Vacation Tips for Puppies?

[Dawn and Molly]

We are taking Molly for her first vacation to the beach soon.  She is now 6 months old.  We thought about boarding her or getting a dog sitter, but decided to bring her.  We will have my family (two kids), as well as my brother and his family.  The area we are staying in has one particular beach you can go to that is o.k for dogs, but you aren't supposed to bring dogs to the main beaches.  They also have a park where we can take her for walks.  I am not sure of how many "dog friendly" places we will be able to take her to.  

This will be our first family vacation with our new fur family member.  I was just wondering if anyone had any good tips for bringing puppies on vacation.  I am just a little worried about balancing all of our family activities that we normally do, with taking care of Molly.  I wanted to add that we are bringing her crate.  

I am probably worrying too much and she will be fine.  Just thought I would ask those of you who have done it....   Thanks!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

You can look at sites like petfriendly.com or bringfido.com for the city where you are going to see what restaurants and places like that allow dogs. They will also list dog parks and stores that are pet friendly.   Not sure what beach you are going to but I would caution that this time of year in the South, the sand is extremely HOT ... as will the streets and sidewalks so just be careful with her paw pads.  We travel with our two big girls all the time.  We pretty much have it down to a science.  Not sure if you are going into a hotel or a condo or house.  I find hotels the most difficult because they are so much noisier.  You also have to be concerned about housekeeping coming and going in a hotel where in a condo you don't.  If you are going into condo or house, we always take extra blankets to put over the furniture to protect it.  I think that every dog is different when traveling.  You know your dog better than anyone else, you just try to be objective with what you know about her behavior now and decide how you think she will do in a new environment.  If she has any sort of separation anxiety, it is probably going to be worse if you try leaving her in a new place alone.  But if she loves her crate and doesn't have any problems being left, she will probably do just fine.  It is a good age to start traveling with her though so she will get used to it.  If you find once you arrive that she is having a problem you can always find a daycare locally where you could take her if say you are going to be out all day rather than leave her alone.  I even once hired a sitter to come stay with the girls at our rental house because we were going to be gone for 12 hours to a funeral and I didn't want to leave them alone that long.  I would suggest if you don't already that you get a seat belt harness for her and have her buckled in when in the car.  You don't want her bolting out if one of the kids opens the door or something.  Also, in the event of an accident you wouldn't want her to bolt.  We also keep a typed up note in the glove box and one in my purse explaining what to do in the event we are in an accident and are unconscious.  We just ask that they please get them whatever Vet care they need, that we will be responsible, and please please please would one of the police keep them and not take them to a shelter until someone can get there to get them, and who they should call to come get them.  Best of luck.  Enjoy your trip and let us know how it went when you get back.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

All great tips!!  Looks like you've dealt with every possible issue here. 

[Dawn and Molly]

Thanks everyone, these are great tips.  I did check out bringfido.com and that is how I found out that there is only one beach dogs are allowed on.  We will be staying at my Aunt's beach house.  She doesn't mind us bringing the puppy, she just asked us to really watch her with the "housebreaking".  It is a new place, so I am a little nervous.  We will just have to puppy proof things, keep food away and out of reach, and remind my little nephew to not leave socks laying around, lol (Mollly is a sock eater).

We will be on a Maryland beach.  The tip about the heat was a good one.  I just want to include her when we can.  I didn't want to have her in the crate for too long.  She is used to her crate and likes it, so hopefully she won't get too stressed out when we are doing things with the kids that she can't participate in.  

I will also see if they have a dog sitting service/daycare or something we might be able to use if we need to.  I hadn't thought of a seatbelt harness, I will have to look into that as well.  

Thanks again everyone for sharing your experiences.  

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Also, before you go or as soon as you get there scope out the closest Emergency Vet ... Just in Case!

[Janet & Jaxson]

The best car harness is the Sleepypod Click It Sport. It is easy and has been safety tested. I love traveling with Jaxson. We took him with us a lot when we lived in California. It just takes a bit of planning. He has stayed at some nice hotels - Sheraton, Hilton, Sofitel! Have fun!

[Dawn and Molly]

Thank you for this recommendation.  We haven't done a lot of traveling (just around our area) and I don't have a harness for Molly.  I have been reading articles about dogs that were in accidents, and now I am ordering one. :)

[Wendy and Myla]

I would also bring some extra yummy treats so that you can get her to focus on you when she gets distracted by everything new.  I think everything will be fine and you're just going to have a very happy tired puppy who will want to go to her crate to get some rest!  Have fun!

[Amy and Annabelle]

I don't have anything to add to everyone elses. We Have taken Annabelle on 3 trips including a 3 hour ferry ride from Michigan to Wisconsin. She did great, I had all that worry for nothing. She slept the whole way home. She was one tired little dood.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I suggest that you bring an ex-pen or child baby corral, or portable baby gates so that you can limit Molly's access in the house - makes watching out for potty accidents much easier.  When we visit a new home, we walk our dogs through the house into the backyard to go potty first thing. Then we walk them through the house and watch their sniffing behavior. If there seems to be a spot of 'unusual interest,' we note it and do not let the dog in that area. 

[Barbie]

Molly is just beautiful! Wow, lots of great tips here already. I just wanted to recommend:

1. bringing Molly's rain coat, if she has one, to use later (it'd be too much of a hassle to use it on the road)

2. keeping a small towel and a larger towel handy in the car in case it rains for wiping Molly's paws and drying her coat

3. keeping tissue, paper towels, and a few umbrellas handy in the car

4. keeping a no-spill bowl for water, another bowl for feeding, bottled water, and dog food handy in the car

5. having lots of poop bags on hand

6. keeping upholstery cleaner, a clean rag, trash bag, and air freshener in the car in case Molly vomits or has a diarrhea accident (it's happened to me 3 times in the past with my dogs)

7. asking your vet what to give Molly if she does get sick or has tummy issues, and keeping those meds handy in the car

8. having an extra beach umbrella for Molly to help keep her cool outdoors

9. bringing Molly's no-spill bowl, water, and a large towel for her to lie down on at the beach

10. packing her favorite toys and dog bed (and keeping 1 toy in the car where she can access it)

11. most importantly, bringing Molly's current vaccination records because any reputable daycare will request it

I always keep a stuffed squeak toy, extra leash, poop bags, and 2 bottles of water in the car for Zeus. I hope you have a wonderful vacation! Please post some pix when you return home and tell us all about your vacation.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Sounds like good advice already.   I've learned there are different degrees of "dog friendly". Hotels usually charge extra and have limited rooms available, first come first serve, which means reservations are recommended. Or small dogs only (which they haven't figured out that those are the yappiest dogs).  I've seen charges as high as $50 a dog!  Motel 6 always takes dogs with no fees and will give you rooms easily accessible to the dog area is available. Just be ready for the very basics in a room.  Restaurants usually means outdoor dining.

Have fun!  I love traveling with Picco.  When we get to our room, first thing I do is layout his area - blanket, toy, food/water - and he settles in his spot.  I never worry about him damaging anything. We convinced a hotel once to let stay and the next morning they complimented us on how good he was!

[Dawn and Molly]

Thanks again everyone!  I will have to post pictures after the vacation.