Travelling with your dog
Now that travel is a thing again a lot of us will be booking holidays, both at home and abroad and thinking about taking our dogs with us. It’s easy to flick through instagram and see lots of cool influencer types travelling with their dogs to amazing destinations and making it look like the easiet thing in the world to do. But what is the reality and how do you prepare your dog for this?
You could start by checking out some people who do do it for real life and do share that on their social media - just because it’s not always sunshine and sunsets doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
Nathalie and Philou who are globe-trotting with their 8 furbabies over at Nayatribe
Pascale and her cat Romeo enjoying this beautiful world at solo_adventure_travel
And 2TravelCats and their humans who’ve lived in 14 countries!
I’ve done one or two longer car journeys and holiday’s with Elvis and I like to think that once Beattie is grown up we will be doing a lot more travel together. Weekends away walking and exploring and travel to dog events are definitely on the cards for us!
Here are a few things to consider
Will my dog actually enjoy it?
Not all pets like to travel. Elvis, my now 2 year old Border Terrier only did his first real trip away once he was 18 months old. He suffered quite badly from car sickness as a puppy, poor lad would vomit even on a short journey. So to haul him up and down the country would have been pretty unfair. A lot of training time went into him being comfortable in and out the car. However, he can now handle a long car journey and while I wouldn’t say its has favourite thing to do he is comfortable and at relative ease now. Beattie the new pup has been a travel natural from the word go really so as soon as she’s old enough we’ll be away no problem!
Consider any health conditions that may effect them too. Do they have injuries or ongoing conditions that might make travel uncomfortable? They are all different and just because you want to take them doesn’t mean they will actually enjoy the travel.
Are they ready for new environments?
Is your dog cool, calm and collected in their normal environments Then cool, introducing them to new and different ones is probably on the cards. If they struggle with reactivity, meeting new people or dogs then maybe taking them to lots of new environments in a short space of time won’t be for them just yet. However, it doesn’t;t have to be forever. Building up your dogs confidence and calm ness can be done at home and you can have them holiday ready in no time
Can I take my dog where I want to go?
If you want to take trips or visit different places while you are on holiday then make sure you check out if they are dog friendly before you go. If not do you have a nice safe place to leave your dog? A lot of holiday accommodations that allow dogs to stay won’t actually allow dogs to be left unsupervised there without you so it’s well worth asking the question. Some may be happy if the dog is crated or left in a certain space, so its worth thinking about if that will be suitable for your dog.
How can we get there?
Not all pets like all modes of transportation. If you are going to use a new type of transport on your holiday then make sure you do a test run beforehand to make sure your dog is cool with it. They may be happy in your car but will they settle in a hire car? Have they been on a train before? The last place you want to find out they don’t like a new method of transport is right there in the moment when you don’t have a choice and you have a vocal, upset or shut down dog on your hands.
What pet healthcare is available?
It’s well worth checking out what local vet surgeries or health care options are for your dog whilst you are away. Especially if you are going abroad. Just in case an illness or an injury turns up.
What's going in my emergency pack?
You never want to have to use it, but it’s so smart to have one. Think about what you’ll want handy in case your dog or cat gets hurt or lost, vaccination records, pet first aid kit, current photos, extra medications, extra lead and harness are all probably worth packing just in case. BringFido has a great resource to get started.
What paperwork do you need?
Traveling internationally comes with regulations to follow. Depending on where you live and are going, you may need a pet passport or an animal health certificate.
If you’re in the UK, start here to learn how to take your pet abroad.