Travel With Pets – Pet Safety

After our exciting announcement yesterday we want to get back to sharing Pet Safety Tips and information with all of you. Many of you have been thanking us for the reminders – we are so glad you are finding them useful! Today we are going to focus on Travel with Pets since there are still a number of weeks left this summer and your family might still be planning on getting out of town for a weekend or a week. Whether you travel with pets to the lake for the day or you are going on a road trip and bringing your pet along here are safety concerns to be aware of!

1. Make sure your pet has somewhere where they can sit or lay down in the car where they are secure and cannot go flying due to a sudden stop or accident.
2. If your pet is all the way in the way back of your SUV, Mini Van, or even Mini Cooper make sure they are getting enough air to stay cool. Most vehicles do not have air vents all the way in the back and it can get very hot back there without you realizing it. Blast the air every half hour so that it circulates the cool air to your pet.
3. When driving for more then a half hour make sure your pet has access to water. You can just reach for drink when you are thirsty but our pets really can’t tell us when they need something. Make sure they have access to fresh water even if it starts off in the form of ice so it doesn’t splash all over them.
4. Don’t stop and shop with your pets in the car. Yes you might have to leave them while you run to the restroom but come right back. Don’t get distracted as the temperature inside your car will climb very quickly.
5. If you are stopping for something to eat either make it drive through or order your food and come out to your car and sit with your pets with the doors and windows open while you wait for it to be ready. (Make sure to order a little extra so you can give your pet a treat!) Sometimes I will even take them out for a walk while we wait. That way they get some fresh air, a chance to potty, have some water, and stretch their legs.
6. When you stop for a potty walk I like to stop at motels where we can walk around the parking lot. They tend to be set back form the road and are pretty quite during the day. Just make sure to clean up after your pet so no one can get upset that you brought your pet out to walk at a motel that might not be pet friendly. Motels on the road also tend to be right next to somewhere that you can go to the restroom and pick something up to eat.

1. Make sure you book your reservation ahead of time. Let them know how many pets you are traveling with as well as how big they are. Agree to the pet fee before you arrive so there are no surprises at check -in or check out when it is too late to try and find a different place for the night.
2. When you arrive at the hotel / motel for the night before checking in take your pets out for a walk. They have likely been in the car for a number of hours with only limited walks. Yes they might have been sleeping most of the trip but they still need to stretch their legs and go potty. Make sure to clean up after them. Put them back in the car (park in the shade even if you have to move your car a few times) and run in to check into your room.
3. Once you are checked into your room you can go back out to your car and begin to bring everything inside. You will want to do this in one trip so that you can help your pet get used to their new surroundings before leaving them in the room.
4. Put down a bowl of fresh water for your pets to drink. If your pet has a sensitive stomach either travel with gallon water containers filled with your home tap water or buy bottled water.  An upset stomach is not something you want to deal with when traveling.
5. If your dogs don’t travel in the crate make sure that you have some sort of travel crate or pop up crate that they can stay in if you need to leave the room. Hotels / Motels do not appreciate a dog with separation anxiety tearing apart the room or crying for an hour while you are at dinner.  (I try to find someplace to deliver so that I don’t have to leave the dogs alone but that is not always possible.
6. If you do leave the room turn on the tv so that there is some noise for your dogs that is sort of familiar.If you prefer the radio at home tune the room radio to a station your dogs will approve of.
7. Don’t leave the blinds open so that they can see out and bark at everyone or everything going by unless you are with them and can monitor their behavior. Speaking of hotel furniture be considerate. If your dog or cat sleeps on the furniture at home cover the chairs with the bath towels and simply remove bed spreads that cannot be bleached by the hotel.
8. Davinia and Indiana have been staying at Hotels / Motels all their lives so I know exactly how they will behave and what might set them off. I know that after a long drive I cannot just put everything into the room and run out I need to stay and relax with the girls for an hour or so. We test out the beds, watch a little tv, look out the window if there is a window seat or a chair by the window and read our email.

What Travel with Pets tips have you picked up over the years while traveling with your own pets?