Traveling can be stressful for everyone and that includes our pets. When you are going to travel, whether its an overnight trip or you are going for a few days, it is important to plan ahead. here are some tips for traveling with your senior pet, these can also be used for traveling with younger pets as well.
- Make sure that you have all medications needed for your pet, keep them in a safe place so that you can access them easily and make sure that your pet cannot get a hold of the medications
- Have a pet bed or blanket in the car for them to feel comfortable
- Make frequent stops so that you can have them get out of the care and stretch their legs and use the bathroom
- Feed smaller meals and give them time before travel to avoid car sickness, if your pet tends to get car sick call your veterinarian for some appropriate supplements or medication
- Adaptil spray or collar, a calming pheromone, which can help keep the pets in the car calm during the ride
- Look up emergency clinics along the way so that you have a plan in the event your pet gets sick or injured
- Make sure your pet is wearing a collar with appropriate identification and you have a create for kitties and small pets
- look up hotels along the way that accept pets, call them and make sure that there are no restrictions
- Have an emergency kit: call your veterinarian and discuss your plans for travel and have a kit made up for situations such as diarrhea, insect sting, car sickness etc…
- Give yourself plenty of time to travel as you may have to make frequent stops and you may have to drive a little more conservatively to keep your pets comfortable
- Special harnesses or ramps to help your bigger dogs get into and out of the car comfortably
- Pack extra pet food in the event of delayed travel
- Make sure your pet’s are wearing a seat belt or are secure in the car
Traveling can be fun, just give yourself plenty of time, have fun and don’t forget to take plenty of pictures!
