Have Dogs, Will Travel

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old familiar pillow."  Lin Yutang

On a trip to Joshua Tree NP

Much of the travel my husband and I do is by plane. We have two dogs, Baxter and Sadie, and when we travel by plane, they stay home with a house/dog sitter. But now that we are retired and have more free time, we are able to get away more often.  So, while we still take the trips by plane, we have also been doing more car trips.  When we travel by car, our dogs quite often come with us. And they love to go – anywhere. Just say the word "GO" and they are ready.

Baxter & Sadie in the car

We purchased them a car seat. It is a raised bed that is big enough for 2 of them to lay in and they have a harness that fastens them in. It still gives them room to sit up and move around some, but if we stop quick or are in an accident, it will give them some protection, at least they won't go flying. On short trips the one bed works fine, but we found that on longer trips they needed 2 separate beds, so we ended up buying another bed. That is so that we don't get that growl from the backseat which translates to “Mom, she's touching me!' They really are like traveling with kids.

Dogs and Me at Lake Louise, Canada

In today's world, more and more hotels are realizing that pets are part of the family, and there are many hotels that accept pets. From the inexpensive to the expensive. If we are just trying to get somewhere and not stopping there as a destination, we will quite often look for a Motel 6. If it's late and we just want a place to sleep, Motel 6 will ALWAYS take our pets. Most of them are basic but clean. However, there are some I look at and decide to pass up. My next options are Best Western, Comfort Inn, Days Inn or La Quinta, because about 70- 80% of those chains will take pets. If you are in the Pacific Northwest there is a chain called Shilo, and they are pet-friendly. If you are into high-end hotels, then Lowe's Resorts, Residence Inn and I believe some Four Season hotels will take your pet.  Some of the hotels do charge extra for pets, and some require a deposit in case of accidents.

Baxter at the Farmers Market in Banff

If you are going to a National Park, check their pet policy. Most allow them, but they have rules. For example, we took our dogs to Yellowstone. Driving around was no problem, but all of the trails were “no dogs allowed”. If we wanted to go see the geyser on the trail we had to take turns staying with them, while the other person hiked the trail. It took twice as long to see everything, and we couldn't do it together. We had a cabin in the park, but you aren't allowed to leave your dogs alone there, and I wouldn't anyway. And never leave them unatteneded in a car, If it is hot, the heat that can kill them in minutes, but even if it's cold, if you are in a park then there is the possibility of wild animals. A bear can get into a car, and a dog might look tempting.

 

 

Getting to your destination takes a little longer with pets. You will have to stop every couple of hours to let them stretch their legs and pee. I think this is a good thing. Without the pets we tend to just keep going and then we are stiff and sore, the pets give us an excuse to stop. Also, meals are a little more difficult. We stop at fast food places with outdoor eating areas, so that the dogs can get out of the car. Or we pick up sandwiches and find a park or roadside rest area to eat in.

Going up the mountain in a gondola

We recently took our 2 dogs on a 6 week trip. We drove from San Diego to Washington state. That was a 2 day trip. We have a cabin in Washington, and when we got there they were happy, it's there second home and they are familiar with it. They can walk around without leashes. They even get in the inner-tube with me and float in the river. Then we spent a week on the Washington coast, and they loved that. We walked down to the beach every day and they got to run up and down the beach, smelling all the neat smells, and playing in the waves. They do love the beach. From there we headed north into Canada. We spent a week in a pet-friendly condo in Banff National Park, with day trips to Lake Louise and the glaciers. They seemed to enjoy that, they even saw 4 bears – from the safety of their car seat, and quite a few deer, and mountain goats. Baxter's favorite thing was chasing the ground squirrels outside the condo. He even got to ride a gondola to the top of the mountain in Banff – it is a pet-friendly gondola.

Stretching their legs on the trip home

A word about crossing the border into Canada and back to the U.S. I did call ahead of time to confirm what would be needed at the border crossing. We needed our passports, of course, and the dogs needed up-to-date shot records and I was told that they would need to look healthy.

At the end of our 6 week adventure, I will have to say that the dogs looked relieved to be home. The trip home took us 4 days, as we detoured through Glacier National Park. I really think they enjoyed the trip, and they always prefer to be with their people and not left behind, but when they saw that they were home they were beside themselves with joy. For several days when we would ask them if they wanted to go – the answer was obviously NO, as they would run upstairs and sit down and look at us.

So, if you have pets, my advice is – take them with you, but be aware of their needs, keep them restrained in the car, never leave them in the car alone, take all their food and water supplies and some toys. And make sure you check restrictions on where you are going.