Travel With Dogs: 5 Tips for Traveling with Your Pet

Dog Traveling Tips – Have Pooch Will Travel

Family vacations often include a four-legged traveler.

In fact, more dogs are traveling every year with their dog owner, by car, bus and airplane.

After finding a dog friendly destination, you will need tips to make your travel enjoyable and memorable for your pet.

If you follow these simple dog travel tips, you can make your excursions, fun, safe and pooch-friendly.

For car travel, take a quick test jaunt around the neighborhood.

Start with 15 minutes of driving time. If you dog does not panic or get sick, make the test runs progressively longer.

Most dogs love car travel, but others get queasy easily. Check with your vet if nausea occurs during or after your drive.

Purchase travel dog tags.

To prevent Fido or Precious for being lost, get additional tags to identify your prized pooch with its rightful owner. Ensure that the tags have enough room for your cell phone number, the dogs name, vet’s name and your hometown.

Buy a secure carrier for small dogs.

If you are traveling by car, large dogs can wear doggy seatbelts or the ones supplied with your vehicle. However, small dogs that do not fit securely in the seat belt need plastic carriers for their safety.

Keep your dog secure and out of your lap, while the car is in motion. If you suddenly need to hit the brakes, you do not want your pet to be hurt or severely injured.

Prepare in advance for air travel for dogs.

If you and your pooch are going to fly the friendly skies, contact your airlines a minimum of 4 weeks in advance to learn about their requirements for dog air travel. Here are a few tips specifically for air travel:

• Book non-stop flights to shorten the amount of time your dog is in transit, and avoid any transportation mishaps.
• Ask if your small dog can travel in the main cabin. For some airlines, dog who weigh 10 pounds and less can ride in a carrier under your set.
• Large dogs must fly as cargo in USDA-approved kennels with a veterinary health certificate issued ten days or less before the trip.
• Avoid cargo transport for your dog; because some animals are stressed by the extreme temperatures in the loading areas.
• Pack your dog’s up-to-date veterinary history, proof of vaccinations, and your vet’s contact information.
• Bring familiar toys, food and bedding for dog air travel.

Find a destination daycare for your dog.

If your trip is a minimum of a week or more, find a daycare for your dog. To prevent your pet from sitting in the hotel or cabin all day, look for a facility that will walk and exercise your dog during the daytime. On the other hand, find an off-leash dog park with outdoor seating for you and your dog to exercise and soak in the sun.

To make your next vacation pet-friendly consider these tips. While most dog owners are committed to strict feeding and playtimes for their pets, few are prepared to take their precious pooch away from home without a travel plan that is comfortable for their canine companions.

More Resources for Owners Traveling With Dogs

Travel With Your Dog – How to Travel With Your Dog

Dogs and Travel – LoveToKnow Dogs

Top 10 Tips for Traveling With Dogs

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Dog Carriers, Pet Care, Travel With Dogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.