Safe and Happy Traveling Tips

In June, we are celebrating traveling with your pit bull, so we asked our Facebook fans, What’s your best tip for safe and happy traveling with your dog?

ID tags, water, treats, and a watchful eye for BSL states were all on the list, plus many more tips. Thanks everyone for sharing.

Keep water and treats in the car with you, as well as toys and a familiar blanket from home to keep your dog happy and content during the trip!

My momma says, “Have treats, will travel!” We always take treats, our favorite toy, water bowl/water and usually a blanket &/or towel too. And we always buckle up for safety in the car!

Tags. Tags. Tags. Make sure ID is on your dog. Make certain your dog’s microchip info is up to date.

Have a tag with the temporary address and phone number of where you’re visiting, in case you get separated while traveling. Do research on emergency vet clinics in the area where you will be traveling, in case your pup needs to be seen. Also, keep a copy of vet records with you.

MICROCHIP! Not only should all your dogs be microchipped, make sure your contact info with the registry is updated and include an emergency contact who does not travel with you.

Bach flower extracts for anxiety. Never put your dog in the front seat, if you haven’t disconnected the passenger seat’s airbag! As a firefighter I have seen some heartbreaking stuff and know that dogs do not belong in the front seats! Check out the Ruff Rider Roadie Elite dog harness.

When stopping for potty breaks and stretching legs, always secure leashes to collars before opening any car doors. Portion each days food into individual zip-loc bags for easy daily feeding(s). Be sure tags on collars are updated and contain emergency contact info to someone that is not traveling with you. Carry a gallon jug of water along in case you stop in places where clean drinking water isn’t easily accessed. And have fun!

I am guessing most of us think about the comforts of home, but being an APBT owner, I suggest: If you fly check your airline, some will not allow pit bulls on their airlines. If driving, make sure there isn’t BSL where you plan to stop along the way. Last but not least, check out the web to scout out community dog parks and plan a little vacation activity for your best friend!

Definitely, buckle up for safety. Get a harness; don’t connect to their regular collars. Also, check out your local farm store for the quick release leads that they use in horse trailers – those connect great to the metal loops in the newer cars that child safety seats connect to.

Since we live in the city, we carry a ‘dog bag’ with us at all times. We have a collapsible water bowl, water bottle, sunscreen for the dogs, bandana to keep them cool, treats, poo bags, and a blanket for an impromptu picnic, and it’s so easy to carry this pre-packed bag whether it’s for a walk around the city, or a drive further out. We actually wrote about it here .

My obedience training makes the perfect traveler!

I’m with Hagrid- a super-reliable recall and a well-behaved dog makes all the difference.

Great suggestions so far. Since I am heading home from 12 days of traveling with 8 dogs (3600 miles, 400 miles to go), I’ll suggest a couple that I haven’t seen mentioned: refillable toys like Kongs can be used for all meals while traveling (always in crates) and slip leads. I think they are safer- dog can’t back out if they see a squirrel at a rest area and easier to put on in the car.

For car sickness, I don’t feed the dog before travelling but do give the dog a few ginger snaps. Ginger certainly helps my own motion sickness!

We carry a dog first aid kit (in addition to the human one) in the car. Contents include vet wrap, gauze, saline solution, hydrogen peroxide, Manuka honey (for wounds and for reviving), Benadryl, etc.

H20, poop bags, making sure where we’re going doesn’t have BSL, an extra leash, a disc (never know when you’ll need one of those!) and of course, a tired dog who has recently pottied…

We have the biggest kennel, filled with blankets that can fit into the back of the jeep. A comfortable harness and collar allows for double leashing so no ‘mechanical’ accidents. Stopping only at safe areas for pee breaks. A water bottle so there is always water and high quality treats. Identifying tag on the collar in case of an accident. Who to contact in case of emergency for humans and dogs.

Always give them fresh water at every stop. Don’t forget their chew bones!

A back seat free of crammed stuff so, the pup no matter what size, can sit or lie down. We also keep snacks and water available for him to have when he wants.

For car sickness, try crating your dog and putting a blanket or sheet over the crate so they can’t see out the windows. Sometimes it’s the visual stimulation that makes them nauseous /anxious and they do better when they can’t see what flying by outside the car!

Some states require a health certificate. When we took a trip from CA to Texas, we got them just in case. We also found out our girl won’t pee in the desert (she wanted grass), so next time we’ll try and locate parks on our route!