Car Sickness I think

Question
QUESTION: I have a 7 month old std. poodle.  We got her at 2-1/2 months when we were in Florida - at 5 months we travelled to New York (2 days at 10 hours) without a care in the world, Maggie did not get sick, anxious or anything; she just had a good time.  Now we are in NY and she seems to get car sick all the time.  She mostly drools but she is so miserable.  I sit in the back of the car with her and have her head on my lap with a very thick towel.  If I am not in the back, she just stands up and drools all over my husband who is driving.  However, now, if she spots the car in the street and before she even gets into it she starts to drool profusely.  At the suggestion of the vet I gave her Benadryl but that doesn't seem to help much and I certainly don't give her meds just to walk her in the street (when she some times passes the car).  Any ideas.

ANSWER: You need to slowly condition her to realise that cars are good.  Start off just having her in the car, not moving,  and reward her.  Start increasing the amount of time she is in the car. Then begin taking her for short rides,  really short to begin with.  Take her places that are fun such as the park or somewhere to go o a nice walk,  this way she will associate riding in the car with good things. Maybe get her a doggy seatbelt if you haven't got one. If I am wrong and she isn't worried by the car for some reason,  and It is simply a sickness thing then I can't help.  The fact that you say she will drool when she passes the car makes me think it isn't sickness.

Try this and get back to me.

:-)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: When we were in Florida for the first five months we did go for short rides every day and usually to a park.  Nothing bothered her.  Also, the ride up to New York which was 2 full days was the same.  It only started happening when in NY and it doesn't matter where we are going.  Every weekend we go on a ride to a ferry boat which she loves and then to the beach which she also lovs.  I just don't get it.  I guess she can be associating seeing the car to times when se was car sick - far stretch I think.  I do have a seat belt and will try it this weekend.  What do you think?

Answer
Not a far stretch at all, that is what has probably happened.  Our dog when we first got her was horribly sick for days after eating some gravy we had put on her food.  After that we couldn't get her to eat.  After 4 days of this I was terrified,  and was a bit stumped.  Then I thought of something.  What we ended up doing was getting her a new food dish.  She began eating immediately.  She was associating being sick with her old dish.  A new dish and the same food (minus gravy of course) and she was fine.  Dogs form strong associations with past experiences.  Look at Pavlovs dogs. The other thing you can look at are travel sickness medicine for dogs.  I don't agree with the use of benadryl,  as I find it makes dogs into furry zombies.  

Tell me what you think.