Traveling tips and resources

[CarlosA]

Hi. I'm taking my first long road trip with my rottie-mix, Rosie. In fact, it's my first multiple day trip with any pet. I'm wondering if there are any good tips and resources regarding traveling with a large pet. In the past, I'd drive until tired and just find a convenient hotel but I'm sure that simpleminded plan will not work when traveling with a pet.

Are there any motel chains that are pet friendly?
Any good websites (most seem dated)?
How do others plan their trips?

Thanks.

Carlos

[Nina&Bill]

Road trip! Smidgen used to love those :).

I have a book called Travelling with Your Pet that lists pet friendly hotels in the USA & Canada by state, broken down alphabetically by city within the state. The first road trip that we took with Smidgen (NY to Wisconsin ) was done with the help of this book. Drive until we were beat, see what town was coming up & consult the book for a place to stay. It also lists any restrictions like damage deposits or size limits for dogs. Plus the phone #s for the hotels so that you can call ahead & check thatthey have rooms & that your dog will be welcome.

The Mobil Travel Guide also lists hotels with a little dog next to them when they accept pets. Either one of these books is a definite bring along.

Don't forget plenty of food, water, treats & plastic bags ( in case of accidents & to clean up after your dog). "New" water can often result in diarrhea so you might want to lay in a supply of the stuff from home :). Also a bed or blanket for your dog to curl up on when you get to the hotel. I must admit that whenever we stayed in a Hotel with Smidgen she'd sleep on the foot of the bed :). I'd put her food & water bowls in the bathroom so that it was easy to clean up any mess & did what I could to keep the dog hair to a minimum. Always clean up any solid deposits that your dog may leave on the grounds of the hotel! We want the hotel people to keep welcoming our pawed pals back ;).

I carried a collapsible water bowl for the car in case Smidge got thirsty en route & also made sure that she had plenty of room to sack out & not be cramped by the luggage. She'd usually be wide awake & staring out the window for the first day of the trip anyway, too excited to sleep :).

Have fun!

Nina

[Alaskan]

When we travel the U.S. from one army post to the next we put our large dogs in crates that fit nicely in the back of our truck. We'll put a blanket in the bottom of their crates and give them a bone ro something to occupy themselves on the trip. We take plenty of rags and large zip locks incase of accidents. Along with leashes, dishes, their own food and vet records.:)

[Carina43]

Hi Carlos...Any Red Roof Inn or Baymont hotel will accept pets, as far as I know. I have found many of those pet-friendly travel websites outdated, or just plain inaccurate, too. Some motels have size restrictions, but if you just walk your well behaved dog up to the reception desk, managers relent pretty quickly! :)

And everything Nina said...cleaning supplies "just in case." I stayed at a hotel with my dog last summer, and a friend and her Great Dane shared the suite. Her poor dog was a bit anxious...when we left them in the room for about 15 minutes, the poor dog had diarrhea ALL OVER THE ROOM. Danes can produce a lot of poo! It was awful to clean up, and we wanted to leave the room very clean because they were so nice about our dogs.

So...if your dog is used to a crate, and you can fit one in your vehicle, it might be a good idea if you think she might be at all stressed.

[CarlosA]

Thanks for all the good advice. My neighbor with two labs lent me the Traveling with your dog Mobil guidebook. It's a few years old (1999) but should be indispensible.

My girl, Rosie, is a well-behaved Rotie-mix and is very friendly. There's not a person or another dog that she is not friendly towards. She may not love the person or the other dog but she's never been hostile. She even has tried to reconcile with dogs that have bit her by cautiously approaching them after being nipped. I personally cannot understand that behavior but it's her life. I'm glad she tries to be good canine citizen.

Her only vice seems to be announcing every strange vehicle traveling on my road by barking but that's understandable. We live on a cul-de-sac in rural Vermont with 400+ acres of national forest adjoining the property. Every vehicle is a novel sight. For the most part, she's off leash except for hunting season and popular vacation weeks where many of the nearby homes are rented.

I'll presume she'll bark at strange noises during the road trip but she's been receptive to the "quiet" command after I praise her for announcing a stranger's (car's) presence. Nonetheless, her first few barks are startling.

Carlos

[JoJo]

I carry a few gallon milk jugs filled with water from home and use it for the dog's drinking water. I also ask for a room in the back cause it seems that any noise Reba hears she likes to "warn" me. That way you won't disturb any other guests in the building in case they let out a bark or two. Sensi is my "quite" one, just likes to growl in that low tone! :D

JoJo

[roadweed]

A road trip- lots of fun! I'm planning one myself in Feb., so this thread is helpful to me too. Except we won't be staying in hotels, I am dragging a tiny pop up trailer. I even got the extra bed cushion for the bed so Gretchen has room to sleep. :)

[Carina43]

I had the ultimate travelling dog at one time - I was an over the road trucker and my very first Rottie Ajax was with me 24/7! That is the ultimate life for a dog...we found rest areas and hiking spots from coast to coast. I used to carry a car tire (his favourite toy) behind the cab, so at pick-up and delivery places he could roll it around and "kill" it, much to the amusement of bystanders.

Plus he was an amazing protector, valuable for a female trucker. :)

[CarlosA]

Thanks everyone. I didn't think of the water issue because Rosie seems to have an iron stomach but I'll bring a large quantity of home water anyway. She has even gotten into a deer carcass/remains for a short time before I called her off without any bad effects. Strangely enough, when I bought the "good" quality dog food (i.e., Wellness) she passed gas throughout the night. And yes, I tried to slowly introduce the new food over the course of a week. It's always a new lesson when one owns a dog. It's part of the fun (for the most part).

I also didn't think about cleaning supplies because, again, Rosie, is great on housetraining issues. Then again, the new environments and the stress may cause her to behave differently. I'll definitely bring some cleaning supplies along since I don't want to deter hotel/motel managers from accepting dogs, and more specifically Rotties.

We all know that many people have preconceived notions about Rotties. I've had mothers cross the street with their children when they spotted my good girl.

The very few bad apples have a tremendous impact on the news and it's always an irresponsible owner behind the dog. I'll try to balance other's perspective of the breed by showing my dog as a good canine traveler and citizen. (BTW, Rosie's a Rottie-mix but has all the facial markings of a full-bred Rottie but the tail of Labrador and perhaps another breed, still unknown to me, added into the mix).

Wish me luck on my trip. Happy holidays to all.

Carlos

[Carina43]

Merry Christmas & safe holiday travel to you and Rosie!

[Chaco]

You may want to try petswelcome.com We used the site this summer for a cross country trip and found it to be very helpful.