Traveling with your pet by car can be a fun adventure whether taking a day trip or a long road trip. Many hotels allow pets to stay with their owners for an added fee, and there are dog friendly attractions in almost every city. Sometimes packing for a trip can be stressful so we’re sharing these tips for traveling with your pet by car to make your job a little easier.
What to Pack
First consider where your pet will be sitting in your car. Will they have the back to themselves, a small seat in the middle, or ride like royalty in the front passenger seat? If your pet will be in a cage or crate you will need to add a soft bed for them to lay on during the long hours of travel along with toys to keep them busy. Stopping every couple of hours to give your pet water and a potty break is necessary whether they ride in a crate or not during travel. Feeding pets can be done in the evening after travel. Pack food, water, pet dishes, toys, and a bedding change for all pets.
Stopping Along the Way
If you’re planning to sight see during your trip you’ll have to pick attractions that are pet friendly. You can’t leave pets unattended in a car while eating or exploring new places. Plan to bring a leash whether you’re headed to a cafe, park or beach. Consider your pet’s temperament when selecting a destination. Dogs may love jumping in the water at a beach while cats not so much.
Many popular hotel chains are now pet friendly but be sure to research ahead of time and make reservations so you’re not stuck without a room. This is especially important during popular travel times such as summer and holidays. If you don’t plan to bring your pet to a hotel make boarding arrangements before your trip.
Anxious Pets
Many animals don’t like changes to their daily routines or long car travel. Consider bringing your pet to their veterinarian before you go to get tips or medication for calming their fears. When dogs and cats are nervous they can make enough noise to ruin any family vacation. Some pets even get car sick so it may be helpful to try a few short car rides before heading out on a longer road trip.
The most important thing to remember when traveling is that your pet needs to have some comforts of home and extra care while traveling. Bring familiar toys and bedding, take breaks along the way, and you and your pet will both be happy during your travels.
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Laura Host says
All of these are so important when planning a road trip with your fur kids, Andrea. Good tips. I would also add, if you will be traveling to/through another country by car – don’t forget about planning for going through customs. We drove from MA to MI going through Canada (which I’ve done with my family, but no pets, dozens of times with no issues) to visit family the first year we had our dogs. We packed copies of their adoption papers, vaccination certifications, etc. To save space, we brought only the amount of kibble we would need for the duration of our trip in a plastic container instead of the giant bag it came in – big mistake. While we didn’t have any issues entering Canada (YMMV), when we were on our way into MI, US customs wanted to see the original bag with the ingredients list. They pulled us aside for an inspection because we didn’t have the bag, and while I waited in line for our turn, my husband ended up waiting outside with the two dogs on hot concrete in the middle of crazy traffic and hyper children who didn’t understand that this was a stressful situation for *everyone*.
I will note, the official who pulled us over mentioned that we could leave the dogs in the car which we balked at because 1) we had no idea how careful the inspectors would be and were worried about the dogs fleeing into traffic in a panic and 2) it was JULY.
We had crates with us for use at our destination, but they were big and heavy and thus packed underneath everything else so we weren’t able to unpack them easily for use during our wait.
Fortunately, an animal-loving customs officer took pity on us and bumped us ahead in line. The dogs had a great time in MI farm country once we arrived, but we made sure to drive home the long way through the PA mountains.
Andrea says
OMG Laura!!!! What an ORDEAL to go through! THANK GOD FOR ANIMAL LOVING CUSTOM OFFICERS : ) YAY!!! Thank you so much for sharing with us! We want to keep our pets as SAFE and HAPPY as possible!!! Sending hugs to you …your pups…your family…Enjoy the weekend : )
Perry says
A great idea to avoid packing tons of cat litter is to get one of the new systems that use PERMANENT granules like Tidy Cats Breeze or the Cat-lilac Cat Toilet. Never buy, haul and change litter again!