Cross Country Car Ride

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Hi everyone, I am sorry we have been so absent, we have been preparing for our new family adventure, moving out to the Inland Northwest- Coeur D'Alene ID to be exact.  Our house in IL closes in mid December and we are then off on the ultimate car ride across the country.  And that is where my questions come in, how do the Doods react to being cooped up in a car for hours at a time, how often should we stop, should Snickers be given toys to play with any advice on traveling with a 50lb ball of fur that is used to two walks a day (averaging 2+mi)? 

I have so many questions and have not been able to find many resources, we are definitely going to take our time with the drive but I am just not sure how this all will go, Snicks loves to be in the car but this is a very long car ride. So any advice you have is most appreciated!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Different dogs travel differently.  Our two girls are great travelers.  They are asleep before we get out of the driveway.  They pop up when we stop and then lay back down when we move again.   We have taken several 10 hour per day trips with them.   We normally stop every couple of hours, mostly for us and not them, but everyone gets to get out of the car and move around a little bit.  My recommendations would be:

1)  Car harnesses and seatbelt attachment.

2)  paper towels/wet ones for any car sickness accidents if you don't know how they will travel.

3)  Back a small overnight bag for them with their food/treats/water etc to take into the hotel so you don't have to carry in 50 lb bag of dog food each night.  This also makes it easier to have water etc available for your stops.

4)  Use a source like dogfriendly.com or bringfido.com to scope out pet friendly hotels on your route in advance. 

5)  I usually ask for a 1st floor room at the end of a hallway if possible.  That prevents them from barking at every one that walks by talking.  It also makes it easier for potty breaks.

6)  I normally have chew toys available, but they never use them.

7)  I keep some treats handy

8)  I keep a typed note in my wallet as well as in the glove box listing who to call and my instructions for the dogs should we be in an accident and unable to care for them.  We have pet insurance so I also tell them to be sure that the dogs are given any care that they need as well and that we will be responsible for the bill.

9)  Different hotels have different pet policies.  Some can tack on quite an hefty extra pet fee so it pays to do your homework before leaving home.

Those are the things that come to mind off the top of my head.  If I think of anything else I'll come back and add them. 

Best of luck on your relocation.  I love relocating.  I find it so much fun learning a new city!

[Gail and Bailey]

Wow...great tips!  I am going to use some of these as well!  I never thought about the instructions for the dogs should there be an accident and we could not care for them. 

I have found that some of the pet friendly motels only use certain rooms for dogs....one time it was on the 3rd floor!  Go figure!  Needless to say we didn't use that one again.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

wow...never thought of #8.  Such great planning the thought made me sad.

[Gail and Bailey]

We drive for 2 days just to get to our kid's house for visits.... 8 hours each day.  We have a Jeep and we put the rear seats down and put Bailey's bed right in the middle towards the front so she can see out the front window and be close enough for us to just put out a hand and pet her.  Then the rest of the back is filled with suitcases and "stuff".  Bailey loves to ride in the car too and she soon realizes it is not a quick trip to the dog park and she settles in and sleeps.  We have her favorite toy in her bed with her.  We stop every couple hours and get out to walk around a bit.....this is where it is handy that she will potty on command.  For these stops we prefer the "rest stops" on the highway instead of gas stations because there is usually more grass and space to walk safely.  Each time we stop we offer her water.  We spend the night in a motel (chosen carefully) and hopefully get to take a nice long walk before she eats and then before bedtime.  So far we have been fortunate and she is very flexible.  She seems to love the sleep time in the car and likes that we are so close to her and she can see out the window and know what is going on.  So far so good!  I hope you have a wonderful trip to your new adventure in Coeur D'Alene!!

[Bonnie and Kona]

You have been missed! I hope your family and Snickers love your new place. I hear ID is gorgeous.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I often drive 9.5 hours to Atlanta and then sometimes from there up to Michigan, another 12 hours.  Both of my boys love to ride.  They have the second row of seats in an SUV.  Both dogs wear their travel harness and are seatbelted in.  Rooney being small is strapped into his carseat so that he can sit up higher and see out the window.  Stuart gets the remainder 2/3 of the seat, and is asleep before we pull out - Rooney likes to watch out the window.  I stash poo bags and a doggie water bottle in the side doors.  Food, treats and toys are at the ready.  We never go longer than 4 hrs tops before stopping.  We walk the dogs, use the restroom, gas up - get food - whatever all at the same time.  Use common safety practices for yourselves and have a great trip!!!!

 

[Chelsie]

We made the move from Lincoln, NE to Charleston, SC, and then a year later Charleston to Kingston, WA. We didn't have our doodle then, but we did have our other dog, Eli. I was very concerned that Eli would be restless and our trip would not go well. He always wants to sit on my lap in the car, which is fine for shirt trips, but not cross country ones! Eli is a very high energy dog and slept the whole way in his bed, both trips! We stopped every 3 hours or so and Eli would potty and get water. Pre planning where you will stop with dog friendly hotels is a must. I made sure once we stopped Eli got a nice long walk, even though I was tired, before dinner and bed. Take paper towels and plastic bags, Eli has always been a good car rider but once we got into the hills in TN Eli threw up! I had a bag packed for him so I could easily get to his stuff and take it in with us to the hotel. Enjoy your trip and new adventure!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Robyn ~ I think Lucy & Sophie's Mom has really covered the bases on traveling with doods.  I had not thought about the note in the glove box, but am writing it asap.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised how well Snickers will do on a long trip.  Charlie just sleeps most of the time.  If it is a long day he will sit up and look out the window for a while and then back to sleep!  We usually stop every 3 - 4 hours and we all get out, take a quick break and stretch. 

I do not know if you have spent much time in Idaho, but I think you will find that Coeur d'Alene is absolutely beautiful.  The winters can be cold with lots of snow, but the spring & summer are to die for!  Have a safe trip and enjoy your journey! 

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Thanks so much! We actually chose CDA because of the 4 seasons, beautiful location and low key lifestyle.  Not too afraid of the winters since I have survived 30+ Chicago winters with windchills :)

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Thank you all for the great advice, note in the glove compartment is a great idea, I have similar note in front of my drivers license in my wallet as well to contact family members in an emergency. Snickers is always in his harness so we are good there, and he will have the whole back seat to himself to sleep and/or look out the window.  Great resource for hotels we will definitely use those thanks everyone for your good wishes as well!

[Camilla and Darwin]

My advice is lots of stops. In addition, Darwin does much better if we shove pillows and blankets down in the space between the front and back seats, so it's all one flat bed type surface. Does that make sense? It's good to hear from you by the way!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Have a safe trip Robyn, Greg and Snickers!  Keep us posted with pictures of Snickers and his adventure to his new home:)  He is so cute and I love his color!