Six Important Tips for Successful Car Travel with Your Dog

Traveling with your dog can be enjoyable for you both. But there are several considerations and tips to follow to assure that it is a positive experience for you and your pet. This article identifies five tips for consideration before taking your dog along on your next out of town trip.

Nothing is quite as fun as packing up and heading out of town for a weekend or a longer trip. A change of scenery from time to time is important to recharge your battery. This is true for your dog as well. Most dogs love to travel and to be exposed to new places just like you do. But there are a few things that you need to do to make the trip a positive experience for everyone.

TIP ONE

Make sure that you take with you items that your dog is fond of on the trip. Being ripped away from their routine and surroundings can be traumatic for your dog. If your pet has a favorite toy or blanket, be sure to take it along with you in the car. For more comforts of home, you can also bring their food and water dishes from home to use when you arrive at your destination. Also pack a good supply of paper towels and blankets for cleaning up dog hair, dirty paws and the like.

TIP TWO

Keep small plastic baggies of food and treats with you as you travel with your dog. The main supply of their food for vacation can be kept in the main luggage. Even if you do not think that your dog will need to eat while traveling because it will be a short amount of time before you reach your destination, you still need to have some food on hand in case something happens and your are detained longer on the road then planned. Keep these baggies of food in a couple of different bags that are being carried on the trip. This will help you from misplacing the dog food when you really need it.

TIP THREE

If your dog does not currently travel often, keep in mind that it could be a traumatic experience him to travel with you. To lessen this possibility, take some time well before your trip to take your dog in the car for short trips to acclimate him to the experience. My poodle Buffy, who wasn't accustomed to riding in the car except to the vet, without fail would throw up as soon as she rode in the car. That is until I began taking her with me to the park when I walked. She soon associated riding in the car with something she enjoyed instead of something unpleasant. Buffy's nausea when riding in the car was soon replaced with excitement.

TIP FOUR

Keep a clean water supply with you as you travel with your pet. You can keep a couple of bottles of water with you just for this. There are pop up bowls that you can use as a drink container for your pet when you are on the road.

TIP FIVE

Make frequent stops during the drive - at least once per hour to hour and a half. Dogs can get car sick just like humans and if you dog gets nervous out of his routine, he may need more potty breaks than normal. From my experience, my dogs have been so excited to travel, that they wanted to get out of the car and explore often.

TIP SIX

One of the most important things to do when traveling with a dog is to make sure they have identification on them. The identification should clearly state their name, your name, address and phone number. This will be a lifesaver if you should become separated from your pet. This happened to a friend of mine who was traveling from Florida to Texas in a convertible with a friend and her Golden Retriever, Goldie. At some point while driving down the freeway Goldie fell out of the convertible onto the road. It was a miracle that she was reunited with Goldie about five hours later when she received a call on her mobile phone from the person who found Goldie limping along the highway. If my friend had not had a current identification tag on Goldie, she would have lost her best friend forever.

Traveling with your dog can be a fun experience for you both. Once you have taken one trip with your dog, hopefully you will want to take him on every trip. Your dog will love exploring new places and spending time with you. By following the tips above you can make sure that your trip with your dog is fun and free for you both.