While you may love your dog limitlessly, they can still be an annoyance and trouble on the road. When you decide to bring your pet along on a trip you have to be sure there will be no problems on the way. You have to think about safety, health, and other things. Follow this article to learn what you can do to make the trip more enjoyable.
How to prevent troubles when you travel with your dog?
While they may be loyal, dogs can also be playful, energetic, distracted, annoyed, angry, and many other things that can cause potential trouble while on the road. One tip mentioned at Travelling With A Dog is to start with a short road trip. Doing this will make the dog get used to the movements of the car.
While it may be a little bit more complicated, many people are doing it and it doesn’t ruin their vacation. Here are 6 pieces of advice you should consider.
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Feed the dog light meals several hours before leaving
You don’t want your best friend to make a mess in your car during your trip. That is why you have to make sure it is not overfed and that it will have no trouble waiting to relieve itself once you arrive at your destination. This isn’t the only reason you should consider this. If you give it a big meal, feed him just before leaving or during the trip, there is a chance it could get sick and start throwing up inside the car. To avoid having to make more stops than you initially planned, do it the way it was explained.
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Pack a first aid kit and see what the nearest veterinary office is
You are the one responsible for your dogs’ well-being and this includes their health. That is why you need to bring a first aid kit with you whenever you bring your furry companion along. This especially goes out to those owners whose dogs have a medical condition. Also, make sure you know the quickest route to the nearest veterinary office in the area you are going to if there is an emergency. For example, if your pooch gets hit by a car, eats something, or suffers some other injury you’ll want to fix the problem as soon as possible.
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Pack a travel kit
A different kit should contain everything else a dog might need, from papers to chew toys. Papers will assure hotel owners that the dog is immunized and healthy, and they’ll be less worried about leaving it in their resort. Chew toys will keep your companion distracted and it won’t bother you as much if it has something to play with. Here is a list of what you should bring:
- health records
- food
- water
- medication
- bowls
- toys
- waste bags
- Scoop
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Create an ID for your pet
Even though it has a microchip, you should still take additional measures when taking your dog to an unknown place. Your best friend is probably very curious and tends to sometimes wander away from you to explore the area. It could get lost during the period and you should get a collar with a tag that contains additional information such as your phone number and home address. This way, even if it goes away for a while, if someone finds your dog they will have no trouble finding its owner.
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Keep your dog hydrated and give him bottled water
On longer trips, you tend to get thirsty while on the road and so does your dog. To make sure it does not get ugly, you have to bring water along with you so that your pet would not dehydrate. Also, make sure you buy your furry friend bottled water at the destination because you never know if it is tainted. This can prevent it from getting infected or sick and can save you the stress and trouble of bringing it to the emergency room.
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Restrain your dog during the ride
Your dog will definitely become curious during the ride and you need to make sure that it does not bother you or anyone else because it or someone might get injured. In order to create a safer and calmer atmosphere, you should restrain your dog to prevent it from hopping around, poking its head out the window too much, biting someone, etc. Most importantly, if the dog is restrained it will not bother the driver and it will not cause a potential danger on the road.
Following these pieces of advice, you’ll see that you can bring your best friend anywhere with you without worrying about something happening to it. It will surely be fun having the dog around especially if you are going on nature hikes or camping. If you are careful and take everything from above into consideration, you will have no problem on the vacation. Dogs are your best friends and they will also be thankful to you for not leaving them out.