The Traveling Dog – How to Make a Long Road Trip More Comfortable For Your Dog
By: Kelly Marshall
Submitted: 2008-08-11 13:05:29 | Word Count: 513
Traveling with your dog? This can actually be a lot of fun. It s a great way to bond with your dog while experiencing new places along the way. If your road trip is going to be a long one then you may want to take a few extra steps to plan accordingly and make certain that you and your dog get to your point of destination safely and happy. Here are a few tips that I hope will help you during your travels:
1. The last thing you want to do is have to clean up a disgusting mess of diarrhea inside your car. Trust me, you don’t want the headaches. Your dog can easily give you this headache when you do not stick to his regular feeding times and with his normal food. This is not a time for food experimentation. It is very easy to feed your dog unpredictably when you are making a long trip by car. However, it will be best for both of you if you bring along bags of his regular food and only feed him at the same time you would during his regular meal time at home.
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2. Although it is obvious that you do not plan on ever losing sight of your dog during your travels, you should still make sure that his collar is tightly in place and that he has updated identification tags in case he gets lost. If for some reason you re making a temporary stay for more than a day at a location until you arrive at your main destination, add an additional identification tag that has the address and correct phone number of that temporary location.
3. When you make a rest stop along the way, make sure that you leash your dog before he gets out of the vehicle and keep a firm grip on him. Because he is in unfamiliar territory and may scare him easily, the instinct to jolt and run off may be intense. Keeping him firmly leashed will prevent this bad scenario from happening.
4. Try to avoid traveling by car during weather periods of intense heat, especially high levels of humidity. Dogs do not do well in this type of environment and if you must travel when its hot then be sure your vehicle is equipped with a good air conditioning system.
5. Each time you stop for a rest during the trip, make sure you give your dog a few moments to exercise his limbs. Take your dog for a quick walk or allow him to run around the block. This will help get his blood flowing so that he can relax better for the rest of the ride.
6. Last but certainly not least, as much as it is common sense, do not keep your dog in your car with the doors locked and windows rolled up. This is known as common sense safety advice that every dog owner should know already, but unfortunately there are many instances where a dog dies from a heat stroke while sitting in a car during hot weather.
