Have you thought about what you would do with your beloved dog when you go on holiday? At present, I have three dogs that need to be cared for so here are my travelling tips with dogs or dog in a car.
I have travelled many kilometres with three to five dogs on board and have always had lots of fun, especially in the planning stage.
First off, if I am travelling a long distance I work out how to divide my travel into distances that will not tire myself or my dogs to the point where we are all exhausted at our arrival point. This is not helpful to me as the driver or my dogs as we do not have time to unwind properly and be fresh enough for the next day’s journey.
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I usually make six hours of travel my daily limit, seven at the most which has worked well for us over the years.
As I feed my dogs twice a day to even out their food intake I offer a small breakfast before we head off as I do not want my dogs to have uneasy stomachs due to the travel time. Puppies will sometimes not travel well until they mature.
I have only had one dog who used to suffer badly from travel sickness which we eventually conquered with patience and many short trips to help her adjust and I even sang songs to her to take her mind off the car motion.
We worked at this together and with love and conditioning, she looked forward to these adventures.
As it is best to stop every two hours to relax from the concentration of driving, this is a welcome time for my dogs to have a toilet break themselves, have a drink or just have a walk around and a sniff. As most people like to chat with you about your dog or their dog, this is a good opportunity for your dog to socialise with other folk and welcome a pat or two.
My travelling tips with dogs or dog in a car would be … depending on the age of my dog it would depend on how I would secure him or her inside the car, if a young puppy I secure a crate in my car and place the puppy in the crate, usually with a toy to snuggle into or play with. If I only had one dog, I would leave the dog in this crate until adult size, providing the size of the crate accommodates my car companion when fully grown.
If my dog has outgrown the crate size I would purchase a well-constructed harness and attach the harness to a seatbelt. My suggestion is that the seatbelt attachment is of good quality, not the cheap ones as they do not always remain attached when put under pressure I have learned.
My three dogs are all adults now, so I have had built in the back of my SUV a covered shelf that my dogs can lie on together which then allows any luggage to be packed underneath this shelf. They are harnessed and each attached to a short strong leash that in turn is anchored to the baby car seat hooks that are part of modern cars.
The lunchtime stopover is usually the most fun as I either stop at a park that we can explore together or maybe even a lake where they can paddle or have a swim if safe to do so. I always have towels handy to dry them which is also a good idea if the rain is pelting down. Soaked dogs in the car is not a good option, so best to be prepared. After all, six to seven hours travel is not unmanageable and allows for longer stays at your stopping points if need be.
I like to plan my travel to be four hours in the morning with a two hour travel break in between and allow at least ninety minutes for the lunch break.
This leaves me two hours to my destination, or if three hours I would stop again for a rest break around the ninety minute mark.
This timing allows us to arrive at our planned stop or destination in time to unpack, go for a long walk and then relax for the evening.
Before our bedtime, I usually take them for a short walk to engage them in seeing their new surroundings before settling down for the night.
I always stay in pet-friendly cabins or pet-friendly houses, as I will not stay if my dogs are not allowed indoors.
As I respect the accommodation I stay at, I always have foldable crates packed in my car which the dogs are kept in when inside and I always sweep up after myself. This way I have acquired many great references from accommodation owners that welcome me to stay again, or I can present these references to other owners when I am booking my stay for my next holiday adventure.
Trust the above helps you with travelling tips with dogs or dog in a car.
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Until next time…
With Love, Success and Inspiration
Robin Oliver
www.robinoliveronline.com/blog
