Long car trip with dogs?

[tammymacb]

Believe it or not, I'm posting this from Grand Cayman. I'm on vacation and having a great time. But, I already miss our dogs.

DH and I have decided that next year, we're not leaving them home. I've already found a place ( and contacted the owner ) in the Keys. Pet friendly place, ( with good tripadvisor reviews ) and a pet friendly beach.

We're planning on staying in and grilling most meals ( or picking up meals take out ) so we don't have to leave them home in a strange place.

We're actually very excited to try this!

Now the question. Our dogs are used to the car but we do lots of short running around kind of trips. Our older girl has ridden with my husband to the Outer Banks for a camping trip. We live in coastal SC and mapquest is showing an 11 hour plus ride.

We're planning on stopping for potty breaks every few hours, doggy seat belts ( they already have them ) etc. But, what other advice can you give for taking dogs on their first ever really long car ride?

 

[Sgt Mickey]

We brought toys and a bone. BUT he was more curious about the trip then anything else. My yellow loves to take rides. He came with us from Alaska to Va and he was more behaved then the kids
Now that we are in Va we often travel to Pa quite and bit and out of all those times he has only been car sick once. I don't even know if I would call it car sick. We stopped to feed and water him and I think he just scarfed it down fast and threw up. So we just watch what we give him.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Our little dog has done 9 and 10 hour drives. She just sits there peacefully until she's hungry or needs to use the bathroom... then she's good about barking and letting us know that she needs to stop.

She's gotten carsick before... if we can avoid it, we try not to feed her on the road and wait until we reach our destination. Otherwise, we'll just feed her her regular meal.

We try to get her to drink water at every stop, but she's related water with using the bathroom and won't drink very much.

State rest stops have dog-walking trails. We prefer this to stopping at travel plazas and finding a small area of grass for her to do her business. She's not too fond of big trucks or lots of traffic, so rest stops are best for us.

 

[Gisele]

Long car trips with dogs = many potty breaks........... for both the dogs and their owners.

~~ I love you Phil and you will forever be with me! Forever my very best and most special friend! I love you to no end. ~~​

 

[SandrA9810]

My doggie loved the car, she didnt care where we were going or how long it took as long as she was with me. Never had to deal with her being car sick or accidents, but she was skiddish sometimes at rest stops with cars coming and going, and the highway noise. I've heard some states are requiring more safety for pets in the vehicle, so I'd look that up to make sure you're covered.

Florida is becoming more doggie friendly, especially in touristy areas. You'll probably find lots of patio seating available to those with pets. Just make sure they're well behaved and socialized to make outings enjoyable. I used to use a Halti on mine, she loved to pull and kept her from pulling the table down the sidewalk if she got some strange idea in her head. It made people less fearful because they thought it was a muzzle or something.

 

[luvavacation]

We love traveling with out dog! We call her our "emotional therapy dog" because she is an emotional basket case without her humans, so if she is welcome, we bring her with!

My first bit of advice is to make sure your dogs are microchipped. Even if they have a leash and a collar, things can happen.

If your vehicle is big enough (we have a Highlander), the humans sit in the first two rows, and in the back we put our dog's kennel. She lays in that kennel while in the car, and when we stop, we take her out of the kennel to walk and potty. My dog really, really likes being in her kennel when she is nervous, and the unknown makes her nervous, so this works well for her. She has never liked sitting on the seats, always preferring to be in the back of the car.

For treats, we take stuff that is not too spiced. For example, she LOVES the little premium doggy sausages that taste like venison or duck, but they tend to be very flavour-filled. Instead, we take lamb's ears or even beef hot dogs (I know, hot dogs are bad, but once in a while, it works!). My dog has never been car sick, so I don't know if it is the milder treats or she just is this way, but so far so good!

My dog will not go potty at every break, but we do make sure to walk her. I do suggest some flea spray for the dogs, and lightly spritz the belly and legs, as we have found many ticks and fleas wanting to hitch a ride at the southern rest stops.

If possible, keep a short leash on the dogs while in the car, just in case something does happen and you have to grab them. It is easier to step on the leash than to chase down a dog in a strange area!

Finally, make sure your dogs know not to jump out of the car until you give them permission! Our dog waits until we take her leash and call her out of the car. I like this, because I do not wish for my dog to bound out of my car right into the path of another car pulling into the stall next to me at the rest stop! I see people all the time just letting their dogs out of the car ahead of them, and too many close calls from those actions.

Now go have fun vacationing with your dogs! We love it, and I think our dog loves it, too!

 

[tammymacb]

Both dogs are microchipped and, of course, utd on everything. They aren't ever crated, so I don't think that would work, but they do have car harnesses. ( Doggy seatbelts ) I like the idea of the misting bottle and wouldn't have thought of that. We'll be traveling in a 4Runner. They'll get the back seat, and we'll have plenty of room for packing. I'll make a decision on treats, in the past, I used to buy the dried chicken strips, but now all "made in China" is out.

 

[MissMichigan]

I drove with my beagle from Tucson to Detroit a few years ago. She does not do well in the car, but I was pleasantly surprised for this trip (and the return). The first day, I gave her one of those doggie calming treats from PetCo knowing how freaked out she gets in the car. That just made her really dehydrated though, so I skipped it the rest of the time.

I set up her bed with a blanket, and a little bowl of food. I kept her water bowl up with me, and poured a little into it every time we stopped.

Honestly, she mostly just slept, lol. She would look out the window the first hour, then pass out. Whenever she woke up, we'd stop and let her stretch and potty.