Travelling with a dog?

Ok, so Gwen and I will be doing our first ever road trip. On top of freaking out about dog event/meeting Chazzers/being alone I also have no idea what I should BRING. (Sizzle and Sael have helped on what to take to the actual event but as far as travelling goes... I could use some help.)

I'm looking at getting a travel crate (soft sided one) and I've found a couple that I like but I'm not sure if they're 'good'. Do you have any suggestions on getting a travel crate? Or should I not even bother and just use Gwen's wire crate? (Don't really want to use it since it's...heavy and bulky and just an overall pain. We didn't get it for mobility.) Oh and also, nothing top of line, expensive. SO is already freaking out on how much I"m spending on this trip. I am pulling out all the cute to purchase any other dog stuff :rofl1: (I would also need it by Wednesday. I know, I know. Probably rules out a lot of options. Sorry!)

Here is the one I'm thinking about buying. http://www.wayfair.com/ABO-Gear-Dog-Digs-Collapsible-Pet-Crate-10505-ABO1024.html

Since I'm not used to travelling (long distances) with a dog, how often do you stop? The drive is about 4 hours so I'm thinking a stop at about a halfway point would be enough? She's fairly used to car rides, just not the amount of time she'll be spending in the car on this trip. I think the longest trip she's been with us has been about an hour.

What are things you usually take when travelling with your dog(s)? (And if you know of any nifty dog bags, that would be awesome. Right now I have a crappy tote and everything just gets crammed in there. Thinking of getting a backpack but it would be cute to be dog themed!) I plan on taking several water bottles, a couple (three) day's worth of food, a couple toys, a crate, collar and leash (hoping I'll get her new one in before we leave!) and her shot records, since she just got them yesterday and I'm worried they'll get lost if I put them ON her. What else should I take?

And any other advice, suggestions would be great! We're staying for three days, two nights. Not sure what the weather will be. I'm going to assume it will rain at least one day, because that seems to be how the midwest is during this time.

Just a heads up- soft sided crates are not safe for using in a vehicle. For that, go with the wire crate you already have, or buy something like a Vari Kennel. You can get a soft one to take into hotel/motels, etc, tho, and leave the wire/Vari Kennel in the vehicle.


I haven't seen that one before. I love my Noz2Noz crate, tho. It's easy to set up and carry, has a "door" on one side and an end and the top unzips, too.

Things we take when we travel with Caleb-
food- measured out by meals into quart zip lock bags. I add his dry supplements to each meal, and include extra meals.

water- we have a travel water container that I fill. I "top it off" with either bottled water or water from where we're staying.

health info-I keep copies of vaccines, micro chip info, titles, license info, etc in the glove box of each vehicle and also in our training bag. It made it real easy when we stayed at Langley AFB, and they wanted a copy of vaccination certs.

extra collar(s),leash(es) and ID tags- these are also in our training bag, which goes everyplace with us. The spare set has the same ID & microchip tag that Caleb's every day set has, plus the rabies tag (his every day set has his town license). I bought the ID and microchip tags from a place that makes replacement tags for the military, so they come two to a set. I also have extra leashes stashed away in each vehicle.

tag with local contact info- I have tags made up with phone numbers of family & friends who we visit. I started doing that before we had cell phones. They're nice to have in case there isn't cell service where you're staying.

grooming stuff- brush, comb, waterless shampoo, towel

first aide kit- the human one is always in the car, but when we travel, I take Caleb's, too.

long line- just in case I need to tie him out. I also take our hiking bag, which has his harness and a bell in it.

crate fan- when traveling in or to warm weather.

toys- just a couple of his favorites, and a bumper or two to toss.

pee pad- for putting under the water bucket in hotels, etc.

I think that's it. So much of what we take is either already in a vehicle or our training bag that I might have forgotten something.



ETA- how in the world did I forget- FOOD DISH! LOL

Why are soft crates not advised for vehicles? Do they over-heat?

And I'll check out the Noz2Noz crate. (It seems green is the only color it comes in? That is SO not Gwen's color )

Thanks!

Soft-sided crates don't offer much protection in an accident.

What kind of car do you have? If we're traveling with the van, Riley goes in his wire crate (which is usually left in the van when we reach our destination). In the car, he's buckled into a harness in the back seat. Our trips are rarely less than six hours and we'll be heading on our marathon drive to the Outer Banks in a couple of months (18 hours straight thru). We stop every 2 hours to top off the tank, change drivers, give everyone a potty break and a chance to stretch legs. Riley generally sleeps most of the time.

I do have a plastic zip-closed folder/envelope which contains a copy of his vet records, ID numbers (CP and microchip #s), a photo of Riley and I, a list of people to call in case of emergency and a request to take him to the nearest vet (rather than a shelter) if we're in an accident. It's attached to his crate in the van and in one of the rear pockets of the car. (Which reminds me, I need to put his latest shot records in there). Not sure if emergency personnel will read it if there's an accident but at least there's something there. I also keep a copy of his shot records in my purse.

We bring lots of clean up bags, a roll of paper towels, dog towels which I put on the car seat for some extra padding, a couple of old bed sheets (throw one over the car seat or his bed in the crate to keep everything cleaner, since it's easy to shake out during stops - also use them on the floor of the hotel room), and bottled water so we don't have to rely on local water sources. Also bring a basic first aid kit in a compact case.

I don't have any cool dog bags either but I do have a large Sea Dog canvas tote. The stuff I need for the vacation week (food, toys, kongs, brushes, treats, leashes, etc) is in a small gym bag. Don't know if you'll be out walking at night, but since that's part of our vacation routine, I have a lighted collar for Riley and clip-on safety lights for me (some parts of the beach roads aren't well lit).

Have fun and don't forget the camera!! Photos of your trip and weekend are required!!

A soft crate isn't advised for a vehicle because it doesn't provide any safety in case of an accident. I don't know if it's more or less safe than letting a dog lose in the car or lower quality seat belts, though.

If you do get a soft crate, either for car use or motel/hotel use, just make sure you get her used to it at home first. Soft crates are much easier for Houdini dogs to break out of (or shift around), so don't just stick her in there in a hotel and expect her to stay.

One stop during a 4 hour ride should be fine for any healthy adult dog and even most puppies. An adult dog could probably honestly be fine bathroom wise, etc. in a car for 4 hours (plenty of dogs are crated that long and don't need to use the bathroom at home for that long) but if she's nervous, prone to car sickness, or eats/drinks a lot beforehand, a stop would be necessary. Plus I'M not really willing to drive for 4 hours without stopping.


I feel like everyone else in this thread are serious packers. I don't bring that much stuff leash, collar, meds, food/bowls, a toy, baggies, maybe a photo and copy of vet records if we're going somewhere I won't have access to a print/fax machine, but that's never happened. paper towels and cleaner I'd bring to a hotel, but not if I'm staying with family/friends (they already have that stuff). I've never regretting not having extra stuff during travel.

I use a wire crate in my car for traveling as it helps the dogs relax as well as contains any bones or chew things they have with them. Also, a wire crate or plastic crate will be your best bet as far as containing your dog in an accident (prevents them from becoming air-borne and flying at your head). I usually just bring in my wire crates if my dogs need to be crated elsewhere because even Zuma (who is awesome in a crate) will work at the zipper until she is free. I did just buy a new soft sided crate and hope to use it when I am there to supervise the dogs.

As far as what I bring for roadtrips otherwise:
-Paper towels and regular towels
-Poop bags!
-Kongs or bully sticks
-Extra leash and collar w/tags
-Vaccine certificate
-Flexi lead

Ohhhh. Right. Yeah, I don't have an SUV or anything like that. A small Cobalt. Gwen usually just goes into the back seat and lays down. There's really not any room for a crate. My seats fold down a little bit but it's not level enough. I wouldn't trust a crate on them. And Gwen is well behaved in the car.

The crate would be for hotel use and maybe for events. I don't really plan on leaving her unsupervised but if I did it wouldn't be for long. I'm not really concerned with her trying to escape, she hasn't tried to in her wire crate. But I will put it in her in the crate we get at home to get her used to it.

I guess it sounds like a lot when listed but Riley's stuff fits in a small gym bag so it's not that bad. I learned the hard way about bringing bed sheets, paper towels and lots of clean up bags - we were heading home from the beach one year and my oldest dog (first time in 15 years) had an attack of diarrhea, in the van. :yikes: It was pretty darned awful for all of us. Now I'd rather have the extra stuff and not need it than not have it.

Tomorrow, when you get up, document your daily life + Gwen. Usually goes something along the lines of:

Eat = Food, water, bowls for each.
Walking = Collar, leash
Poop = poop bags
Playtime/entertainment = toys, chewies.

Etc, etc. It helped me a lot before we went somewhere, so I made SURE I wasn't missing anything super important. Other than that:

Vaccination Record
Rabies Tag
Old/Used Towels (comfort and such)
Baby wipes (quick clean up)
Hydrogen Peroxide (inducing vomiting)
Benedryl (random reactions and for your own sanity)
Dramamine (motion sickness)

I don't personally let Zander out unless I'm getting gas. And even then, it's maybe every-other stop unless he's telling me otherwise. He easily goes 6-14 hours without pottying at home so I see no different for the car.

Oh, and it might be too soon in the future, but I generally make Zander carry some of his own stuff in a pack(also helps wear him out some). Not sure how easy Gwen is with new things, though, carrying a pack might be something you have to work into. And they are generally kinda pricey.

my husband, Hudson and I do fairly regular 10 hr drives to Ohio. Plus the 12 hour drive from NC to NY when we went to pick him up.

Crate. He is perfectly happy to chill out in his crate, but I make sure to exercise well before hand and bring noms (bully stick, frozen kong, etc).

Collar
Harness
leash
long line
water bowl
food bowl
extra food
canned food
toys. Lots and lots of toys
Poop bags for our stops
treats. Our first trip home, I made sure to give him yummy treats when he was being good.

I don't bring vet records or anything like that, but we are just visiting family for the weekend.

Honestly, for a 4 hour drive, if he was settled I would bother stopping.

I will definitely start paying more attention to what she needs/likes this week. I just ordered a crate and it should be here Wednesday. I hope it's big enough, but even if it isn't, it should be fine for a travel crate. I should be able to pack most of these things. I also ordered another bag (hopefully it's not super small). I tend to like things to match... color wise or at least theme wise. I'm weird like that. Lol (Gwen's new travel crate should be purple... because that's Gwen's ((okay, MY)) color.)

I'm sure I'll over pack. I would rather take things I didn't need than forget something I would have liked to take. And since this is our first time, I'm sure I'll take too many toys and not enough treats or something like that. On the plus side, there are vendors so I can buy some things if I forget. (And buy things, I will! :rofl1

And as far as putting a bag ON her.... We might do that eventually but I don't feel comfortable doing that right now. She would probably not like it and she's also not a very big dog. I'm not sure how much weight she could handle/how much would be the 'right' amount. And we don't go 'off-roading' much.

We'll see how this trip goes. I'm sure it will set the tone for the future. What we ACTUALLY need, what would be nice, what we can leave at home. All that.

Really, really do check it out at home first. Leave her in it in while you leave for a bit. Come back. Be sure the zipper is secured (most soft crates will have a clip for that). Gusto has spectacular crate skills and never messes with his wire crate at all, but when I tried to put him in Meg's Noz2Noz for a few minutes, he was baffled and spent the entire time pressing his forehead to the mesh and trying to push through. Good in crate =/= good in soft crate.

This may just be an issue in our region right now, but health certificates are, technically, required going into almost any state. Nobody in my circle knew about this because it is never enforced, but recently a cat show in RI was disrupted by state officials looking for everyone's health certificate. Whoops. They can ask you to leave the state if you can't produce it - rabies certificate is not adequate. I got my vet to print up health certificates for both my dogs to keep in the glove box. They are good for a year in most of the states we travel through.

2 to 4 hour drives are pretty standard for my guys, given how far I am from most agility trials. I don't bother stopping at all during that time unless one of them makes it clear they need out. They easily hold it that long at home.

I really have to share my story lol. This will not happen to you of course, I was just unlucky. I arrived home at 2.00am this morning (Sunday), having left my parents house at 2.30am Saturday morning. I was bringing the dogs back home (finally!) The trip is supposed to take around 12 hours with normal stops - I had thought with the dogs it would take 14 or so?

I pretty much packed all their stuff for the move, but I had easy access to food and water, a towels, blankets, treats, poo bags, wet wipes etc. One thing that I am so, so grateful I had was a chain. My mum said to me to take the chain and I said, 'they are never chained, when am I going to use that?'

Thankfully, she insisted. "What if you breakdown?"

I actually drove through the first 3.5hours because it was dark and the dogs were fine (good travelers) but we had a really long walk before I gave them a small breakfast. Then I found a toilet, fueled up the car, bought some breakfast and got them back out for a toilet stop before continuing on.

I got to about 20km north of Rockhampton and my accelerator was making an ominous rattling sound and sticking. I found a driver reviver stop (volunteers make coffee/tea for travelers during school holidays) and called the RACQ (roadside assist that I am thankfully a member of). They took two hours to get there which was understandable given where I was and the fact that it was Easter weekend. The dogs got multiple walks, but the best thing was having the chain for Grace because I could peg her to the picnic table whilst getting Abby out who requires my full attention. It really made a slightly frustrating situation so much more relaxing. I was so relaxed that I even read my book curled up with two dogs!

Fast forward, the RACQ man came and we discovered that my oil was dry but we couldn't find a leak. We decided to fill up the oil, check for the rattle (which stopped when we tried it again) and I purchased a LOT of oil with the idea that I'd check it every 100km and it'd all be fine (I'm an eternal optimist unfortunately. ) So I packed the dogs back up and we continued north. At this stage I had about 620km to travel. I got exactly 7km north and the rattle came back. Turn off onto a dirt road to my right. Decided that I'd really like to try to get back to the park because it's just not safe to stop in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, it's really not safe to just stop on the highway either. So I was pretty determined to get back to the lovely, safe park.

I got about 1 or 2km back and I lost power (isn't that a sinking feeling on the highway lol?) and I had no choice but to pull over on the side. and then my car started to smoke. Got the dogs out of there asap and then my handbag. Thankfully, it was just overheating, so when I turned the car off the smoking stopped.

The problem was that we were at the side of the road, in the heat of the day. It was 12.30pm and it was an hour and a half before the RACQ could come and tow me back to Rocky (thank God for them though!)

I'm not going to lie, I was concerned about the heat with the dogs, especially Grace who is older. Thankfully, there was a breeze and some clouds that kept drifting over to cool us and I kept her drinking and covered in a cool towel. I stood over them for shade (there wasn't even a tree!) In the end, it was fine. But it's our autumn and, although it was a hot day, it could've been so much worse. I had four large bottle, plus multiple small ones, but we went through it so fast. I know climate concerns are very specific to whatever region you are in, but now I will always, always plan for a situation where I'll be at the side of the road for a long time in the worst possible conditions.

They were rewarded for their patience by a ride in the air-conditioned tow truck cab! Then we had to wait another 4 hours for my mum and dad (bless them) to come with a hire car. And then I drove home. My dogs were just so good, they took a very unusual situation well into their stride. The chain was really handy and, although I wouldn't have left her unsupervised at the end of it, it gave me a certain degree of freedom.

I will admit that when I lost power and had no choice to pull over I was quite stressed because I had the dogs. I will never again take a gamble like I did if I've got the dogs - it's just not worth it to me. I should've just got towed back to Rocky from the park. I would possible take the chance if it were just me, but not with the dogs.

My car is in Rocky awaiting a diagnosis (something tells me it's pretty bad though lol) but I'm just glad we all got home safe. I cannot explain how happy I was once I got them into the safety of the air-conditioned tow truck cab. The frustration and concerns about having a car that breaks down is nothing to the stress of putting your dogs in a stupid situation.

So my pearls of wisdom lol is just to err on the side of caution if you have car trouble (which honestly is unlikely - I've been driving distances in my car for so, so long and it never skipped a beat until yesterday).
Make sure you take heaps and heaps of water!
Take a chain (as well as your crates). It was truly nice to have them out of her crate because we were out of action for such a long period of time (2 hours, 1.5hours and then 4/5hours!)

Have fun!!!