Hello there!! My name is Alix Good, and I’m super pumped to be here as a guest on theMRSingLink!! For those of you who don’t know me, let me share a little about myself and my little family! My husband and I grew up together in a small Ohio town, and even dated in high school. We dated off and on after that, and eventually got our acts together and were married after college!

Shortly after getting married, my husband accepted his first travel physical therapy assistant position in Midland, Texas and we have been traveling with our two pups since! A little over a year and half ago we purchased and renovated an RV and have been enjoying the “RV-life” while we travel for Joel’s job.

Read more from my blog at Letters From A Good Friend, and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

As I mentioned above, we have two pups that travel with us everywhere we go. Jake, our lab mix, was 1.5 years old when we first started traveling, and Mushu, our corgi, had just turned 1 year old. We are approaching 4 years of traveling, so our dogs have become seasoned travelers over the years! We love being able to travel with our dogs, because life without them just isn’t as much fun! For the most part both dogs really love traveling and getting to go where we go, but there was definitely a learning period for us all, and it’s only gotten easier for us and on them since that first travel assignment!

Here are some tips and tricks we have learned over the years when traveling with dogs. We are by no means “experts”, but we have definitely learned a thing or two while on the road with our two adventurous dogs.

 

 

6 tips when

traveling with your dogs

 

1) Always travel with your dog’s most recent medical records.

Even if it’s just a scanned copy sent to your email! This is really important for a lot of reasons! For starters, some facilities such as hotels/Airbnb/etc, pet groomers, dog boarding facilities, and even RV parks will require you show proof of your pet being up to date on certain shots/vaccines. You may not think you will need to see a groomer or board your pet during the day or overnight somewhere, but you NEVER KNOW!

Another HUGE reason this is important to do is if there is an emergency with your pet and you need to get them veterinarian care some other than your primary vet location. Crazy unexpected things happen every single day and it’s always better for you, and your pet, to be prepared “just in case.” Which leads me to my next tip…

2) Scope out 24 hr/Emergency vet clinics near wherever you’re going to be.

If your pet needs immediate medical attention, the last thing you want to have to do is scramble and waste time searching for somewhere that’s open. We have a category in our google maps where I save nearby vet offices and emergency clinics, ahead of time. That way if something terrible were to happen to our dogs, I would know where we were headed in a matter of seconds.

Plus, with Mushu being on a prescription food diet, we often have to buy his food at a vet’s office anyways. This step really does not take a lot of time! I usually check out places on my phone while I’m riding passenger and not doing anything. It only takes a few minutes, and really gives me peace of mind.

3) Microchip your pet, and ALWAYS have them wear some sort of identification

If our dogs are outside or if we are enroute somewhere (in the car or the RV) they have their collars on. That way if they were to somehow get separated from us, someone would know immediately how to get in touch with us. This is especially important for pets with medical conditions, like Mushu. He is on a very strict low protein diet, however if a stranger were to find him late at night or on a Sunday and couldn’t be microchipped, that stranger would not know to not give him regular dog food. That’s why Mushu (and Jake) ALWAYS have their collars on while we travel, so in the event that we are separated from them, we can get to them as quickly as possible.

4) Call ahead anywhere you plan on taking your pet.

To hotels, restaurants, RV parks, attractions, etc. Many places (specifically chains) have an overall pet policy, but also allow each location to “add on” to that pet policy as they see fit. For example, earlier this year while traveling in our car back to Ohio, we had planned on staying at a La Quinta Inn (our usual hotel choice, because of their pet policies). Luckily I read reviews of anywhere we go, because if I had not I would not have known that the hotel we were planning on stopping at (which we had stayed at before) had recently changed their pet policy to not allow dogs over 50 lbs. This was not stated on their website when I had made our reservation, and like I said we had stayed here before with our dogs. Had I not called, we would’ve arrived in the middle of the night and had a similar unpleasant experience as the person in the review.

5) Bring touches of “home” to make your pet feel more comfortable.

When Jake sees a suitcase, he starts getting antsy. He paces more than normal, and sticks to me like glue. When we travel in the car, I always make sure we bring certain elements of “home” with us, to help keep both dogs at ease in a hotel room, relatives house, or even in the car. This usually ends up being their beds, their blankets, and a few of their favorite toys.

I also keep a bag of treats handy, and when possible, even a baggie of baby carrots (their favorite snack) in our cooler. Simple things to do, but they really make a difference!  (Carissa has a great post on all the things to remember to bring when traveling with pets HERE! )

6) Download the app “Rover”

You never know when something will happen and change your plans unexpectedly. Or when you’ll find something along your road trip that you REALLY want to do, but isn’t dog friendly. With the Rover app you can find awesome dog sitters overnight or for the day (or that will even come by your hotel room/RV/whatever to let your dog out!) wherever you may be! We don’t leave our dogs often on our travels, but when we do we have used Rover and have had positive experiences! Just be sure you vet your sitter like you would someone watching your kids! Read the reviews, ask for references, etc. A good sitter will be happy to provide you with any information you need to feel comfortable leaving your fur-baby with them.

 

 

What tips do you have for traveling with pets???