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Travel is popular and pretty easy during the warm part of the year, which is one of the big reasons why so many people take their vacations over the summer even if they don’t have kids. Not only does the fair weather provide you with more to do outside, it also makes road tripping easier. If you are looking at traveling before the winter cold sets in, go right ahead and plan to bring your furry friend with you, but be aware that there’s more to traveling long distances with a pet than just packing up food and water bowls and deciding to hit the road.
Traveling means learning to be safe, and a big part of safety involves maintaining the comfort of your furry friends. If traveling becomes stressful, they can not only wind up in distress, they can also act out in ways that might make it more difficult for you to drive safely. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make the trip better for everyone.
Understand Your Furry Friend’s Temperament
The first thing to remember is that not every animal travels the same. Even within breeds with fairly consistent temperaments, you will find animals that like to ride with you for long periods and those that don’t because they get bored or uncomfortable quickly. Both present their own unique challenges, and learning how to pace your trip and when to take breaks means learning the rhythms of your pet’s behavior.
You can understand how long your dog or cat can ride comfortably by taking a few practice trips to nearby locations. Plan each trip to be incrementally longer until you consistently hit a point where your pet whines or exhibits other signs that they want to stop. Knowing how long your pet can ride comfortably lets you pace your rest stops to avoid stressing them.
Check Out Safety Equipment
Other than disruptive behavior, restlessness tends to be the riskiest part of having a pet in the vehicle with you. To keep your dog or cat from trying to wander while you drive, consider car seat options that let you comfortably secure your friend while your car is in motion. A booster seat bed gives your furry friend a place to rest while elevating the little guy so he can see out the window, helping to prevent boredom. The best part is that a short lead is used to prevent wandering, helping to ensure a safe ride for everyone. If the booster seat doesn’t work for you, there are other safe options like this mobile pet carrier that can reduce movement.
Plan for Regular Stops
Once you know about how long your pet can go before needing to stop or becoming bored, you can plan your route to make sure you are able to make stops on time. This allows you to walk and water your animals as often as needed, which helps ensure they are able to tolerate the entire trip easily. Walking and feeding pets on a consistent schedule also reduces restlessness and provides you with opportunities to stretch and to get your bearings.
Know Your Accommodations
Not every “pet friendly” vacation spot is equally pet friendly. You will want to check out the exact accommodations before you book a trip with your pet. Outdoor fun like camping is easy to include animals in as long as you have the equipment, but it can be difficult to keep everyone safe if you are underprepared. That means you will need to have the tools to keep your animal properly leashed and under your supervision to avoid wandering in strange places. It also means you’ll want to pack a variety of toys that take advantage of the open terrain.
If you are planning on staying indoors in a hotel, cabin, or other rental property, try to find accommodations that give your furry friend the kind of room they expect at home. If you have to go with a small room like a hotel or motel, do your best to choose locations outside of crowded city centers where traffic and large numbers of strangers could cause distress, and opt for locations where you can easily get the necessary exercise in to keep your pet happy.
Plan Activities
Traveling with pets winds up being a lot like traveling with children. You need to make sure that they have something to do, and you need to plan a trip that engages them. If that’s not possible, then you need to make sure there’s something to keep them busy while you are tending to the business of the day. That means packing plenty of toys to keep them occupied. Bring some favorites from home, but also keep in mind that new toys can provide stimulation that can help whenever they have to be alone for a while or whenever the miles have added up and they need to be engaged to settle back down.
Alongside a few of your favorite toys, consider smart toys and puzzles that challenge your pet to use those foraging and hunting instincts. Here are some great examples:
Make Time to Rest Together
Traveling with a pet means bringing them to new places and bombarding them with new experiences, which can be a great way to bond with you furry friend. At the same time, though, it can introduce stress when your animals are used to a set routine. Making sure that you take time to rest together helps assure your pets that the trip is an exciting adventure and that you are all in it together, and this can make the entire experience better for everyone.
If you pace yourself and you are careful about what you ask of your animals, it’s easy to make even the longest roadtrip rewarding. The key is to understand how your pet handles travel and to make sure there are plenty of outlets for stress that avoid an unhealthy buildup. Put these tips into practice as you travel, and you and your pet will be happier for it.
