Tips on Traveling with your Dog

Tips on Traveling with your Dog

If you are planning your spring or summer vacations, you may want to consider taking your dog along. If you do, you must be sure that the place you will be staying will allow your dog(s).

Many places have restrictions on the size and number of dogs you may have. If you are staying in a hotel you need know they may or may not allow you to leave your dog alone in the room.

If you are considering taking your dog on the plane with you, contact the airline to determine what the height and weight restrictions are. Major Payne and I were left stranded once because the airline told me over the phone that as long as the dog could fit under the seat in front of me they had no other restrictions. It wasn’t until later that they said the dog had to be able to stand under the seat in front of me. That left me without a way to get home.

 

If you are traveling in your car with your dog for a short or long distance, it is very important that the dog is safely restrained. Like a small child, a dog can become a flying missile if an accident happens and the dog is unrestrained. The safest way for your dog to ride with you is in a crate that is secured with a seat belt in the backseat or on the floor behind the front seat.

 

If your dog is your co-pilot it is very important to either manually or automatically disable the front passenger airbag. The force of an airbag will kill a dog.

There are several ways to restrain your dog.

 

1.       A travel harness bucked into the seat belt harness:

 2.       A tether that attaches to the dog’s regular harness and latches into the seatbelt latch.

3.       If you want to have more than one dog tethered to the seatbelt there are tethers that loop around a fastened seat belt.

 
If you use a tether, do not attach it to the dog’s collar. If you slam on the brakes, your dog will probably end up with a broken neck. I recommend a sturdy body harness or vest with a metal ring securely attached to the back (Gooby sells apparel for small dogs with sturdy rings on the back).

Traveling with your four legged friend can be a rewarding experience for all if you respect the rules and make sure your friend is safe.