Traveling with your dog can be a rewarding, memorable, and a once in a lifetime experience. It can also be a disastrous holiday that is just memorable and easily puts the lid on you ever wanting to travel with your dog again.
One of the quickest ways things can go wrong is when the anxiety bug strikes your dog when out on your travels. And because of its nature and all the unknown and unfamiliar experiences that occur with it, traveling, at pretty much any given point, can be quite stressful on our dogs. Here are nine ways to help them stay calm.
Bringing one of your pet’s favorite toys with you on your travels is a must. The scent of home alone on it can really help them calm down, let alone its ability to help entertain them and keep them from becoming bored. A bored pet is not a fun pet to travel with.
Bringing along their favorite blanket or bedding is also a great idea for the same reason.
Not only a great annoyance to us but for our pets as well. Having the tools to combat pests like mosquitoes and ticks is a must. Make sure you’re using an outdoor bug spray safe for pets because our goal is to protect our dogs, not hurt them.
Where treats and calming medications are frequently mentioned in articles like this one, this next one is truly a unique tip! And that’s unfortunate because dirty ears can cause a lot of discomforts when traveling.
Dirty ears just don’t smell bad, they can make traveling with all those altitude changes a nightmare. To prevent bacterial infection and dirty ears, make sure you regularly check your pupper’s ears, especially if you can smell them or notice your dog shaking their heads a lot.
And if you want to make sure they are looking good during their travels, InnovetPet Tear Stain Remover is a great way to help with a very common annoyance.
It’s important that your pup has their own space in the car for trips. Bringing along their favorite blanket or bedding is a great idea to help with this. The crate is a great idea, especially if your dog regularly uses it. A crate can also easily be buckled into place for max security and safety.
If you would like to go the medication route to help make traveling with your pet a calm and fun endeavor, antihistamines and sedatives are the two drugs to look into.
Antihistamines, which include over-the-counter drugs such as Dramamine, Bonine, Benadryl, and Antivert, can help with motion sickness.
If your pup is unlucky and none of the above help, you can talk to your vet about giving them a prescription drug such as Cerenia.
If you’re familiar with taking an antihistamine, you may have felt its relaxing effects that can cause you to want to nod off. This side effect can help your dog feel more at ease on car trips, in addition to helping them with motion sickness.
On the sedative side, to help your dog with anxiety, your vet can prescribe your pet a temporary anxiety aid such as Gabapentin or Trazodone. If you’re looking to avoid these types of drugs, you can look into an herbal remedy for anxiety.
Who doesn’t like food when they are stressed out, and our pets are no different. This makes taking treats along with you for your travels a no-brainer.
CBD is a great way to help your dog with any anxiety they are exercising while out on your trip — as a bonus, it can help motion/car sickness too. While most frequently found in an oil supplement bottle, you can also find it in easy-to-give dog treats.
Treats like Calming Chews by InnovetPet aren’t only a scrumptious treat that can take your dog’s mind off their stress, they also reduce nervousness and anxiety. With a soft texture that doesn’t crumble everywhere, soft chews are great for dogs that struggle with traditional hard treats, and the chews won’t make a mess in your car like they do.
Since most traveling involves the car, training your dog to enjoy car rides is crucial before you take them on their first official trip. Not only can it help reduce their anxiety during long car rides, but it will also let you know if your pup is susceptible to motion sickness.
Another great tip is treating the night before you actually leave as your trial leave day. This means packing up as much as possible and don’t touch any you plan to take.
You can take this idea as far as you’d like — the further, the better. For example, take it as far as getting your dog in the car and taking them for a little pre-trip ride around town. This is a great way to see if there is anything making them uncomfortable that might make them nervous during the actual trip.
For our last one, we wanted an item that can help your travels stay a little more stress-free — your mental health matters too. When you’re planning on traveling for more than a few hours, pooh bags are an essential item.
Now, just because numbers 2s aren’t the cleanest thing in the world doesn’t mean we should make it an even dirty process. And thanks to eco-friendly pooh bags, such as the ones from Innovet Pet, we can all do our part in keeping our planet clean.