I believe that dementia is a very real affliction in elderly dogs just as humans. If something traumatic did not happen to her, I would suspect dementia. Not trying to be mean or anything but they do have the same problems as people and 12 is pretty old!

something in your dogs brain changed. it could be dementia, but it could be an inner ear infection, an inner ear problem, a tumor or something else. she is obviously impacted by the motion of the car which is stressing her. Sedatives might even make it worse. Have the vet check out your dogs head. Good luck

Thank you Arkansas girl and Mazer for responding. I had not thought of dementia, but it makes some sense. Our other springer who lived to be 15 started acting crazy during thunderstorms with the exact same behavior as this one in the car....and, this one is also acting crazy during storms, but that has been going on since before the car behavior started. I will get our vet to check out her inner ear and see about the dementia as well. Perhaps it's time to board her when we leave town :(

I just found this link to some information about the subject, link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: dog dementia article

Arkansas girl: Thanks for the link. It was very informative and their are other relative articles on that website. Angel doesn't seem to display any of those symptoms though, so I'm wondering if it is more inner ear than dementia. I think I'll have to keep researching the mystery!

My first thought was inner ear problems, because my dog had a number of issues with that as she got older, and that could definitely be a factor where the car is concerned.

I was also wondering if you tahoe is new to you? As in, did this start when you got a new vehicle? It's possible that the vehicle rides and rolls differently and is causing motion sickness she didn't experience in your other vehicle.

I've got an old cat with some signs of dementia. I have used homeopathic anxiety drops made especially for pets with her. It has been a surprisingly good help in her case- just seems to take the edge off her anxiousness and makes her a much more relaxed cat who is easier to be around. These can be found inexpensively and might be worth a try if your vet gives you an all clear on her ears. I tracked down the drops I bought on Amazon.

quasifish...the Tahoe is new but she rode in it at least 2-3 times on the long trip before she started acting strange. I had read on the internet that something like that could make the difference. It is taller and probably a more unstable ride for her than the other vehicle. I think the inner-ear issues are definitely worth asking the vet about. By the way, what were the homeopathic drops you found?

Angeldog, the anxiety drops I use for my kitty are Homeopet Anxiety Relief. I think they are based on chamomile and valerian. I know a lot of people use the Bach Rescue Remedy(???) for anxious animals, that is widely available and is based on a variety of flower extracts. I'm not sure if it includes both chamomile and valerian, but I tried the rescue remedy a few years back and didn't have much luck with it, so I was surprised that these worked well for the cat.

Thank you Quasifish....I'll look online and order them. I hope it works for the next trip!!!