Tips to ensure the best road tripping experience with your dog

Road tripping is one of the most classic ways of traveling, it can prove to be a fun, exhilarating, and eventful journey, no matter if you are traveling solo or bringing somebody along. A road trip is a great way to unwind and de-stress, it gives you a chance to spend some quality time with your friends, family, or yourself, depending on whom you are traveling with. But you don’t always need a person as your travel companion; your dog/dogs could also make a great travel companion. Road tripping with dogs might sound like an insane idea at first, but you can make the trip both fun and successful by bearing certain things in mind. You will have to make more frequent stops when road tripping with a dog, but that will be all worth it, granting you will get to stretch your legs, take in the natural beauty and greenery surrounding you all while your dog does what it enjoys the most and that is running.

It’s not just your comfort and safety that matters when road tripping, but your pet friend also needs to feel safe and comfortable throughout the journey. Ahead, we have listed a couple of tips and tricks that will help to ensure a successful and hassle-free road trip with your dog.

 

Always prioritize safety first

Nothing should be more important for you than your and your dog’s safety. The last thing you want is for your dog to crawl to your seat and distract you or nudge the steering wheel, which can put both of you at so much risk. Therefore, you should always keep the safety aspect in your mind and take all the necessary and best precautions to keep everyone safe. You could get a crash-tested dog harness to keep your furry friend safe and sound.

 

Make your dog identifiable

Affixing the identification tags to the collar of your dog is one of the most essential things to do; you also need to make sure that the tags contain the correct and up-to-date information, including your contact number. Additionally, you can attach a GPS tracking device to the harness or collar of your dog, in case you lost your pet, you will be able to identify the location through the tracking device. You can also choose to get your dog microchipped through a vet just to be on the safer side.

 

Have plenty of space in the car

While we cannot really tell you how much stuff you should bring on a road trip, the least you could do is to not suffocate your dog with all the luggage or items you have brought. Dogs tend to get a bit fussy when they don’t find enough space to move around; even a person would get agitated. Therefore, try keeping the luggage in the back of your car. Also, don’t keep any food with scent anywhere near around the dog, some dogs can become quite a scavenger and eat anything with a scent.

 

Make frequent stops

The number of stops you make when road tripping solo might be doubled when bringing your furry friend as a travel companion. It’s imperative for dogs to relieve themselves often; you will need to make frequent stops throughout the journey so that your dog can do its business, stretch the legs, and take in the greenery. You don’t want your dog to get fussy or stressed while road tripping, therefore, keep taking frequent small breaks to allow your dog to breathe some fresh air.

 

Bring the essentials

Aside from packing the essentials for yourself, you need to bring the items that are essential to your dog as well. While stuffed animals, chewing toys, familiar smelling blankets, treats, dog food, water, and pillows are some basic essentials, you can be extra considerate and bring things that will come in super handy such as a blinking light that can be affixed to the dog’s collar, a longer lead to tie the dog to a tree when required, a foldable crate when staying in a hotel, etc.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *