Planning Holiday Travel with Your Dog

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The holidays are all about family—including our four-legged family members. If you’re headed on a holiday getaway this season, whether for a white Christmas at Grandma’s house or a sunny vacation to take a break from the cold, you’ll find that, with some pre-trip preparations, your furry family members can enjoy the fun as well. Here’s a look at our top tips for making sure you and your dog have yourself a merry little trip:

Before the Trip

·         Book early and check it twice. With hotels in peak season during the holiday week, be sure to make those plans and reconfirm before you hit the road. Book your hotel directly and make a note of the person you spoke with in case of complications while traveling. Also, avoid any check-in surprises by describing the size and breed of your dog.

·         Visit Your Vet. If you’re traveling out of state by car or flying anywhere with your dog, don’t forget to visit your vet to obtain a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI). Finally, be sure to ask for a copy of your dog’s immunization records to carry on your trip.

Packing for Success

·         Pack for success. Pack everything you think your dog will need not just for the holiday for a few extra days in case of delays. Medications, food, treats, a crate, toys, an extra leash, an ID tag, and more should all be on your list.

·         Be prepared for accidents. It’s not a matter of being naughty or nice—potty accidents just happen, and they happen more frequently on the road. Be a good hotel or house guest with a little emergency bag of supplies: a roll of paper towels, a bottle of Rug Doctor Urine Eliminator spray, and plenty of waste bags.

·         Pack the scent of home. While it’s fun to gift your dog a new toy or bed for the holidays, your dog will especially appreciate the comforting scent of home on his everyday bed, plush toys, or blanket.

On the Road

·         Plan to travel more slowly. Build in extra potty stops for your dog as well as walks. Always clean up after your dog, even in parking lots.

·         Place an extra ID tag on your dog. ID tags are especially important when traveling; consider a second tag with your cell number or, if you’ll be at a relative’s home for a few days, their local address and phone number.

·         Buckle up. Icy roads and holiday traffic make it extra important to secure your dog in a seat belt, booster seat, or crate. Not only will pet safety systems keep you from becoming distracted by a dog coming up into the front seat, they’ll also protect your dog and all the occupants of your car in the event of an accident.

At Your Destination

·         Designate a pet guardian. In the excitement of a holiday family gathering, it’s easy to lose track of your dog. Make one member in your family responsible for your dog so there’s no confusion.

·         Beware of decorations. For all the beauty of holiday decorations, they can be hazardous to your dog. Although your dog may not tamper with your home decorations, the excitement of a new destination, whether a home or hotel, may make that tinsel, strings of lights, or dangling ornament tempting.

·         Watch out for holiday foods. Especially if your holidays will be spent visiting family, keep an eye out for holiday goodies that spell trouble to our dogs. Chocolate, raisins, grapes, and liquor all must be avoided. Ham and turkey bones as well as string used to truss turkeys are other holiday hazards.

With just a few easy preparations, you can make sure this is the best time of the year. Holiday travel can be a great way for you to build memories with your dog for a gift that you’ll treasure forever.

About the Authors

Paris Permenter and John Bigley are the publishers of DogTipper.com and the authors of the newly-released DogTipper’s Texas with Dogs (Open Road, distributed by Simon and Schuster). The full-color book features the most dog-friendly locations across the Lone Star State. For more information, visit www.dogtipper.com and www.TexaswithDogs.com. 

5 Dog Travel Products for Vacation

Guest post by Richard Howe

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
Seat Belted In for Safety

With Spring already upon us, it is time to start thinking about the warmer months ahead- and of the holiday adventures that await. If your dogs are anything like mine, then they will be looking forward to taking a break every bit as much as you are! Travelling with any pet requires adequate preparation, as all experienced travelers will know only too well. To help make life on the road with your dog more enjoyable and comfortable for both of you, here are our top five must pack products:

Seat Belt Harnesses

Although the law varies from country to country, in my home nation, the UK, it is a little known fact that all dogs travelling in cars should be adequately restrained. This means that even if your dog is an extremely well-behaved passenger you could be breaking the law if it isn’t properly buckled in. One option is to transport your dog in a crate, but if you would rather not use this option (and my two Borders are the perfect example of dogs that would rather not!) there are alternatives. These days there are several great seat belt harnesses especially designed for dogs available on the market. Adjustable for all sizes of dog, they allow your pet to travel safely in the main body of the car without danger of falling off the seat or jumping up and distracting the driver.

Identification Tags

Whether it is via micro-chipping or a more traditional name and address tag, you should always make sure that your dog can be easily identified should it get loose. When travelling away from familiar surroundings dogs are far more likely to get spooked and make a bolt for it. Although this is unlikely to happen, you do want to be prepared. In my local neighborhood most people would recognize my dogs should they break out of the garden (which thankfully they haven’t) but on the road the same simply does not apply. Your dog should already be easily identifiable but if they are not, then before you set off on the road is the perfect time to take care of this important detail.

Seat Covers

This is another product which we have found to be invaluable. Once again there are a wide variety of seat covers on the market but all work in the same basic manner by clipping in place over the rear seats of the car. Some even hook around the headrests of the front seats forming a hammock style effect and a really comfortable travelling environment for your dog. Covers not only help keep hairs off the seats but also muddy paws,  which on holiday are almost certainly unavoidable! Some people use dog beds for the same purpose but these are hard to use in conjunction with a harness. All good covers should be compatible with seat belt harnesses, but if you can’t afford a cover then a towel or rug should do the job.

Something old and something new

Although some dogs love travelling, others find it to be a stressful experience. A good way to help mitigate this is to bring along some familiar items such as toys, or if you can manage their own bed. Bringing along some of their favorite treats for the journey can really help to keep them happy and relaxed. Holidays are also a good time to try out some new toys or dog clothes. There are so many brilliant toys on the market that it is hard to know where to start, but if your dog is a strong swimmer and you are heading near safe-to-swim-in water, then you might want to look at some of the floating aqua toys which are available from most good pet stores.

Water dispensers

Of all the gadgets which we have bought for our dogs over the years, this has proven to be one of the most invaluable. Keeping your dogs hydrated is incredibly important when you are travelling with them and these products help make that much easier. There are many different designs from non-spill bowls to bottles with fold out trays but they all fulfill the same function of allowing you to easily carry and present water whilst on the move. We wouldn’t leave home with one!

These are five products which we have found to be invaluable when we are travelling with our dogs- but we could quite easily write a list of twenty! Please share your most treasured travel products in the comments below.

This guest post was sponsored by Dogs Corner of the UK.

Dog-Safe Travel, Around Town and on the Highway, Part III of III

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko
Even with Back Seats Upright
Tanner has Plenty of Space to Lie Down

 My friends at Pet Auto Safety have helped me provide Tanner a safe way to travel in my newer vehicle--a Prius. While traveling with passengers in the backseat, I had to find a way to secure Tanner safety, without the room for a large dog crate in back. I needed another solution. 

Since I'm fortunate enough not to need my back seats very often, I generally opt to fold them over to give Tanner some extra room, while allowing me additional cargo area as well. Folding the seats down also helps to keep the seats clean, so that when I do need them, I won't be embarrassed by a ton of dog fur.  Tanner enjoys the extra space too :)

In the back of my vehicle, there are a couple of loops intended for baggage tie down. They are perfect for attaching the crash-tested seatbelt that Tanner now wears in the car. As of the day I purchased it, it was still the only model on the market that has successfully passed crash testing, just like our human seat belts. Admittedly, he looks like he's ready for a parachute jump, but he doesn't know that, so don't tell him.

When Tanner's new seat belt system arrived, I allowed him to get acquainted with it before putting it on him. He sniffed, inspected and decided it was nothing more than a fancy harness (he was right!) and that was that. I'd like to think that my matter-of-fact attitude helped him realize this was nothing to be feared. Tanner has a typical harness that we have used for agility training, biking, and other purposes over the years. He's used to the idea of wearing things--even a backpack. That probably helped us, as there was virtually no adjustment period.

When it was time to put the harness on, I laid it out and found the neck opening, grasping it carefully. I called him to me, requested a SIT, and matter-of-factly placed the harness over his head. He stood to allow me to buckle it, clearly signaling he had no anxiety over this new harness. After all, it was merely a sturdier version of his other one.

My only surprise was that the buckles are as strong and secure as our human seatbelt buckles are. That loud click sent me a clear message: Tanner will be safe in this seatbelt. I liked that.

© Carrie Boyko
Back Seat Travel, Safe and Secure

The strapping mechanism comes with flexibility built right in. You can strap your dog to baggage tie-downs, or place him on a seat and hook the strap right to the seatbelt. You can even place the existing car seatbelt through the back of his harness for extra protection.  Each option gives you different possibilities for movement, as does the adjustment of the strapping. 

I learned that some dogs require more freedom of movement for safety, while others need added security and a position with less movement. It's important to read the documentation to evaluate your dog's needs and adjust the strapping to meet them.

© Carrie Boyko
Trial Run

Before taking Tanner on his first ride, I had measured and estimated the length I desired in the seatbelt strap. This determines how much movement he has, and allows me to keep him clear of the front seat area, to avoid impact with the seat backs in a collision. 

When Tanner hopped into the back of the car, I called him to me and attached the strap to the mega-tough loop on his harness, then clicked the belt onto the adapter for the baggage tie-down.  Before I got myself seat-belted in, he had already determined his boundaries, as established by the belt. He assumed a down position, looking out the rear window of my Prius, and off we went, happily visiting the bank and a dog park. This was the ultimate reward for Tanner's quick-adjustment to his new safety equipment. Way to go Tanner!

© Carrie Boyko
Off-Leash Play
The Best Way to End a Day

Related Reading:
Dog-Safe Travel, Part I
Dog-Safe Travel, Part II
Be Smart. Ride Safe.