Road trips can be appealing for countless reasons, and there’s no reason not to go on one. When you do, you’ll need to consider any pets you have at home. Most people would just arrange for someone to look after their dog when they’re away.
As natural as this is, it’s not your only option. You could go on a road trip with your dog, and this could add to the overall experience.
Planning it out and doing it doesn’t even need to be as complicated as you could think. Instead, you just need to focus on the right areas. Five tips could help with this quite a bit, and they shouldn’t take a lot of time or effort.
They’ll even make sure you, your dog, and anyone else on the trip have an amazing time.
Road Trip With Your Dog: 5 Tips to Enjoy It
1. Have Water On-Hand
Dogs get thirsty quite often, and they usually can’t wait too long until they have some water to drink. Don’t leave it until you make stops to have some water for your dog. You’ll be better off by having some water on-hand for them, and so will they. Don’t just leave it at that, though.
It’s always worth investing in a stable doggie bowl so your dog can drink whenever they need to. That way, you don’t need to worry about regularly giving them water, and you’ll avoid making a mess and spilling the water.
2. Invest In a Car Seat
You’ll naturally spend quite a bit of time in your car on a road trip. You’ll need to figure out a way to keep your dog safe when you’re driving. Thankfully, this isn’t too complicated, and there are plenty of products that help with this. One of the more notable is a pet car seat.
By investing in one of these, you shouldn’t need to worry about your dog’s safety when you’re driving. They could even be more occupied and less of a distraction because of it, so you can focus on the road. It’ll help more than you’d think.
3. Get Durable Toys
You’ll need to keep your dog entertained when you’re on the road trip. You’ll be in the car a lot, and they’ll need something to do. Taking regular breaks and letting them run around helps, but you’ll need more than that. You’ll need something for when they’re actually in the car.
Toys are great for this, as it gives them something to play and occupy themselves with. Make sure these are durable toys, though. Your dog could use them quite a bit, so they could end up breaking if you’re not careful. You wouldn’t want that to happen early in your trip.
4. Bring Medical Records
There’s always a chance your dog can get sick or hurt when you’re on the road trip. As unexpected as this is, it’s always worth being as prepared as possible. Thankfully, this doesn’t need to be too hard to do. It’s just a matter of bringing your dog’s medical records with you.
These don’t even need to be paper copies, as long as you have access to digital copies. That way, any vet you take them to during the trip will find out everything they need about your dog. It’ll make sure they get the treatment they need, if they need it.
5. Use Positive Reinforcement
The better trained your dog is, the better they’ll behave when you’re on the trip. You would’ve already spent some time and effort training them already. If you haven’t already, it’s worth adding positive reinforcement for this, especially leading up to the road trip. Spend a little time on this.
It’s relatively easy to do, and it shouldn’t even take a lot of effort. It’s just a matter of rewarding them when they do something good. That way, you’ll make sure they’re on their best behavior when you’re on the road. You’ll just need a few treats for them.
Road Trip With Your Dog: Wrapping Up
There are plenty of reasons to go on a road trip with your dog. You could want to do it, but you might assume it’d take a lot of time and effort to plan out. You could even think it’ll be complicated to actually do.
That doesn’t have to be the case. By planning it out properly and being prepared, it’ll be easier than you’d think. You’ve no reason not to consider putting the time into it.
