Like humans, dogs can suffer from car sickness when traveling, even for short distances. But if your dog had the choice, he’d prefer a smooth-driving electric vehicle over a noisy diesel car. British website CarGurus did the scientific test with the help of Daniel Mills, professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, and his team at the University of Lincoln.

The test was set up with 20 randomly selected dogs riding alternatively for 10 minutes around the university’s premises in a Genesis GV70, both diesel and electric versions, and a Volkswagen ID.3 EV and a diesel T-Roc, the closest match. They all got a heart monitor to see differences in reactions, and team members studied and filmed all behavior that could signify stress during the ride.

Nausea and overexcitement

Half the dogs went in the electric car first, and half the dogs in the diesel first, to eliminate statistically the effect of having done something once, maybe affecting how one responds a second time.

“A lot of dogs do struggle with travel. We recognize that there are many reasons why dogs struggle with traveling, like nausea, overexcitement, and so on. Engine noise may be a factor in this, and given the growth of electric cars, nobody’s actually looked at this yet,” Daniel Mills told CarGurus.

More relaxed in an EV

The starting hypothesis was that dogs would prefer the lack of engine noise and the smoother ride in an electric car and would be more relaxed. But things like being sensible to magnetic fields were taken into account too.

Earlier studies showed that dogs, indeed, are sensitive to the earth’s magnetism when relieving themselves, for instance. They tend to line themselves up to a north-south axis when doing their thing. No kidding, it was published in the Frontiers in Zoology journal in 2013.

No influence of magnetic fields

Ultimately, the test didn’t reveal any evidence that the dogs were aware or influenced by possible magnetic fields in the EVs. The study did show “a subtle but noticeable preference for electric cars,” as they tended to be calmer and stayed lying down more than in diesel cars. There they stood up 3,5 times more, indicating they were less relaxed in these cars.

According to the researchers, the heart monitors revealed only minor differences in the dogs’ resting heart rates after travel, which was not statistically significant enough. Still, in combination with the behavior seen, a sign in the same direction: EVs pleased more.

The latter was evident, with (two) dogs known for suffering more than others from nausea while traveling (shown by a combination of lip licking, panting, and salivation), feeling better in the EV, and having a noticeably reduced heart rate. As other studies suggest, 44% of British dog owners experience their dog becoming car sick; they know what car to choose for the next.