experts at traveling with a dog

[thumpersfriend]

We have retired and want to travel by car out east, or out west this spring. Trouble is we have a 10 month old Brittany spaniel. She loves to ride in the car so that wouldn't be a problem. Just would like to know your secrets to traveling with a dog, such as hotels, sightseeing etc. My husband thinks it is impossible. We could leave her about a week with my son but after that it would be pushing it. We can go for as long as we are enjoying it so it might be as long as a month. Are we crazy? Any good suggestions about where to go and do?

 

[Disney Doll]

There are books written about hotels/motels across the country that accept pets. I know I've seen them at Barnes & Noble.

I'd probably talk to my vet with regard to healthcare. You'd probably need a copy of your pet's entire vet record, so that if, God forbid, something happens, you'd have a complete record of the kind of care and "issues" your pet has had in the past. I'd also ask your vet if he/she had any collegaues that they knew in the areas where you would be going/staying.That way, if something happened, you could feasibly say "Well, I am a patient of Dr. Soandso in East Timbuktu. He recommended I call you with any problems while I am iin this area".

I'd probably get the dog microchipped, as well as having ID tags with several different contact numbers on them. Your cell, your home, your son's cell, your son's home. When we had our Ted, I had 2 ID tags on him...one with my contact information and one with my parent's contact information.

I don't know how your dog is in the car, but we used to have Ted stay in his crate when travelling...keeping him contained seemed safer for him to us. We also always kept a leash on him and always made sure one of us had a hold of the leash before we opened the car door any time we stopped...this lessened the possibility of him "bolting" out of the car in a strange place.

Make sure you have enough of his usual food to last the entire trip...you never know if it might not be sold where you are going. Water, favorite toys, bed to sleep in.

 

[daisax]

Car travel is easy, but when you're sightseeing, what are your plans? Most hotels discourage (or ban) leaving pets unattended, certainly unattended without a crate.

I have friends who work in boarding kennels, and if you find a nice one, chances are your dog would prefer it to a series of days alone in strange hotel rooms. Apparently the number of dogs who have a blast far outweigh the numbers who are miserable. And my experience backs that up, as each time I have taken a dog to the kennel for a second time, or visited a friend's dog as a favor while it was kenneled, the dogs will haul the kennel girls back towards the kennels, they're so eager to get back into the social craziness of it.

If you do choose to kennel the dog, I would do a trial run overnight in the month ahead just so the dog has previous exposure before you leave for a week or more.

I've driven cross half the country many times to go to dog shows, but we seldom leave the dogs longer than to go have dinner. That doesn't make for much sightseeing. You COULD pick out boarding kennels in various locations, set up a couple of central points and board the dog for a couple of days here and there while you sightsee, but I would be leery of exposing the dog to so many different dogs/kennels over the course of a month.

 

[thumpersfriend]

Thanks Disney Doll, never thought about bringing her health records! She has several tags on, but I didn't think she might get lost. Thanks again.

 

[LindaR]

I would also start working immediately (and forever) on socializing the dog! If you wish to take him/her (sorry?) everywhere you go then socialize him so that traveling and sightseeing is no big deal. If you need to stay in a hotel and go out for the day, your dog needs to be comfortable with a stranger around. And if you take him places with other people, then he really needs to be socialized and have proper training so that HE will be a welcome guest and not a pest!!!



It's a SHE!

 

[LindaR]

In January my daughter and I took a trip to Paris. They take their dogs EVERYWHERE! And I mean everywhere! AND they are all trained and well behaved and very socialized. We saw dogs in cafes, dogs in markets, dogs in department stores.

Train, socialize, repeat.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

We travel a lot with our pet too, it just depends on what kind of sightseeing you plan on doing, we went to the mountains and didn't have any problems at all sightseeing with our dog, we also went to Gatlinburg and wanted to do the shops so we got a hotel room and he slept while we shopped. We just basically took it as it came and really had a good time, my dog loves to travel and really is part of my family so it's not a burden to us to take him, it's really a joy, there were a few times we stopped to eat and ate in the car instead of inside but other than that we did exactly what we wanted to do, without to mush of a restraint.
HAVE FUN !

 

[thumpersfriend]

Thanks for all of your replies. This is starting to make me nervous. I wouldn't want to leave her in a crate in a motel room, I don't think she would do well that way. Mostly I think we would stop to see some sights, like Gettysburg, see the ocean etc. Do most hotels accept dogs? Do they have to be crated? We wouldn't do any sights that require more than 2 hours or not at all if it is too hot. Maybe this is a bad idea. Might be better to fly somewhere and leave her with my son for a week. Don't want to leave her in a kennel either at this point.

 

[LindaR]

I don't think there's any reason to be nervous! Dogs need training anyway! As you train her (training, socializing is a forever ongoing process) have practices! Little day trips. That way SHE gets used to the process and you guys get used to it too!

I have a toy poodle who comes to work with me. She also runs errands with me on my way home from work. She has gone with me to the insurance agent, JCPenney, Walmart, the pharmacy, etc.

I am just as strict with my pets as I was when raising my daughter!!! But just as my daughter didn't learn everything overnight, neither did my poodle.

Practice makes perfect!!!

 

[SandrA9810]

When we went to Georgia, we notices all the state parks allow dogs on leashes. So if you're sight seeing in the nature way... go right ahead. It'll be great for the dog. But if your idea of traveling is going to things like shows or museums it might be a bit tougher.

Just remember it's probably going to be a more expensive hotel with a surcharge for the dog. And be careful of weight limits.

Kari's parents bought an RV for traveling in, so they're able to leave thier dogs in a comfortable fimilar place every day. But do be careful of leaving them in a vehicle in a parking lot. Even at Disney if you leave your in an RV in the parking lot, they'll break your window, because there is a kennel provided. But you're fine at the campgrounds leaving them in.

 

[BCV513]

We took our dog away for the weekend with us when she was younger than your pup. Actually she was only about three months old. I don't know what we were thinking!

When riding in the car, we kept her in the crate with the leash on. It's safer for her in case of an accident and it's easier to grab her leash when we open the crate door. Plus, she sleeps in the crate at the hotel, so she's comfortable in it.

Get a portable food and water bowl to take with you, but get the dog used to it before you leave. We didn't show it to Lucy until we were away and she had no idea how to drink out of it!

Our main problem was with eating dinner at night. We couldn't leave her unattended at the hotel and it was too hot to leave her in the car (plus we didn't trust her or other people enough to do that) so we ended up eating in shifts. One of us would go in and eat a salad while the other sat in the car with the dog. Then the other would go in and eat the meal while the first sat in the car. It worked, but the staff thought we were nuts!

We had a lot of fun that trip. Lucy got lots of attention and you meet a lot of people with a dog.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

My dog has NEVER been in a kennel ever, everyone has their own way of training their dog and my dog never been in a kennel. Whenever we go into a hotel with our dog we put our own sheets on the bed and he sleeps on the bed until we get back, he's a sleeper anyways and we have never ever had one complaint from a hotel, we just toss him some toys and turn the tv on and he does just fine. If a hotel requires them to stay in a kennel, we just don't stay there.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

We've traveled with our dogs and never had any issues. Mystery, our most frequent traveler, is a German Shepherd mix and she goes with us because she is basically my daughter's dog. Not an aggressive bone in her body, quite the opposite. She's terrified of everything and just seems to really need to have my DD always near. It's really kinda sweet. She is very content to stay in her kennel while we are out and has always been complemented on for being so well behaved and quiet.

Practice leash use. (stopping, staying, sitting beside you)
Practice inside voices- it can be done.
Allow everyone to pet your dog while keeping your hand in front of your dogs mouth.
Get your dog used to crowds and loud noises.
Help your dog realize "This is not your space" when in a hotel room. This keeps them from barking at the maid service.

And my best piece of advice, take your dog to an obidience class and ask about a good citizen course. Our girls are enrolled and will be going this summer and I LOVE the program and what it offers, plus the security of a certificate stating my dog is "people friendly".

 

[RhodyJim]

I would like to ask one of the OP's original question again. What do you do on vacation with your dog? I understand the hiking/camping/relazing stuff. But, are there attractions/events that you CAN bring your dog to? I always want to bring my dog on vacation, but I am afraid we will have to limit what we can do to outdoorsy stuff. So, I think any particularly dog-friendly attractions would be great. I have seen a few websites (dog-friendly.com, etc.) but they are heavy on the hotels, light on the attractions.

 

[jme829]

Look at the Comfort Inn chain...We always stay here when we travel back to Ohio because they are clean, inexpensive and accept dogs. m Plus they are everywhere! We ususally pay less than $100 (and that includes the dog.) We usually pay between $10-25 for the dog (although one outside of Chicago didn't charge at all).
We had a suite in December for $95 total!!

They have a few that don't accept dogs, buts most of their hotels (mostly Comfort Inn/Sleep Inn/Quality Inn-Suites) are pet friendly. I have found its the higher end hotels that tend not to be pet friendly (a few Holiday Inns and Marriots are, but not many)

 

[SharkyGoddess]

I would like to ask one of the OP's original question again. What do you do on vacation with your dog? I understand the hiking/camping/relazing stuff. But, are there attractions/events that you CAN bring your dog to? I always want to bring my dog on vacation, but I am afraid we will have to limit what we can do to outdoorsy stuff. So, I think any particularly dog-friendly attractions would be great. I have seen a few websites (dog-friendly.com, etc.) but they are heavy on the hotels, light on the attractions.

I can only answer for us. While we take our dog with us, we don't take her along for every second of it. I look at it this way. Sure... we could bring her along to some theme park (hypothetical, no need to debate) but then what do we do with her? Stand around and watch everyone else ride rides, or hitch her to a doggie post like a horse and pick her up later? I've heard of people taking their dogs on rides with them but personally I think that's awful. I personally see leaving them in the rooms no different than leaving them at home while you're away for the day at work. JMO

Other than that, I have heard of restaurants allowing pets, a few sidewalk type stores, and things of that nature. I've never checked into it though.

 

[winnapooh]

We took our lab to the Outer Banks with us. We found a hotel that allowed dogs, and we took him with us every where we went. If we wanted to go to a place that didn't allow dogs in the buildings (which is really most sightseeing places), we went one at a time and the other one stayed with the dog in a place he was allowed to be. For example, we went to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, which has a lighthouse you can go up inside. One of us stayed on the ground with the dog (they are allowed on the grounds), and the other went up the lighthouse. As for eating, we got all take out (even from seafood restaurants), and either ate in the car, outside as a picnic, or took it to the hotel.

I can't wait to take a trip up to New England with our dog; we had a really good time. Just do your research as to which places allow dogs, and try to find some dog parks or places you can let the dog off leash for a while. There are even places that allow dogs in the outside areas of restaurants (there are some in the Outer Banks that do). You can also take them with you into Pet Stores, if you need to get out of the heat with the dog while one of you goes into another store.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

I can only answer for us. While we take our dog with us, we don't take her along for every second of it.

I totally agree with this, most people that travel with their pets have done it since they were small and it's just comes as a normal process to just leave then in a hotel room and let them rest while you go out. If my dog were at home he would be sleeping and whenever we travel it's really no differences.