Traveling with a dog over the holidays can be stressful – here are 5 tips to help
Are you planning on taking your dog on the road with you this Christmas to visit your family? For a lot of dog owners, the thought of having to take their dog in the car with them raises their stress levels. This can be for various reasons: their dog gets car-sick, it whines/barks/paces the entire trip, it chews up their seats, etc. If you are one of the “lucky” dog owners this pertains to, hopefully these 5 tips for traveling with a dog will help. Even if your dog is a dream to ride with, maybe these will help your trip even more 🙂
5 Tips for traveling with a dog:
- Get your dog used to the car. For a lot of dogs, this moving machine just stresses them out. They pant, whine, pace, or bark the entire time – which makes their owners anxious in their own right. Start with short trips and try to make them positive. We’ve even started from square one: load them in the car, treat them, get them out of the car, repeat. Build up your time that you are in the car. Go around the block first, then a larger trip around the neighborhood, then venture out farther, then 30 minutes. Keep building your time. Use a Kong or their favorite chew toy to keep them occupied and the experience rewarding.
- Use gingersnaps for car sickness. Ginger is a natural remedy that helps ease their tummy. Don’t feed them a big meal before a long car trip if they are prone to car sickness. One or two gingersnaps (depending on your dog’s size) may help for the longer trips. Roll the windows down, too – some dogs do better with the fresh air coming in.
- Use a crate. This will help stop the pacing (and chewing your seats), but it is also a safety thing. No one likes to think the worst, but if you are in a wreck, your dog won’t get thrown around (or out of) your car.
- Keep their food the same. Be sure to take enough of their own dog food with you to get you through the duration of your trip. Changing their diet because you ran out of food can cause other tummy troubles you won’t want to clean up!
- Train them in basic obedience. Training with your dog builds a bond with you, so they listen better when you tell them to stop doing something (like whining). It also will help with socialization/listening to you when you stop for those potty breaks along the way, because there may be other dogs traveling, too 😉
Related: 5 Things Responsible Dog Owners Do
Traveling with a dog starts with getting in a car. If you need help working on getting your dog used to the car, we would love to talk with you!
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