "grew out of it". She tried everything. Nothing worked, and she had to leave the dog with a pet sitter when going out of town.
Maybe it would help to get your basenji exhausted before a car ride?
Sorry I can't be more positive.
@tanza We have had him since he was 12 weeks old. Got him from Michelle Gaghan Rafikis American Idol / C-Quest Jokuba Silent Storm. Besides his trip home to our house from hers his next real car ride was from Illinois to Arizona when we relocated 2 years ago. I am opposed to medicating him so now that we are settled we try to limit his car trips. Someone joked with me this week that no wonder he doesn't like the car - every time you put him in it is is for hundreds of miles!
I agree with with those who say this might be motion sickness. As I suffer from motion-sickness myself, the excessive salivating is something I can relate to.
I imagine it isn't much different for a canine.
@mnbadger sounds like he seems to be nervous and close to a motion sickness episode.
Thor our B Boy gets car sick every time and he displays the behavior you are talking about just before he hurls. He does not travel well at all. He gets very ill so we are not able to travel much further than the vet with him...
When we have pups they often have motion sickness when first in the car... some it doesn't bother, others have ongoing issues, but with age it gets better... that said every now and again, one will hurl..... I do make sure that they are fed way before a car ride and water limited... also make sure that they potty before a car ride. Since we go to shows and lure trials, they are in the car quite a lot.... and sleep 95% of the time....
