Traveling With Your Dog: Some Tips From The Road

We enjoy camping, and love to take our yellow lab, Kayla, along
with us. With Illinois currently as our home base, we’ve taken
her on trips as far away as California, Utah, New Mexico,
Colorado, Arizona, and South Carolina for wonderful camping
trips. Being prepared for road trips with your dog is very
important. And in this article I’d like to share some of the
things I’ve learned from our experiences.

Before you hit the road:

*There’s nothing worse than loading up the car and heading off
for a long-awaited family vacation, only to discover your
carsick dog is throwing up all over the back seat sixty miles
from home. So make sure your dog can handle long car trips well
before you leave town. Take you your dog on several “practice
runs” of varying time/distance, and if your dog does experience
car sickness, consult your vet about possible remedies, or
consider leaving your dog home.

*Speaking of the vet, we get print-outs of all our of dog’s most
recent records to take with us on the road. We do this in case
she has to visit a vet while we are away, and some kennels
require them for short-term boarding and/or grooming. And we
make sure she’s up to date on all of her vaccinations. If one
will expire while we are away, we make sure she gets it before
we leave, even if it’s early.

*If you’ll be staying in motels along the way, make sure you are
familiar with chains that accept dogs in the room. Don’t wait
until you are tired from a long drive to start looking for a
motel, because many won’t allow pets, and you could be searching
for quite a while. We do one of two things. Either we call ahead
and reserve a room at a motel we know accepts pets. Or we plan
to stay at a chain we know allows pets. Motel Six and Holiday
Inn have pretty broad acceptance policies, as do many Super 8′s
and Day’s Inn (though not all, so make sure you know which ones
do). Some motels will allow pets on an individual basis. Just
make sure you have travel guides, or have done internet
searches, so that you are know where you will be welcome with
your pet before you leave home. (For example, AAA guides list
which motels allow pets, and there are many pet-travel websites
that list them as well.)

*If you’ll be camping, make sure you know the rules for dogs in
campgrounds before you arrive. Most private and public
campgrounds will allow pets, but require them to be leashed at
all times. We have discovered that National Parks allow leashed
dogs in parking areas and paved walkways, but most won’t allow
them on hiking trails. Zion National Park has a 2 mile paved
trail on which dogs are allowed, and they welcome in their
campgrounds. Grand Canyon allows dogs on the paved “Rim” trail,
but not on hikes down into the canyon. Bryce Canyon allows dogs,
but only in cars on in parking areas. However, Red Rock Canyon
in the Dixie National Forest, near Bryce, allows dogs not only
in campgrounds, but also on all of their hiking trails (as long
as they are leashed). My advice is to find out before you go by
visiting web sites or calling ahead so that you aren’t
disappointed by the restrictions when you arrive.

What to bring:

*Kayla has her own “suitcase” – and whenever she sees us take it
out of the closet, she knows we are about to take her on a trip
(and she gets very excited). Here is what we keep in her bag:

1. A couple of towels (she’s a lab, likes to swim wherever she
sees water, so they are handy for drying her off, or if she has
an unexpected accident, throws up, etc.).

2. Plenty of plastic grocery bags for picking up after her while
on the road. One of the reasons pet owners are unwelcome in many
places is because they don’t pick up after their dogs in rest
areas, motel lawns, campgrounds, etc. So make sure you always
clean up after your dog.

3. A couple of filled water bottles and water dish. We offer
Kayla water at every rest stop, and occasionally even on the
road if she seems thirsty. Keep her hydrated. As much as dogs
love to travel, it can also be stressful for them.

4. Individual baggies of food portions, if her mealtimes will
occur on the road. We also include a few treats, to reward her
for being such a good girl in the car.

5. Chew toys/balls: Kayla doesn’t usually like to chew things
while we are driving, but some dogs do, and it helps alleviate
boredom.

6. We also bring wet wipes and paper towels, in case of any
spillage or accidents.

7. Bringing a dog bed of some sort is helpful because motels
don’t like dogs on the beds. If your dog uses their bed
regularly at home, it also brings something familiar along with
them. If it will fit, you might put it on the seat where the dog
will ride as well. The familiar scent is comforting, and offers
more comfortable ride for the dog.

*In addition to the items we bring in Kayla’s suitcase, we keep
her medical records in a safe place.

*Some dogs get pretty excited when traveling, and are hard to
restrain. This can cause dangerous situations for drivers. If
your dog has a hard time sitting still during the trip, you
might consider a dog harness which attaches to seat belts. There
are many out there, and make the trip safer for you, and more
comfortable for the dog (like when you make those sudden stops
or turns that throw the dog onto the floor).

While on the road:

*Frequent stops: We try to stop every couple of hours at a rest
stop. Normally Kayla doesn’t need to go potty that often at
home, but being in the car for long stretches can be stressful
and/or boring for a dog. So we stop more frequently to let her
get out and stretch her legs. She LOVES rests stops (all those
new smells) and sniffs every blade of grass she can. We find it
is good for us as well, because when we travel without her, we
stop very rarely. But with Kayla, we find our travel experience
more enjoyable because we get to take a break from driving and
stretch our legs too. Just remember to always pick up after your
dog. It’s the right thing to do, and in some places, it’s the
law.

*We don’t let Kayla stick her head out the window when we are
driving, particularly at high speeds. As much as dogs love doing
this, it can be harmful for them. Objects flying through the air
may strike their faces and do damage to eyes and ears. When we
do open the window to let her hang her head out, we do so only
at lower speeds.

*Never leave your pet alone in your motel room. It’s against
motel policy, and if a dog destroys objects in a room, you have
to pay for them. In addition, if a barking dog annoys other
guests, you may be asked to leave. If a motel has several
problems with pets, they may change their pet policy, so for
your sake and other pet lovers, always stay with your dog.

*On a warm or hot days, we try to never leave Kayla in our
parked car for long periods of time. On the rare occasions that
it’s unavoidable, we try to find shade and leave the windows
cracked, and get back as soon as possible. Most of the time we
can avoid leaving her alone by splitting up to do shopping and
other errands, always leaving one of us with her.

*Related to the suggestion above, we tend to eat “on the road.”
We get fast food or other take-out food while driving, and eat
it in the car so as not to leave Kayla unattended for long
periods. If we do go in to eat at a restaurant, we try to go
after dark, when the sun is down, and leave the window cracked.
Then one of us checks on her every half hour or so (particularly
when it’s very hot) and makes sure she has water and is doing
okay. Traveling in the cooler months makes this less necessary -
but if your dog is a barker it can quickly become a nuisance to
other patrons, so be respectful of them.

Other general suggestions:

*The reality is that sometimes while on the road, we like to
visit places Kayla isn’t allowed. So rather than leave her alone
at camp or in the car, what we do is check around at local
kennels for day boarding possibilities, or even overnight
boarding. For instance, we spent a day at Disneyland a few years
ago, and for $10, she was boarded at the Disney Kennels for the
day (she even got a certificate after her stay). On a rafting
trip in Colorado, we found another day kennel nearby where we
could leave her. And for an evening excursion, we know we can
leave her overnight. Sure she’ll miss us, and we’ll miss her.
But she’ll be safe and well cared for, which is what is most
important. (Be prepared that this is where you may need a copy
of her medical records – and make sure her Bordetella (Kennel
Cough) Vaccine is up to date.)

*Be patient with your pet. Traveling is an exciting experience
for them, but can also be stressful because you are removing
them from their regular routine. Just like children, they may
not behave as they normally do at home. Kayla tends to bark at
anyone who wanders near our campground, and is hard to handle on
her leash when we get anywhere near a river. Be calm and
consistent with your dog, understanding that this is a new
situation for them. And if it seems to be causing more problems
for you and your dog than it’s worth, you may have to consider
leaving your pet at home in the future. Hopefully that won’t
happen – but if it’s what is best for your beloved dog, then you
do have to keep it under consideration.

These are just a few suggestions I have from several trips with
our dog, Kayla. It certainly isn’t exhaustive, and I may add
things as they occur to me or I experience them in future
travels. But I hope the suggestions are helpful for you as you
consider traveling with you dog.