Many of us travel with our pets, and when we do there are always worries with hotels, maids, leaving the pets in the car while we go in and eat, among other things. Here are my solutions. I have used these for many years and have never once had the least bit of a problem.
In the car I have a pad for them to lay on and a blanket for them to get under. They have a small bowl of food. Not much, just a little so they don't get too hungry and have a snack. I also keep pet snacks handy and offer them one every hour or two. They also have two small "non-squeaky" toys to play with, along with one rawhide bone for each dog.
Anytime I stop, I offer them some water, then take them for a walk. Even if I'm only stopping for a minute to run into a ladies' room. They probably have to go too! After I've gone in and done my business, I take them for another short walk to let them relieve themselves one last time before hitting the road again. I also give the cat one last chance at the litter box too.
When it comes to eating on the road, I stick with drive thrus. This way I don't have to leave the pets in the car where they may get over heated or too cold. I save restaurant eating for when I arrive at my destination. This also has 2 more good things to it: I save money over restaurants, and also save time too.
If I will be there for more than 4 days, I set aside one day when I let the desk know, and bring all the pets outside with me for a good long walk while the maids do my room. The cat is brought out in her carrier. It's too easy for a panicked cat to get out of a collar, or get hurt trying, at the sight of a strange or aggressive dog. Should there be a problem with an aggressive dog that is not being handled by its owner, I report it to the front desk at my first opportunity. This has only happened to me twice and both times the desk people took care of the problem immediately.
I've used this system for many years and have never once had a problem. And by using this system, it makes the trip much more pleasant for me and for my beloved pets.
By Cricket from Parkton, NC
This page contains the following solutions.
You can calm most cats or dogs before taking them to the vet or on a trip in a car, train or plane with a safe and simple homeopathic-type remedy called "Rescue Remedy".
I travel quite a bit with my little Doxie and like to have her "stuff" handy. She needs several things through the day so we now have a "Penny bag" for Penny's stuff.
It just isn't safe for your dog or cat to be roaming all over the car while you are trying to drive. My German Shepherd/Husky mix used to always knock the car out of gear while he was switching from the front seat to the back seat - not good!
We were traveling on a busy road in our RV, when we saw another RV ahead of us pull to the side of the road. We slowed, but as we approached the back of the other RV, the people opened the side door.
I have a rather large cat called Mr. Smith. He completely refuses to get into anything smaller to travel in, so we have a small dog cage. He has grandiose ideas!
