Pack a Bag With Your Dog’s Necessities
Put a bag together with your dog’s traveling items to ensure you and they have everything needed. This can include:
Put the travel bag in an easy-to-reach place for quick access. An excellent essentials bag is the Modokers Pet Travel Bag. It includes travel bowls, a water placemat, and more!
**Make sure to tag your dog correctly. Tagging is vital to help identify your dog in case they are separated from you.. Using a microchip is very effective, but a dog collar will work fine.
Pack food and water for your trip. If your dog eats raw good, ensure that you keep it as cool as possible and in an airtight container, and do not feed it to your dog if you suspect it has gone bad.
Canned dog food requires refrigeration but can last for up to three days if stored properly. Make sure to feed your dog from a new can for every meal to avoid making your pet sick. Always follow the storage instructions provided by the manufacturer for optimum storage methods for canned foods.
Dry dog food is the most efficient choice to feed your dog while traveling in a car. To store dry foods, place them in an airtight container and keep them in a cool and dry place. Take extra care to make sure that the food does not get wet.
Remember moderation – give your dog smaller amounts only when on planned breaks. Provide water throughout the whole trip to keep your pup hydrated.
Choose a Suitable Restraint Option
Many pet owners in America do not use restraints, but they are critical to help secure and protect large dogs while traveling. Options for securing your dog include:
Crash-tested dog crates are the best option to transport large dogs. Some dogs may be skittish about riding in a crate, but they do provide the best protection for your dog. In some US states, using a dog crate when transporting a dog in a car is a law.
The most important thing to look out for when choosing a crate is to pick the right size – this will be most comfortable for your pet. The MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate on Amazon is a great crate to use for large dogs because it’s spacious and gives them lots of visibility. Note that the size of some dog crates might require putting down your back seat or putting the crate in the cargo area.
A seat belt harness keeps a dog secure in one position in a car. Harnesses are especially effective for well-behaved dogs; they work just like seat belts, and come in various designs.
Generally, the best choice is a harness with a full chest plate that works like a leash. This type of harness offers optimum comfort while in transit and the best protection for your dog in a car crash.
VavoPaws dog harness on Amazon is an example of a fully-functional and easy-to-use harness that you can use to transport your dog safely.
Whatever harness you choose to use, be sure to follow the instructions that come with that particular product to ensure that you are using it correctly and that your dog is safe and comfortable.
Dog guards keep dogs away from the driver while in a car and are sometimes called dividers or back seat barriers. They are a collection of bars that separate the back seat or the cargo area from the rest of the car. Well-designed dog guards also provide some protection to your dog in the event of a crash. However, to adequately protect your dog, using a restraint while using a dog guard is optimal.
The Rabbitgoo Dog Car Barrier on Amazon is an example of a dog guard that helps to keep your dog safe in the cargo space while traveling and is relatively inexpensive.
When traveling with your dog, take regular breaks to give your furry friend time to exercise, eat and use the bathroom. Ideally, a stop every three hours or so, for 20 minutes, to allow your dog to burn off energy. Remember to keep your pup on a leash during their exercise. Other tips include:
Check state laws – in some states, leaving a dog in a car alone is illegal, no matter if air-conditioning is on..
Easy Access to Travel Essentials
There is nothing worse than 5 minutes after leaving a rest stop being forced to pull over yet again to retrieve something stored overhead in the car carrier.
My best advice is to try and consider anything and everything you might possibly need access to and keep it in a bag or safely stored nearby.
Call it a Go Bag, an Essentials Bag, or Mom’s Bottomless Pit Bag. This is the bag that contains your most essential items you need to have on hand at all times whether for convenience or emergency.
BIG DOG MOM TIP: If you have children, consider empowering them to pack their own Go Bag as well so they can begin to be responsible for their own stuff.
My car travel bag contains only dog-related items as my (Bottomless Pit) purse stores my personal belongings.
Here are just a few of the items I don’t leave home without when I am traveling with big dogs:
How to Travel with a Dog in the Car
While some pets are compact enough to sit happily in a travel bag or crate, embarking on a road trip with oversized pets can be a challenge.
As any dog-owner can attest, one question that always comes up when planning a trip is, “And what about the dogs?”
Traveling with an 80-pound Weimarener and 65-pound Vizsla is not considered packing light, but after years of practice, it’s become a manageable task.
The more exercise your dog gets before and during the trip, the calmer and less bored (meaning less destructive) your pooch will be. It can be hectic getting yourself and the car packed and ready before the big road trip, but taking your dog out for a walk or run before hopping in the car will most definitely make it a more relaxed car ride for everybody.
For those of you with herding dogs, retrievers, spaniels or any other high-energy canine consider wearing him out the day before, as well. Having two excitable dogs myself, this can be the a real make-it-or-break-it factor.
Having even a quasi-itinerary can be helpful when embarking on a road trip with your pet, especially if you want to include it in family activities. One of the biggest tasks is finding a hotel which will let Roscoe cuddle in bed with you.
A couple of the most helpful sites are www.bringfido.com and www.dogfriendly.com which lists pet-friendly hotels given your destination; you can also check out. In my experience, La Quinta has always been the most easily accessible budget hotel chain and hasn’t failed me yet in terms of pet-friendliness.
However, the term “pet-friendly” may not translate to 150-pound mastiff pet-friendly, so always call in advance to find out if there are any weight restrictions, additional fees and limits as to how many dogs can accompany you.
To ensure that your four legged friend is in good hands, prepare a canine travel kit. What is wonderful about traveling the open road is the element of the unknown, the unexpected in which case it’s advantageous to be prepared just in case your dog decides to take that mud bath.
As a bonus tip, I’ve used Bach Flower Remedies as an all-natural stress reliever, both for myself and my dogs. The company produces one that’s specifically made for animals—just add a few drops into their water and it helps keep them calm.
Remember, you will potentially be spending several hours at a time in your vehicle, so you want to make it as comfortable as possible. If the doggy bed or crate fits in the back of the car, bring it for safety’s sake.
If there is enough hair on the car seats to knit a quilt, invest in a couple of lint rollers.
I also try to keep hand sanitizer, spray deodorizer, and stain remover. When my dog, Copper, used the center console as a toilet, I learned the hard way to be careful about what they eat on the road. Limit your dog’s food intake by increasing the amount of meals, but feeding them smaller portions.
There are going to be hundreds of new smells and sounds and they will be in doggy heaven. What I failed to anticipate were the peculiar noises my dogs heard in the wee hours of the night.
If you use reinforcement tools then bring them; I always try to reward good behavior and offer a treat for not barking.
Check that the windows are closed, and play soft music to mask outside noises. And remember that all-important exercise rule: if your pup is exhausted, he or she will be more likely to be fast asleep.
You may be taking your road trip through various climates and unfamiliar environments. Be aware of the temperature and always have water readily available to avoid dehydration.
It is quite likely you will have to leave your dog in the car at times during your trip. Always crack the windows, and if it is warm, pump up the air conditioning for a few minutes before turning off the engine.
As the days become colder, so do my dogs. Short-haired dogs may need that extra bit of warmth in the winter months, so it’s a good time to invest in a sweater.
7. Doggy Do’s and Doggy Don’ts . Strapped with your backpack gear, family and dog in tow and ready to hike the trails, the last symbol you want to read is the No Dogs Allowed sign.
Leash laws, beach laws, driving laws: rules and restrictions abound, so make sure you’re not breaking the law. If I haven’t researched the state and/or city dog laws before heading off to the beach or state park, I usually the hotel receptionist or the locals. They’re usually a great resource to find the closest dog park, or at least can point you to a pet store for more information.
If you are not sure about leash laws, play it safe and keep your dog on a leash. It goes without saying that it’s better to clean up after your pooch.
Keep in mind that laws and enforcement vary from state to state about driving with pets. There may not be a law against sitting in the driver’s seat, but that does not mean state patrol won’t pull you over if the dog is interfering with your driving. Use your better judgment.
Dogs can be like children in this respect. If you can manage it, try to feed and exercise your dog at its normal times. If driving long distance, park the car for a quick walk every two to three hours. Bring the baseball and Frisbee with you so that the games you play back at home are the same games you play on the road.
If camping or hiking always check for ticks upon returning. If possible bathe your dog as it may help reduce allergens.
It sounds cliché, but be aware of your surroundings, as you never know what your four-legged friend might get into. Unbeknownst to me, my dogs rolled around in poison oak at a pit stop in the country and being highly allergic I was out of commission for two weeks.
Some dogs are more sensitive and may have softer paws; if hiking in rough terrain you may want to consider investing in booties (practice putting—and keeping—them on before you go).
Remember, not all dogs are meant for the open road, and not all humans will enjoy the experience of traveling with a pet. Above all, consider if the road trip is conducive to you and your dog’s lifestyles, and if not, it may be worth leaving Fido behind. He won’t hold it against you.