Dog Travel FAQs

Before you are set to travel with your dog for a long trip, make sure to do the following:

• Talk to your vet and have your dog’s health checked for travel.
• Make sure your furry friend is vaccinated up-to-date and have all its vaccination records and the check card ready.
• Remember to carry emergency travel medicines as per the vet’s advice.
• Do not forget to carry his food, water, his favorite treat, and his favorite toys.
• If possible, you can carry his bed and crate with you.
• Have the nearby veterinary hospital phone number of the place of your visit.
• Do not feed him much. An empty stomach is always the best. Give him plenty of water.
• Make sure to keep him with a leash and collar. Tag his collar with his name, your phone number, his vet’s number, and vacation spot’s number.
• Never ever leave your dog unattended while traveling.

If you have planned airline travel with your pet, here are some of the tips to have a comfortable journey:

• You have to have the certificates necessary for air travel – health certification from a vet confirming that your dog is in a healthy state to travel and an up-to-date vaccination record.
• Have your dog’s passport checked and ready.
• A crate is an important necessity to carry your pet for air travel. Keep his crate cleaned, disinfected, and ready.
• Have the emergency travel medicines handy in case of emergency.
• Have his favorite food, water, and treat with you. Never overfeed your dog when you go on an extended trip.
• Keep the phone number of your vet handy always throughout the travel and be prepared for an emergency in case.
• Keep your dog with a leash and collar with an identification tag having his name, your phone number, your vet’s number, and the phone number of your vacation spot.

If you plan to travel by car, here are some tips to have a comfortable and pleasant trip:

• First off, have your pet get used to car travel by taking him (preferably in his crate) in the car for a few short rides. Let him have the feel of the car travel.
• Do not overfeed your dog. An empty stomach is always the best for car travel to avoid car sickness. Give him plenty of water to avoid elevated body heat and dehydration.
• Keep him on his leash and collar and secure him with a dog seat belt for his safety. Have an identification tag attached to his collar with his name, vet’s phone number, and your phone number.
• Keep his up-to-date vaccination records ready with you.
• Keep emergency medicines, food, water, treat, and his favorite toys handy with you.
• Have the car well ventilated to avoid travel sickness as all dogs do not love travel.
• The most important thing is never to leave your dog in a closed or open car unattended.

Yes, dogs can very well travel on planes provided they comply with health verification by the vet according to the mandates of the travel bureau and hold a valid pet passport.

All dogs tend to shed but with different shedding scales. So, when you take your dog on a car trip, be prepared for a thorough clean-up of your car after the tour.

Here are some tips to get dog hair out of the car:

• Firstly using a brush, pile up all the hair in one place.
• Using a good car vacuum cleaner, vacuum all the hair.
• For hairs that are stubborn on the seats, spray some mixture of water and fabric softener to loosen the fix, leave it for a couple of minutes and you can vacuum thoroughly.
• Finally, spray some disinfectant car fabric freshener over the seats and doors for a clean and fresh car interior.

As a dog owner, after every car travel with your pet, it is surely a painful labor every time to remove the hair out of the car carpet.

To make it easy, here are some tips:

• The first way is to use a vacuum cleaner to suck the hair. But it is very difficult to use a vacuum every inch.
• So, using a hair removal brush pile up all the hair in one place and vacuum carefully.
• Lint roller is another easy way to remove dog hair that is loose and not sticky.
• For dog hair stubborn on the carpet, use a mixture of water and fabric softener in a ratio of 4:1, leave it for some time, and vacuum again.

Never leave your dog unattended in an open or a closed car. It is highly unsafe and dangerous as any mishap may become harmful to your dog or to others.

Your dog is in danger of heatstroke and lack of proper oxygen in a closed car.

Dogs normally pant if they are hot or excited to keep themselves cool. Panting while traveling in the car maybe because of overheating out of car sickness and to keep cool.

• Lower the windows slightly to get fresh air.
• Keep a cool temperature inside your car.
• Keep your furry friend hydrated always.
• You can give your dog warm hugs and kisses to reassure that you are with them and this can keep them calm and comfortable.

If you plan to travel with your dog, you need to be prepared for any discomforts like travel sickness of your dog.

To minimize the likelihood of any travel sickness, do the following:

• Limit your dog’s food and water intake three hours before the trip.
• Keep the indoors well ventilated.
• If possible, keep the crate in a place where it can see outside.
• You can discuss the use of any antihistamine medicine with your vet that may be effective in some dogs.

Remember to never leave your dog alone in a closed or open parked car even for few minutes as it will have a severe impact on their health.