Traveling with your dog: some tips from the road

We enjoy camping and love taking our yellow lab, Kayla, with us. With Illinois currently as our home base, we have taken it as far afield 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 would like to share some of the things that I have learned from our experiences.

Before hitting the road:

* There’s nothing worse than loading up the car and setting off on a long-awaited family vacation, only to find that your dizzy dog ​​is vomiting in the back seat sixty miles from your home. So make sure your dog can handle long car trips well before heading out of town. Take your dog on several variable time / distance “practice runs,” and if your dog experiences dizziness in the car, consult your vet about possible remedies or consider leaving your dog at home.

* Speaking of the vet, we get prints of all the most recent records of our dogs to take with us on a trip. We do this in case you need to visit a vet while we are away, and some kennels require it for short-term boarding and / or grooming. And we make sure you are up to date on all your vaccinations. If one expires while we’re away, we make sure you get it before we leave, even if it’s early.

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

* If you are camping, make sure you know the rules for dogs in camps before you arrive. Most public and private campgrounds allow pets, but require them to be on a leash at all times. We have found that National Parks allow leashed dogs in parking areas and paved walkways, but most do not allow them on hiking trails. Zion National Park has a 2-mile paved trail where dogs are allowed and welcome at their campgrounds. The Grand Canyon allows dogs on the paved “Rim” trail, but not on hikes into the canyon. Bryce Canyon allows dogs, but only in cars in the parking areas. However, Red Rock Canyon in the Dixie National Forest, near Bryce, allows dogs not only in the campgrounds, but also on all of its hiking trails (as long as they are leashed). My advice is to find out before you visit websites or call ahead so that you are not disappointed by the restrictions when you arrive.

What Brig:

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

1. A couple of towels (she is a lab, she likes to swim where she sees water, so they are useful to dry her off, or if she has an unexpected accident, vomits, etc.).

2. Lots of plastic shopping bags to pick 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 their dog’s waste from rest areas, motel lawns, campgrounds, etc. So be sure to always clean up your dog’s litter.

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

4. Individual food portion sachets, if your mealtimes will be on the road. We also include some gifts, to reward her for being such a good girl in the car.

5. Chewing on toys / balls: Kayla generally doesn’t like to chew on things while driving, but some dogs do, and this helps ease boredom.

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

7. Bringing a dog bed of some kind is helpful because motels don’t like dogs in beds. If your dog uses his bed regularly at home, bring something familiar too. If it fits, you can put it on the seat where the dog will also ride. The familiar scent is comforting and offers a more comfortable walk for the dog.

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

* Some dogs get very excited when traveling and are difficult to hold. This can lead to dangerous situations for drivers. If your dog has a hard time staying still during travel, you may consider a dog harness that attaches to seat belts. There are many out there, and they make the ride safer for you and more comfortable for the dog (like when you make those sudden stops or turns that throw the dog to the ground).

While on the road:

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

* We do not allow Kayla to stick her head out of the window when driving, especially at high speeds. As much as dogs love to do this, it can be harmful to them. Flying objects can hit your face and damage your eyes and ears. When we open the window to let it stick our head out, we do it only at lower speeds.

* Never leave your pet alone in your motel room. It is against motel policy, and if a dog destroys items in a room, you must pay for them. Also, if a barking dog is disturbing other guests, it may be asked to leave. If a motel has multiple pet issues, they may change their pet policy, so for your sake and other pet lovers, always keep your dog.

* On hot or warm days, we try to never leave Kayla in our parked car for long periods of time. On the rare occasions when it is unavoidable, we try to find shade and leave the windows broken and return as soon as possible. Most of the time we can avoid leaving her alone by separating to do shopping and other errands, always leaving one of us with her.

* In relation to the previous suggestion, we tend to eat “on the go”. We get fast food or other takeout while we drive, and eat it in the car so we don’t leave Kayla unattended for too long. If we are going to eat at a restaurant, we try to go after dark, when the sun goes down, and we leave the window broken. Then one of us checks it every half hour or so (especially when it’s really hot) and makes sure it has water and is okay. Traveling in the colder months makes this less necessary, but if your dog is a barker, he can quickly become a nuisance to other customers, so be respectful of them.

Other general suggestions:

* The reality is that sometimes, while traveling, we like to visit places that Kayla is not allowed to. So instead of leaving her alone in the camp or in the car, what we do is check the local kennels for boarding possibilities during the day, or even at night. For example, we spent a day at Disneyland a few years ago, and for $ 10, she was boarded at Disney Kennels for the day (she even got a certificate after her stay). On a rafting trip in Colorado, we found another kennel nearby where we could leave her. And for a night excursion, we know that we can leave it overnight. She will surely miss us and we will miss her. But it will be safe and well cared for, which is the most important thing. (Be prepared that this is where you may need a copy of your medical records, and make sure your Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccination is up to date.)

* Be patient with your pet. Traveling is an exciting experience for them, but it can also be stressful because it is taking them out of their usual routine. Like children, they may not behave as they normally do at home. Kayla tends to bark at anyone strolling near our campsite and is difficult to handle on her leash when we approach a river. Stay calm and consistent with your dog, understanding that this is a new situation for him. And if it seems like it’s causing you and your dog more trouble than it’s worth, you may need to consider leaving your pet at home in the future. Hopefully that won’t happen, but if it’s in the best interest of your beloved dog, then you need to keep that in mind.

These are just a few suggestions I have from various trips with our dog, Kayla. It is certainly not exhaustive, and I can add things as they occur to me or experience them on future trips. But I hope the suggestions are helpful to you when considering traveling with your dog.