Safe Travels: Essential Tips
for Traveling with Your Pet
Written By Katelyn McLaren | Owner of Nurse Kate Curates
Who wouldn’t want to travel and go on adventures with their best
friend at their side the entire time? Especially when that best friend is your
pet dog or even your cat! Believe it or not, many pets love traveling with
their owners. Feeling the wind in their fur, meeting new people, smelling new
smells, and just enoying the time together.
Traveling with your pet is very different from traveling with a
human companion though, or even a child. Traveling with a pet comes alot to be
considered before you guys hit the road. Utilize this blog post to ensure that
you are prepared and well equipt to travel with your fur baby. So that you can
have the best, stress-free time traveling together!
Planning & Preparation for Pet Travel
Planning and preparing to travel with your pet is only half the
battle. Well, actually it’s probably 75% of the battle if we’re being honest.
So that is why planning and preparing is the first step here.
Destination Research Ideas for Your Pet
Have you picked out your destination of travel yet? If so, it’s
time to do some research on that destination. You know that you, as a human,
will be allowed to do all the things you want to do. But your pet doesn’t have
the same liberties at all locations unfortunately. So it’s important that you
do some research to find out where you pet can and cannot go with you.
Such as hotels they can or cannot stay at with you, restaurants
they may be able to join you at, and even the local leash laws of the area.
You want your pet to have just as much fun as you, so if you want
your pet to be your travel companion it’s important to ensure that they can be
involved in your travel adventure fully. Not just left in the hotel room or RV
the entire time you’re out having fun.
Microchipping & Identification Prior to Traveling
Making sure that you have your pet microchipped and have the
proper identification documents with you for travel is just as important as
having your own license and passport.
The destination that you are traveling to is likely just as
foreign to your fur baby, so in the event that they were to get lost they would
have trouble finding their way back to you. Unlike when they are home and know
where to go.
Veterinarian Visit Prior to Pet Travel
Seeing your vet’s veterinarian prior to travel is especially
important in the preparation phase. You’ll want to inform your vet about your
travel plans so that they an determine if you pet is healthy enough for travel
with you. This varies from one pet to another of course, so that’s why it’s
important for your vet to make that determination.
Some locations/methods of travel also may require certain
vaccinations to be up to date. Your vet will know exactly what vaccines are
needed and will ensure that your pet ready to go.
Make sure your vet gives you paper copies of your pet’s vaccine
records once everything is up to date. That will come in handy for the next
step of preparing for travel with your pet.
Pet Travel Documents
Again, this is just as important as having your own documents
when traveling. Not only will you want to have your pets vaccine records handy,
but also their general medical records. Has your pet had a surgery in the past,
a history of seizures, or maybe certain allergies? Medical history as well as a
list of any medications they take daily or even as needed is important to have
on hand when traveling. This is important for domestic and international travel
with a pet.
Choosing a Carrier or Crate for Transportation
Choosing the right carrier or crate for your pet to travel in is
also a very important step in preparation, because you care whether your pet is
comfortable for the many hours they will need to stay in their carrier while
traveling.
You don’t want a crate that’s too small of course. You want to
consider how you know that your pet likes to lay when sleeping and relaxing.
You also don’t want a crate thats too big, that might be difficult to manuver
or fit into various means of transportation. If you are flying with yout pet,
be sure to check that specific airlines carrier/crate size limitations before
purchasing a crate.
Safety needs to be a consideration too of course. You want your
pet to be able to move and maneuver in their crate/carrier. You also want to
get one that YOU can open with ease and don’t need to fight with, incase you
need to hastily get to your pet. But of course one that doesn’t open too easily
that they can get out of it on their own.
Training & Familiarization
Once you’ve picked the proper crate or carrier, it’s time to get
your pet familiar with it since they will be spending a significant amount of
time in it while traveling. Using positive reinforcement has helped many pet
owners to get their pet more comfortable and familiar with going into and
staying in their new carrier.
Such as giving your pet praise and possibly some treats when
they’ve successfully walked into their carrier/crate after instructed to do so,
or didn’t put up a fight when being placed into it to stay for a designated
amount of time to practice.
Transportation Considerations
The means by which you get to your travel destination is also
something you’ll have to put some thought into when traveling with your pet.
There’s SO much to consider when planning to travel with your fur
baby, so that’s why we’ve created this ultimate guide for you to use every
single time you’re preparing for a trip.
Car Travel
In the car you will want to consider bathroom breaks, as well as
breaks for food and water. Depending on where you are going and what the roads
are like, you will want to make back up “potty plans” for your pets in teh car.
Such as paper potty training mats underneath your pets for the ride, incase you
aren’t able to get off the road at the time that they likely need to use the
bathroom.
Also consider whether your pet has a tendency for car sickness or
not, and be prepared for any clean up you might need to do. That being said,
stopping as often as you can on your ride, for potty breaks or at least juts
fresh air breaks will make a world of difference for your pet during travels.
Alternative Methods of Travel
If you decide to travel with your pet in a train, airplane, or
boat, you have alot less control over the environmetn so there are a few things
to consider here as well. Such as does this mode of travel allow pets? If so,
do you have to keep your pet in a crate, and would that crate stay with you or
in another area?
It goes without saying, any mode of travel will require you to
have your pets shots up to date and have proof of them in time for travel. Your
vet should be able to print a copy for you when you take your pet for a visit
before traveling.
It’s imperative that you research your mode fo travel and find
out what their guidelines are regarding pets traveling with you, as well as
being sure to have all vaccines up to date and extra doses of medication to
take with you on you travels if your pet has any that they take regularly. Your
pet will likely need to be in a crate of some sort or on a leash, so it’s
important to know what is expected on the mode of transportation you intend to
take your pet on with you.
Conclusion
Traveling with a pet can be complicated, but if you take the time
to do research and prepare well before hand, it can turn out to be an
incredible adventure for both you and your pet.
Your vet can help you prepare for traveling with yout pet by
ensurin that their vaccines are all up to date and providing you with a paper
copy of vaccine records. Then, once its time to hit the road, by having a plan
for the transportation process, as well as when you arrive to your destination,
you will be set up for success.
We can't help anymore dogs until we help the ones we are committed to. But we can't help them without the support of our community. 
Stuart, FL
