fbpx
Home » Blog

Tips for Travelling with Your Dog

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Tips for Travelling with Your Dog

If you’re going on vacation and you want to take your beloved dog with you, there are some important things you need to think about before travelling with your dog. This is true whether you’re taking a road trip, travelling by plane, or any other way. We're sharing some tips for travelling with your dog.Apollo travelling with your dog

Here's our Apollo, hoping to go for a ride when I was actually just getting something out of my minivan. He loves road trips.

Do you love travelling with your dog?

We've always hated leaving our dogs behind when we go away, fortunately, we haven't had to do it often with our previous dogs. Our current dogs Apollo and Cleo have not yet been left behind as Apollo we adopted last year as a puppy and Cleo we adopted just this April. We haven't wanted to leave them when they haven't been with us for very long. We love travelling with our dogs whenever it's possible. When travelling with your dog, organization is key!

Check Ahead of Time to Make Sure There’s Room

Cleo travelling with your dog 2
Our Cleo, a few days after we adopted her from a rescue in April of this year. She loves people and she too loves to go on road trips or any car ride.

If you are taking your dog with you on a plane, even if your flight has room for you, sometimes there is no room for pets. The day of your flight, ensure there is actually room for your pet. If there is not, you will have to find a new flight. If you cannot change your flight, you will need to find an emergency dog sitter.

Also, when choosing a flight, do your best to find a nonstop flight. The problem with layovers when travelling with a pet is that your dog will stay in the plane’s cargo hold while the plane is stopped. I don't know about you but I'm not comfortable with that and prefer to avoid it at all costs.

Have Identification for Your Dog

Before going on any long trip, make sure that your dog has a collar and has a microchip in case he or she gets lost. The collar should have a tag with accurate contact information such as your cell phone number and current address. Also, make sure to check with your microchip service to ensure that they have your most up to date information.Apollo travelling with your dog 2

Keep Current Vet and Immunization Records on Hand

When travelling, it’s extremely important to be sure you have your dog’s veterinarian records with you. All immunizations should be up to date especially the rabies shot and often times the one for kennel cough. The tag for rabies should be prominently displayed on the collar. Vet records should show the dates of all immunizations, as well as state any conditions to be aware of, whether behavioural or physical. This is an important tip for travelling with your dog.

Take a Mini Trip Before a Long Trip

If your dog has not taken a long trip in the car before, you should take a mini trip or two before going on a long trip. This way you can find out if your dog suffers from anxiety, motion sickness, or some other travel-related problem. During these trips, be sure to take your dog to fun places such as the park and not just places like the groomer and vet. These same issues could come up during flights, as well. This way you know your pet better as he or she travels, so you can be prepared.

free e-book
Free E-Cookbook

Sign up for our emails and get our free Simply Sweet E-Cookbook?

Cleo travelling with your dog 2

Know How Your Dog Eats On a Trip

Also, before you go on a road trip or flight, you want to experiment with feeding your dog before you take a short road trip. Some dogs will do better eating a little bit before the ride, and other dogs do better without having eaten for several hours before the ride. This way you know when to feed your dog around trips and to know how much food to bring with you.

Pack Familiar to your Dog Items

Now that you have these tips for travelling with your dog, it’s time to prepare for lots of fun with your pal. Make sure to pack plenty of treats, toys, and a comfort item or two (such as a blanket with your scent or something that reminds him of home).

PIN this article for later.

travelling with your dog

By on September 12th, 2019

About Powered by Mom

I’m Michelle aka Powered by Mom. I’m married with one daughter, my hubby was my high school sweetheart, our two dogs Nyx and Cleo and our cat Oliver. As you can see we’re a family of animal lovers. We love to travel when we can, try different food and activities all over the world and enjoy being together. My passions are writing, travelling, creating new recipes, encouraging people to adopt not shop and just to enjoy life while we can.

More posts by this author.

27 thoughts on “Tips for Travelling with Your Dog”

  1. Great tips. My little rescue dog goes wherever I travel. She has had enough trauma in her life (lost a back leg and was in 3 different homes) and for the 8 years that I had her I have only left her once and my Grandson came here to stay with her. She is the best little Maltese ever. She has her own travel bag and it includes all her vet records as well as a vet supplement called calm.

    Reply
  2. A few months ago was the first long car trip with my old pup. #1 and #2 before setting out. Stop for food and water with her own bowls and food. #1 again before heading on. Another stop later, 2nd #2 if needed. Continue. Again some water. Relaxing evening. Again the next day. The trick is routine before starting out.

    Reply
  3. My dog is the perfect companion on road trips. She doesn't get carsick and just jumps right in ready for the next adventure. I need to check into a microchip for her though.

    Reply
  4. My dog gets anxious and car sick. Even taking her to the vet is a challenge. I wish we could travel with her but she gets so stressed

    Reply
  5. I have a friend and any time her dog can go with her he is in that car. Short trip or long trips he is very happy. Going to share this with her just in case she does need some or all of these great tips

    Reply
  6. Good travel tips. I rarely travel with my pets, I rarely travel! When I need to be away for a day or two, I put one of my unlaundered tops in their beds. It makes them feel more secure in my absence. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Great tips. We also bring along our dogs favorite blanket for their booster seats when travelling by car so they find it easier to relax on long rides and have a little bit of home when you get to our destination.

    Reply
  8. Thanks for the tips! And the vet and immunization records are something I forgot on our last road trip, so now I just keep copies all the time in the glove compartment. I always bring an old sheet also to put on any hotel surfaces (like the end of the bed) so we don't leave dog hair around.

    Reply
  9. First of all Cleo and Apollo are absolutely adorable!!! I have a 2 year old Border Collie/Lab mix...her name is Trixie and she is the love of my life! My family all adore her...so when I travel to my Mom's in the summer, she comes along for the ride...her first few trips didnt go well unfortunately, she vomited about 45 minutes into the trip..That was 2 summers ago..so we started giving her gravol, and we would stop for a stretch about 40 minutes in, and she does great now!! No need for gravol even!!

    Reply
  10. Those are some very useful tips. Layovers for me often come with flight delays so I would not want my dog to be in a cargo hold for a long time.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sugar Cookie Bars With Chocolate Ganache Story Easy Chocolate Lollipops Story Strawberry Paleo Fudge Bites Story Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich Recipe Story Easy Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry Soup Story