Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy While Traveling

Published On February 27, 2018 | By Staff Writer | Travel Planning

Feeding Your Dog a Healthy Diet While Traveling

A key strategy that you will want to employ when traveling with your dog is to ensure that he or she is able to maintain the healthy diet that you already have in place for your pooch. When at all possible, you should attempt to pack an appropriate amount of the food that you feed your dog, enough to cover the entire time that you will be on vacation.

This can be fairly readily accomplished if you are traveling by automobile or in an RV. It can prove to be a bit more complicated if you are traveling by air and will be gone for a more extended period of time. The primary reason why you should pack your dog’s preferred food is to ensure that you have it available when at a location at which you are unable to purchase it.

Another strategy that you can consider employing is to take some amount of your dog’s food along with you at the start of your travels. Before departing, identify a reliable online resource from which you can order the food you provide your canine. Pay attention to how long it takes to deliver the food from a vendor. Make certain that the vendor does deliver to where you will be traveling.

Travel and Your Dog’s Fitness Regimen

When traveling, you want to make certain that you maintain the fitness regimen that you have in place for your dog. For example, if you take your dog for regular walks, you want to incorporate that activity into your travel schedule.

If you are staying in a pet-friendly hotel, you very well may find that the property has information and resources available to assist you with walking and exercising your pooch. Indeed, some properties maintain recreational areas at the premises that are designed with dogs in mind.

Consider booking a room on the first floor. A room on the first floor makes it easier to get your dog in and out of the building. This can be particularly important when your pet needs to get outside to “take care of business.”

Dog Safety Issues While Traveling

In addition to making sure your pet eats properly and gets suitable exercise while traveling, there are a number of safety related issues that you need to keep in mind. Some safety related issues sometimes are overlooked by people traveling with their dogs.

First, when arriving at a hotel, you need to make sure that you give a hotel room a thorough inspection before you let your dog loose from his or her crate. You need to go over the room, including the entire floor and under the bed, to make sure that there are no errant pills lying about. The reality is that time and again people staying in a hotel will accidentally drop medication. They may not look for it or be unable to find it. In either case, medication gets left behind and poses a potential threat to your dog. You want to make absolutely certain that there is nothing harmful lying about that your dog might ingest.

Second, you needs to make sure that there are no physical defects in the room that could harm your dog. For example, you want to make sure that there is nothing sharp protruding from the wall or a piece of furniture.

Third, we want to make certain that your dog doesn’t inadvertently get out of the room and end up getting lost. As part of this effort, you need to make sure that your dog has a proper collar and up to date information on his or her tag. In addition, you want to get your pooch microchipped before traveling, if you have not previously done so. Finally, keep a do not disturb sign posted on your door. This will assist in dissuade entry into room at a point in time that you are not prepared for that to happen.

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Jessica Kane is a writer for Handicapped Pets, your most trusted source for dog wheelchairs and harnesses.

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