By Shannon Miller, GPG Blogger/Volunteer
With the holiday season just around the corner, a lot of us are preparing to head out of town to visit family and friends. And if you’re anything like me, leaving your dog at home is just not an option. My dogs are my furbabies — there I said it. While an iPod full of podcasts and a full tank of gas will tide me over for the four-hour drive to visit family, it just doesn’t suffice for my carsick beagle. So before you head out the door with a car full of presents and your pet, consider these four tips to make the travel a bit more bearable for everybody.
1. Arrange your feeding schedule for traveling. I know from experience it’s best that my pups travel with an empty stomach. Typically I try to give them their food a few hours before hitting the road to give them plenty of time to digest.
2. Invest in a restraint system. You wouldn’t sit your toddler in the backseat without a restraint, so don’t do it to your dog either. In
the event that you’re in an accident, using a restraint on your dog can prevent injuries to BOTH of you. A dog seatbelt system can be found at a reasonable cost at sites like Amazon or your local pet store.
3. Make sure that tags are up to date. Nothing could ruin Christmas faster than a runaway pup out of town. Make sure your dog’s tags are up to date and have your contact information on them — just in case.
4. Talk to your vet! If your dog gets carsick even on short trips around the town, it’s worth speaking with your vet about your options — especially if your drive will be several hours. They could have something to make the drive a bit less stressful on your dog and his stomach!
How do you travel with your dogs over the holidays? Let us know! And if you’re looking for more fun tips and tricks like these, follow us on Pinterest!
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