how to travel with my dog

Question
My husband and I will travel to the beach next holidays.
We will bring with us our Labrador. Our labrador is one year ago, female and named BLUE.

Blue is very active dog, it like sto be playing and running. It is a very restless dog!

The trip will be done by car and the expected lenght: 4 hours.
We have SUV Car so Blue will travel very comfortable, it will have all the back part of the SUV for her.

What can we do to make the trip more comfortable for Blue and to make her have the patience to travel in the car 4 hours without feeling desesperate!

Answer
Thanx for your question. I advise using lots of toys. But not all at once. I would give Blue two or three toys first and then let her play with them for an hour. After that make sure to stop and let her out for a small walk. If your on a highway make sure NO MATTER WHAT to keep her on leash. This is of course for her safety. Then when you get her back in change her toys around and maybe give her a peanut butter or cheez whiz filled bone. Make sure it is VERY big and durable. That should keep her busy for a while. I would wait two hours this time cuz she might like to try sleeping if she gets bored. Then take her for a small walk again and make sure she "goes" if she didn't the first time. Then change her toys around again and you'll be there in an hour. Personally I would keep my dogs in crates on a trip(any trip). Its much safer for them. They are much less likely to get hurt in the case of an accident. And she might just want to sleep more. This is not cruel as some people may think. As long as you don't keep them locked in a crate on a constant basis. They might even get to enjoy it. Some dogs do. It means they are going somewhere(if you only use it for traveling-even short distances). That is my advise for you. I wish you good luck on your way and have a good trip.

Emily