Traveling with your pets is a blast, because you get to see your pet interact to a new area. But it can also be stressful for your pets, especially the first time that you travel. Before you just dream about hitting the beach, you need to do some planning in order to make absolutely sure that your pet is going to be welcome everywhere you go.
First and foremost, sit down and plan the entire trip. This isn’t the time to think about just leaving home and traveling randomly. Not every pet is going to be welcome at every hotel. You need to call ahead of time and ask whether or not pets are accepted. Be ready to describe your pets a thousand times to a thousand people. They need to know a rough estimated weight, whether your pet is friendly, and what you have with you to keep the pet corralled. Your pet will not be allowed to just roam freely around; the risk of damaging something is really high. Be prepared to present a pet deposit. Think of it as the cost for your furry friend to tag along on the journey.
Are you going to be driving or flying? Driving makes some things easier. If you’re going out of the country, you’re going to need to present current shots and medications. You also need to have harnesses and kennel devices ready as well.
Feeding your pet is your responsibility. Buying food when you arrive at your destination is a good idea…if you’re not going to be too remote. Some places don’t have very good animal food ready, so you’ll need to be prepared to bring your own. This is a lot easier than driving.
From here, don’t forget that you need to think of things for your pet to do. Being cooped up is not a good strategy, because they’re going to rebel pretty quickly.
Be prepared for another problem: people reacting to your pets. A lot of people assume that every animal is just waiting to attack them, so they might be nervous. If you know ahead of time that there will be private areas that you want to check out, such as inside museums, you need to make sure that you can take your pet inside. Usually only service animals are invited to be in certain locations, so you need to always plan ahead of where your pet will be. Leaving them for long periods of time isn’t a good thing.
Instead of going for a hotel, you might want to go with private housing. It’s easier for the pet to handle and it’s easier for you to know that they have more space than the average hotel would offer.
Keep all of these tips in mind if you’re going to travel for long periods of time. While it might be a little more expensive than just leaving your pets home with a sitter, you will give your pet new adventures and more time to bond with you!