Traveling with Dogs

As I get further into this whole blogging thing, I am learning a lot of useful things. One of them is that I have lots of fun and/or useful tips to share with all of you (at least I think they are fun or useful; you are entitled to your own opinion). Another thing I am learning is that when I include all of these tips in a story about one of our adventures, the story kinda gets bogged down (and seems to take me a very long time to finish).

So here I am embarking on a new experiment. I’m going to share some of these tidbits as separate posts, which I will then link to as needed. The hope is both that my stories will flow more easily, and that I will be able to share things with you more often. Here goes.

Since our blog is in large part about traveling with our dogs (although not always, there have already been a number of posts without them), I figured that my thoughts on that subject in general would be a good place to start.

To Bring Them, or Not To Bring Them? That is the First Question.

Obviously, all of your dog related planning starts with this question: are you going to bring your dogs with you. Of course, we always want to have our faithful furry friends with us as much as possible. But it is not always possible to bring them along, or even if it is possible, it may not be the best option. Here is a series of questions I always ask whenever I am faced with this decision.

How are you traveling?

It is pretty easy to set your own vehicle up for puppy friendly travel. Odds are even if you don’t travel much, you have still figured out how to get your companion to the vet or the park. But most mass transit methods–especially airplanes, but also things like buses and trains–are much trickier when it comes to pets. There are ways to do it, but they tend to involve a lot of extra time, money, and paperwork, so most people opt to leave their friends at home in these cases.

Where are you traveling?

With the exception of very young or sick dogs who can’t be left alone, you generally don’t want to bring your dog with you just for the sake of having him or her in the car with you. You want to be going somewhere they will enjoy too. If you are going somewhere that doesn’t allow dogs, or places them under a lot of restrictions, they may have more fun hanging out in the yard or napping on the couch, rather than being cooped up in the car all day while you have fun.

One place we run into this a lot is National Parks. Dogs are allowed, but they have to be leashed at all times, and can’t go more than a little ways from the main roads. To Rocky, there is no greater injustice than being surrounded by all the smells of nature, and not being able to run around and smell them. While it may work if you are doing a driving tour or passing through a park on the way to some other, more dog friendly place, it is no fun for your pups to spend several days in a national park, not enjoying it.

Other areas dogs are banned or restricted include groomed ski hills, pools, busy urban areas, and most restaurants. Most people object to dogs like Dug interrupting their meals to get some much needed attention. That doesn’t mean you can’t leave them in the car while you do one or two of these–particularly if they have had a good run beforehand–but consider how many times they will be cooped up on any given outing, and make your decisions accordingly.

A final thing to consider is whether or not you have a safe place to leave them when you aren’t around, which is bound to happen sooner or later on any trip. Many hotels and rentals have rules about leaving pets unattended. If your dogs have any bad habits–barking, scratching doors, chewing, peeing inside, raiding garbages (both of our boys are pros at this one)–you could be facing a large expense for any damage done if you leave them alone.

We generally prefer to keep them where they could only conceivably damage things that are ours (happily, we haven’t had many incidents now that they are outgrowing their puppy phase), and often use our truck as a traveling kennel in the winter, but we are much more hesitant to do so in the summer. Dogs can die from overheating. When the weather is warm, we crack the windows, park in the shade, leave them water, and most importantly make sure that we are not gone very long.

Why are you traveling?

When you bring dogs with you on a trip, they still need all of the care they usually get when they are at home. That means regular meals, reasonable potty breaks, and lots of play and exercise. In fact, I think they need these things more when they are traveling, as it gives them some recognizable structure and helps them feel less anxious in a new place. Plus if you have a high energy dog with some destructive tendencies (I’m looking at you, Rock), you want to find uses for that energy that are not gnawing on the rental house’s furniture.

Many of the trips we take come with busy itineraries. Weddings and work conventions both come to mind. Our Stairclimb in Seattle is another example. On these occasions, we are often too busy to see to all of our pets needs. Isn’t it better to leave them with someone you trust who can?

How does your dog feel about traveling?

Happily for us, Dug and Rocky are both excellent travelers, so it is easy to pack them a tub, open the back door of the truck, and tell them to “load up.” But I have met a number of other very excellent dogs who do not care for it as much. Some get motion sick, or simply make themselves sick with anxiety. Nervousness about a new place can lead to inappropriate peeing, vomit, and all sorts of things that are no fun for either of you. If you recognize your dog in any of these, he or she may actually thank you for the opportunity to stay home with a sitter.

If you decide to leave them behind:

Friends:

Obviously, the cheapest option is to leave them with friends. This can be done at your own house, with the friend coming by occasionally (or even staying over) to check on your pup. The benefit of this is that your dog gets to stay in a place he or she is comfortable; the down side is that it may be a little lonely (especially if your friend does not stay).

The other option is to take them to a friend’s house to stay. When I do this, I always ask friends who already have other dogs, as I think it makes the transition simpler. People with dogs usually already have toys, water bowls, treats, etc… as well as either a yard or some sort of plan for getting their own dogs some exercise. The hope is that your dog will fit in nicely with the rest of the pack.

There are lots of advantages to asking your friends. Many friends will dog sit for free, or you can pay whatever you think is fair, and there is more room for creative reimbursement, such a six pack of beer or an offer to watch their dogs next time they are out of town. Particularly if it is a friend you visit often, your dog may already know them and their house, and thus feel more comfortable without you.

On the other hand, it is hard to hold anyone to an excellent standard of care when you are only paying them a six-pack of beer. You get what you pay for here, and there are always bound to be some things that don’t quite go the way you would prefer–fewer walks or different food than normal, for example.

The other major disadvantage to this method, in my mind anyway, is the sense of obligation that comes with asking favors from friends. Some people are very comfortable with this, and for those of you who are, great! But if you are like me and feel uncomfortable imposing on your friends, this can sometimes be awkward.

Because of this, Pete and I usually only use this option for long day trips. We have a few neighbors and relations who are happy to drop by to feed the dogs and let them out (in the winter) or in (in the summer). If we are going to be gone over night, we usually opt for a professional sitter.

Kennels and Doggie Daycares

Generally, we prefer to have our dogs professionally boarded. It means we can expect a certain quality of care, and we don’t have to impose on our friends when we go somewhere most weekends!

The downsides of professional kennels are obvious. They aren’t personal, and they aren’t cheap. They definitely add an extra layer of cost to any trip (although you also often have to pay extra to take them with you, so it may be a wash either way).

The other thing to be aware of is that not all kennels are created equal. It is your responsibility as the dog owner to do your research (I like a mix of online, calling in with questions, visiting, and asking around) in order to find a kennel that is a good fit for you and your furry friends.

When you are “auditioning” a kennel, look for places that ask a lot of questions back. You want someone you is willing to learn about your dog–things like vaccination records, medical history, behavioral issues, feeding schedule, commands they respond to, etc… These people are the most likely to give your dogs the most personalized care. You also want to look for places that are clean and secure (especially if your pup is known for wandering away), and I like to learn a little about what their procedures for emergencies are (most will take the dog to a vet at your expense if they suspect anything serious).

We have been lucky enough to find kennels run by people we know here in Polson, such as River Run Kennels and All Paws and Hooves (which a friend of ours just started up; we like it because it is based out of her home, so our pets get more human attention, and she used to be a vet tech, so she would be a good judge as to whether our dogs needed medical attention).

If you decide to bring them with you:

Planning

The biggest thing tho remember when you are bring your dog on a trip is to make plans for them as you go. The first will be finding a dog-friendly place to stay. Some hotels and VRBOs accommodate pets (sometimes for an extra fee, so read the fine print). Camping is another great dog option.

Next, you need to have a plan for how you are going to leave your pet in the new place. Are they trustworthy enough to be left alone? Travel crates or exercise pens might be a good investment in places like this, if your dog will tolerate them (Rocky is incredibly opposed to being crated; he protested so much we never even tried it with Dug). And again, if the weather is not hot, you can take your pup with you in your vehicle, but better not to risk it on a hot day.

You also need to have time budgeted in to exercise your dogs. We often hike while we are traveling, and we try to choose pet friendly trails (many guide books label trails as pet friendly or not). If we aren’t hiking, we try to find a dog park. “Dog parks near me” is very high in my Google search list. And when all else fails, you can always leash them up and walk them on the street or around a park (our dogs are menaces to society on a leash, so this is our least favorite option.)

Lastly, it is good to have a sense of the vet situation when you get to a new place. “Vets near me” on Google is a good place to start, and it is good to know from the get-go if there are any 24 hour clinics nearby, or if you are going to need to book it to a neighboring town in an emergency. There are also some resources to help you where ever you are.

One of these is the Animal Poison Control Hotline: (855) 886-7965 or (855) 764-7661. I discovered this early one morning when Rocky got into my purse and ate part of a hand warmer. I checked the label and discovered that the iron powder in those is toxic, but like many small towns, Polson does not have a 24 hour vet clinic, and the regular ones weren’t open yet. I called a clinic in Missoula, and the woman recommended this hotline to me.

There is a one-time $60 fee paid by credit card, but then you can call as often as you need on any given case and have access to 24 hour on call vets. They were able to walk me through getting Rocky to drink small amounts of hydrogen peroxide until he threw up the contents of his stomach, and I have had their number saved in my phone ever since.

Packing

There is also extra packing involved whenever your dog comes with you. We travel so much that we just keep a large plastic tub half full with food, and then keep an extra set of bowls, some treats, and some toys stuck in the top. After that, it is easy to throw in anything else we decide we need.

For when we are visiting other people’s houses, we pack things like brushes, lint rollers, and a foaming leave-in shampoo in case someone decides to roll in something unpleasant.

When we are planning on hiking, we bring along some styptic powder in case of injuries (It stops the bleeding; I first got it when I was learning to trim Rock’s nails, and he wiggled around so much that I sometimes cut them too short) and a Vaseline-like gel called Mushers’ Secret, which we put on their feet to protect the pads from cracking in the heat or the cold.

We also frequently pack one of their older sleeping pads, so they will have a space wherever we are staying that they know is theirs. And we keep several towels on hand, for when they find something wet or dirty to play in.

We have outfitted our truck to simplify bringing the dogs along. We bought a removable seat cover for the back seat, to catch all the dog hair. When we want to bring extra human passengers, we can take the cover off. We also keep an insulated steel jug of water and a collapsible dog bowl in the truck all the time, just in case we end up some where and the boys are thirsty.

In conclusion:

Once you decide to get dogs, traveling is never going to be quite as simple as it was before. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Exploring new places with you best furry friends is a blast.

All you really need is to spend some time doing some research and planning, so you know which trips you want to bring them on, where you want to leave them, or what you need to pack. Once you have all this worked out, it quickly just becomes part of your pre-trip routine.

And then you and your pups are ready to head out and start exploring.