Safety Measures to Take When Traveling with Dogs

Safety Measures to Take When Traveling with Dogs

Every time I travel with my dogs, I wish with everything in me, I had invested in a doggie diaper bag. Let’s face it; dogs can be like small children. So when planning to travel with your dogs, there are a few essentials that you just can’t forget!

This weekend I had the pleasure of going “camping”, or shall I say “glamping”? Headed to the hills of Virginia, a group of friends and I gathered up our furry friends for a weekend of adventuring. Since I’m never sure what the weekend will entail, I have to be diligent about a lot of details to keep my canine friends safe throughout our vacation.

A few years ago, my oldest, Heathcliff, got into a bit of a tussle with another dog. Little did we know it but he had a puncture wound on his forearm, that throughout the weekend started to become infected. Since we were ill-prepared at the time, we had no way to keep it clean and bandaged aside from water and a makeshift wrap. By the time we got home, his arm was swollen enormously and we rushed him to the emergency clinic.

Quite a few hundred dollars and a possible-amputation scare later, we learned our lesson: always be prepared.

This year I was not going to be caught off-guard by any situation. We loaded up the car with the puppy essentials: a crate, the leashes, the water bowl, a medical kit, some treats, toys, and blankets and food.

Emergency Kits & Comfort Items

One thing I will recommend is purchasing a basic emergency kit. Although there are some products that can’t be used on dogs (be sure to check with your vet. Some can be fatal!) the bandages and other tools are really smart to have around. And honestly, people might benefit from having that emergency kit too!

Another recommendation is to bring their comfort-things; for my dogs, that includes their special blanket, and a few selected toys. Dogs are creatures of habit- they thrive on stability and normalcy. When we uproot them from their homes, even for a short weekend, the dogs can tend to be more stressed than excited. We recently moved into a new home, my younger dog, Rylee, became very nervous when we pulled out the suitcases. She was terrified that we would leave without her! By bringing her comfort-things with us on the journey, and setting them up in a similar fashion to what you do at home, they will adjust to the trip much easier.

Lastly, always pack more than you need! I tend to give my dogs a little extra food on vacation because they are more active throughout the day. The worst situation would be to run out of food half-way through your trip, especially if you go out into the middle of nowhere! It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so bring a little extra of all the essentials just in case!

Traveling with your dogs can be such a fun experience. In doing so, you need to be careful during your preparation for the trip. Just like you would with any child, there are essentials for your canines that cannot be left behind!

About the Author

Samantha Rosenfeld lives in Charlotte, NC with her two fur-babies, Heathcliff and Rylee. A firm believer in adoption and rescuing animals, she frequently fosters dogs that are released to shelters in the local area. When she is not traveling for work, she enjoys taking her dogs to the lake and watching them tirelessly swim out to the middle for a stray tennis ball. She runs her own website that focuses on creating a safe haven for the busy and overworked 21st century woman, called The Feminine Pilgrimage. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for more information.

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