Travel Tips!
- Check with the hotels before packing. If you're staying at a dog-friendly hotel and paying for a dog, you may get free supplies, such as doggie poop bags and water bowls. Check the package you're getting or call the hotels before setting off. Don't pack the things that you will get at the hotel, and pack proportionately.
- Train your dog. This should be number one. If your dog chews on furniture, tears up beds, or pees in the car, he probably won't be a good candidate for a trip, especially long hours in the car.
- Plan it out. When you're traveling with a dog, you can't just go somewhere for "about" 10 days, or "about" a month. You should have planned start and stop days, and if you say, "Let's just see the hotel, if it's nice and if we enjoy it we can stay till this day" make sure you pack enough, especially for your dog. If you don't have enough food, you can't just go to a restaurant and buy some. Maybe you're going camping, and there isn't a pet store for miles!
- Register your dog. Registering your dog is important, even if you don't go on road trips. If your dog gets lost, it buys them extra time in the shelter, and certifies their rabies. Many registration tags include the place your dog was registered–if he or she was registered near where you live, it could help people identify the place where they came from. If they brought them to the Vet's office, they can bring up your record and call you to pick up your dog!
- Manners. Teach your dog manners. Please. For the sake of yourself and others around you. Especially you. If your dog is a 100-pound Great Dane, you don't want him sleeping on top of you in the middle of the night or barking the hotel down.
- Hotels. Many dog-friendly hotels offer pet-sitting services so you can go out to dinner or visit a no-dogs allowed museum or beach. This is a plus from going to a house if you have just a couple people. It costs less, and if your dog has separation anxiety, you can still go places. You should note that some hotels place a weight limit on dogs, which you should check with. Some hotels also ban certain dog breeds that have been reported by the media to be "vicious", namely such breeds as Pit Bull Terriers and Rottweilers. TIP: If your dog is a mixed breed with one of these breeds and is does not have behavioral issues, you can tell the hotel. Anyhow, some don't allow them anyway. Bring Fido is a good site to use to find hotels allowing dogs.
- Always carry a purse or bag. Even if you're a guy, carry a purse or bag with water and a small, non-heavy snack. Chances are, you'll see a gift shop with a cute thing you want to buy, or you will want to carry a camera or wallet, even if you have no pockets. Our advice to you: carry a small bag with (a) water, (b) a snack, (c) dog biscuits or treats for your dog, (d) purse/wallet, even if you're "not going to buy anything..." Yeah, right! (e) a camera. Of course, these things WILL be modified depending on where you're going and what's allowed.
- Take a towel. You never know where your pet is going to end up–the garbage can, the toilet, coated in mud–but it's probably a good idea to bring a towel along. Especially if you're visiting near an ocean. Beaches can be strangely tempting, to both you and your dog, and you don't know if you might just take a tiny dip... And get thoroughly wet when a wave crashes over your head.
- Remember, there are no vets. If you're extremely lucky, you may find an emergency vet when your pet's in an emergency. So, please try to keep them safe. If they're hurt, you may not be able to get help right away, especially in secluded towns. In case your dog does get hurt, he or she may not be able to get help without medical records, so make a COPY of their records, either digitally or hard-copy, and carry them with you when you travel. But make sure it's a COPY.