Driving From Chicago With a Dog

[famsen]

I don't trust my dog with anyone except my daughter and son in law. Unfortunately for this year's annual September trip, they are not able to watch my little guy. My husband and I have made the drive dozens of times by ourselves.

I booked Best Friends Pet Hotel right on Disney property for our dog during our stay. I feel good about this choice as we will be able to visit him any time we want and take him for a walk and even check him out if we want him to hang out with us for a bit. He is a 13 pound mini poodle.

My concern is driving with him that long in a car. He is used to traveling. He likes going for car rides but has not done 18 hours in 2 days car rides. We plan on driving to somewhere in Kentucky the first day and stop at a hotel for several hours to get a little bit of sleep. Then the next day will be 12 hours in a car. The most he has traveled in a car is 2 trips back and forth to Tennessee- 10 hours in 1 day. I think we will keep him in the car in his crate with his blankets most of the time because he always uses his crate as his safe place to relax and chill out. Other than stop every 2 hours for all of us to stretch and use the potty does anyone have good tips and tricks for driving a long distance to WDW with a dog?

Also, any good recommendations for a pet friendly hotel along the way in Kentucky or north Tennessee from Chicago to WDW?

Thank you!

 

[easyas123]

I've not traveled the route you are going, however LaQuinta properties are known to be very pet-friendly. Hope that helps!

 

[KayaWildfire]

While we have never traveled to Disney with our dogs, we have done quite a lot of road tripping from just north of you in southern Wisconsin. We honestly don't stop every 2 hours, it was more like every 3-4 hours if that. Ours just hang out in the seats or on one of the kids laps sleeping, we do bring crates for sleeping at night and when they are left alone. We always run around with them a lot at gas stations, etc. We also always bring a copy of the vaccines they have had from the vet and their rabies certificates. Other than that, bring extra food and a good collapsible water bowl. If you have done a trip to Tennessee, you will be fine going a little further to Disney.

 

[amcnj]

i am sure you know best what your pet needs and can handle. We were very fortunate that ours was fine with long drives. We always drove straight through, twice several hours further than the Orlando area, with the longest being 20-21 hours, due to traffic. I don’t think we ever made any extra stops, just our normal gas station, rest room, or food stops. I think she was so happy to be included that she didn’t want to complain!

I don’t think we brought anything more than a leash, food, water, pet bed and a blanket.

Do you have a small pet bed that will fit in the crate, or are the blankets enough to make it more comfortable?

Good luck with the drive.

 

[famsen]

i am sure you know best what your pet needs and can handle. We were very fortunate that ours was fine with long drives. We always drove straight through, twice several hours further than the Orlando area, with the longest being 20-21 hours, due to traffic. I don’t think we ever made any extra stops, just our normal gas station, rest room, or food stops. I think she was so happy to be included that she didn’t want to complain!

I don’t think we brought anything more than a leash, food, water, pet bed and a blanket.

Do you have a small pet bed that will fit in the crate, or are the blankets enough to make it more comfortable?

Good luck with the drive.

Yes we do have a small bed to put in his crate. I will make him as comfortable as possible. He should be ok. Sometimes on road trips he doesn't like to eat or drink much so we will have to maybe bring some delicious wet food he likes.

 

[jec6613]

We've done similar distance drives with our very athletic Labrador who needs a certain level of activity and stimulation or he's unhappy. One day straight through he can handle no problems, but two days can be trouble if your good boy needs exercise. There are apps you can get that locate nearby dog parks , and we make at least one stop every day for an hour or so with a tennis ball and real running around - he sleeps and travels better and is happier because his wants are being met.

Not that he can't do two days, or even as long as we need him to, without activity, he just gets antsy and needy and clearly isn't happy. But he's a good boy so as long as we reassure him that he's doing a good job, he'll put up with whatever.

Ours also will let us know when his bladder is getting full or he's getting thirsty, or when it's dinner time (you can set your watch by our dog asking for dinner), by lifting his head up over the seats and looking at us in the rear view mirror, so sometimes we go 1-2 hours between stops and sometimes it's 4+, depending on him (and the humans of course). He travels in the back of our SUV with our luggage in the back seat, so he has his bed from home and some toys back there with him.

Another thing you can look into is Doggles, which protect his eyes so you can have the window open for smells even at speed. Without them they should be closed at any speed above 25 MPH or so, and though our dog isn't fond of them the smells give him stimulation.