11 Things To Remember When Travelling With Your Dog (# 3 is Rarely Discussed)
When planning a trip, there is no reason to leave your dog behind. In fact, dogs serve as a great companion during travel or trip, and there are also numerous travel destinations and hotels all over the world nowadays that allow their visitors to come with their pets. This significantly ensures that the visitors have an awesome time together during their trip. But before even thinking about leaving your house with your dog, there are certain things that you need to remember when you are planning to travel with your dog so that your travel may be peaceful and also enjoyable.
Having the right and sufficient information concerning your dog’s well-being will be of great benefit as you will be able to solve any issue that may arise.
What Are These Things That You Need to Remember when Traveling with Your Dog?
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Familiarize your dog with the car as early as possible
Dogs are known to have discomforts when they are subjected to a new way of life or rather unfamiliar surroundings. As you plan for the travel, it is important for you to take this into consideration as it will ensure that your dog isn’t stressed out during the trip.
You can take your dog with you when going for your errands such as when going for shopping. Make sure that he is accompanied by his toys and some encouragement such as treats so that he can play and enjoy himself while in the car.
With such short travel, your dog will get used to the car with time, and this will serve a long way especially when planning for travel as he will be comfortable and relaxed since he is used to the car.
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Pack a bag for your dog
Having a separate bag for your dog is very important as you will be able to access it easily compared to when you are having both of your staff in one bag.
Ensure that all necessary items required for your dog during the travel are all in her bag. Such items may include blankets, water goggles, medication, flea comb and tick remover, brush and shampoo, food and food bowl, water, water bottle, and bowl. All this item will offer much help during your travel.
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Learn about the rules and restrictions of the place you planning to travel with your dog
It is of much importance to first learn the rules and restriction concerning animal transportation of your destination.
You can consult an embassy of the country you are visiting if you are traveling to another country or ask some of your friends and family members who may be living in the town you plan to visit with your dog. It will ensure that you have all the requirements such as dog certificates of your dog as they may be required to prove that your dog is free from any diseases that can be transmitted to other animals in your destination.
Having knowledge about your destination will also help you file any paperwork that may be needed before making your travel.
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Carry with you some considerable amount of plastic bags for your dog to use when going to the toilet
Dogs will always have the same needs whether they are at home or in a new environment. They will need to release waste naturally as they would do when you are at home.
Therefore, ensure that you have purchased sufficient amount of plastic bags for your dog to use when they want to release themselves.
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Have your dog checked by the vet
Before making your travel, it’s important to consult your vet to know whether your dogs are fit for the travel.
If they haven’t had a vaccination for quite some time, then this is the appropriate time to have them vaccinated and also checked for other important examination such as whether they will be able to adapt to the new environment. Make sure that all vaccinations are up to date and that your dog has been applied flea and tick vaccination so that they don’t carry them to the new environment.
Also ensure that are important medication have been packed before leaving for the journey. Copies of medical record should also be carried along such as rabies certificate in case their production may be needed in the new destination.
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In case your dog is not used to carrier, introduce it as early as possible
It is important to purchase your carriers as early as possible so that your dog can get familiar with it and have some improvement such as new fittings to enhance comfortability and relaxation to your dog during the travel.
It is advisable to purchase a folding carrier or crate as they are much convenient and your dog is likely to feel more secure in it. You can purchase them as early as possible and use when at home or even when visiting a friend as it will help your dog to be used to it and this will help a lot when you are making your travel.
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Be aware of other dogs and pets that may be at your destination
Your dog’s behavior is likely to get affected by the presence of other dogs or pets at your destination hence it is important to be aware of this conditions to ensure that your dogs can cope up with this kind of environment.
To do this, you can take visits in your local environment where other dogs are and observe how your dog behaves in their presence. After this kind of observation, you will now be aware of the reaction that you are going to get when you visit your destination.
Having your dog interact with other dogs will help her to develop a behavior that accommodates other dogs hence developing a better relationship.
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Arrange for a dog care at your destination
If the travel involves attending an event such as a graduation or a wedding that will separate you from your dog, arrange with your friends or family at the destination to help you locate professionals who are going to take care of your dogs while you are away from them. It is proved without any doubt that unfamiliar environment can cause discomfort and anxiety.
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Have an updated ID for your dog
It can be awkward when your dog gets lost during your travel and the only emergency contact on its tag is your home contact.
Therefore, have an updated contact which can help you trace it when lost. In case you staying in a hotel make sure you include the hotel contact as this can help to access you in case your dog gets lost during your travel.
Also, ensure that you use waterproof marker and tape so that you can make any important changes to your contact.
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Make sure you have carried with you enough water for you and your dog
Some dogs are very sensitive when it comes to water. It is important to carry enough water to sustain you during the travel so that you don’t run out of it and be forced to take the one in the new environment which may be unfit for you and your dog.
In case you note that the water that you have carried is not sufficient for your stay, start mixing it with that in the new environment to ensure that it does not affect either you or your dog.
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Never leave your dog in a parked car alone
Cars are known to get heated up very first especially when parked in the sun. The high temperature is very dangerous for your dog as it can easily succumb to heatstroke. Cold weather can also cause temperatures inside your car to drop significantly making your dog to freeze to death.
I hope readers of this article will enjoy it and will incredibly help them when planning for their travel as it emphasizes on those minor details that most authors leave behind while writing about trips with dogs. I welcome any comments related to the article and encourage readers to share it widely so that it can also be useful to others.
About Bio:
I’m Cindy Grant, founder of NolongerWild.com and also a crazy fan of dogs, cats and all kinds of in-house little cute pets. Feel free to read all amazing things about Pet’s Breed, Training, Behavior, Food and Health on my blog. With such big passions in pets, I strongly hope NolongerWild will be a friendly community where I can connect with those who share the same hobby.
