If you’ve been thinking about going traveling for a while but have been put off of the idea due to not wanting to leave your pup behind, worry no more. You can have the best of both worlds and take them with you on your next trip! Traveling with pets in tow is becoming increasingly popular, with more and more travelers choosing to take their furry friends on the road with them. It’s so popular that there are various Instagram accounts dedicated to traveling dogs.
While taking your dog traveling with you can be a lot of fun, it’s important to think carefully about what you will need to do to ensure that both you and your canine friend have a great time while you’re away. When it comes to traveling with your dog, you need to take the time to think carefully about each aspect of the trip. What’s more, you need to ensure that you have taken your pup into account for each part of your trip. If you plan on crossing borders, for example, you will need to do plenty of research regarding what documents you need for your pet to be able to cross without any issues.
Traveling with your dog isn’t necessarily a simple or straightforward task, especially when it’s your first time traveling with them. To help make the process of taking your dog away with you a little less daunting, we’ve put together a simple guide to some of the key factors you need to consider.
Test the waters
Before you commit to an entire trip with your pup in tow, it’s a good idea to take the time to test the waters and see whether your dog is travel friendly. Plan a short trip – maybe a night or two – and see how they react to traveling. Make sure to include a long drive and a night’s stay somewhere new. If they react well and settle easily, then they will probably take well to traveling for the longer term. However, if they struggle to settle and seem stressed, then they may not be suited to longer trips, and you may need to rethink things a little.
Prepare for all weathers
If you’re going to take your dog away with you, you need to pack for them as you pack for yourself. This means thinking carefully about all of the essentials that they might need while you’re on your trip. For instance, you want to pack for various weather conditions and terrains, which means packing dog booties to offer protection from extremes of climate. You may also want to look at researching the best dog coats for your pup, so that should the weather turn cold, they’re covered. Packing dog-friendly sunscreen is also a good idea, especially if your dog has a light coat and tends to burn easily.
Source pet-friendly accommodation
When you travel with your pup, you can’t risk finding accommodation as and when you need it – pet-friendly accommodation is usually tough to find. That’s why it’s essential to carefully plan every aspect of your trip and source and book all of your accommodation beforehand, making sure that you and your pup have somewhere to sleep at every location you plan on visiting. If you plan on traveling here, there and everywhere and don’t want to set time frames for each location, consider packing a tent and camping with your pup instead.
If you want to make the most of your time away, you need to ensure that you carefully plan each aspect of your trip, ensuring that you think carefully about both yours’ and your dog’s needs.
