Does your pet love the great outdoors? Are they always up for an adventure? Will they follow you to the ends of the earth, even if it’s up a mountain or along a cliffside path?
Then you may have found your perfect road trip companion.
Now, make sure the time spent on the road is as enjoyable as the time spent off the beaten path with these five tips.
#1 Pet-Safe Seating
The biggest road trip no-no in terms of everyone’s safety is letting your animal loose in the vehicle while you drive. Even if you swear up and down that your pet is the most well-behaved animal in the world, things can always go wrong when you mix easily-excitable-fur-ball-who-wants-to-cuddle and vehicle-moving-at-dangerously-high-speeds.
There are a few different options for safely restraining your pet while in-motion:
- Seat belt – This will protect your animal the same way it protects you while affording them a little extra physical freedom.
- Car seat – These are typically only recommended for smaller animals, as long as they also include a harness to prevent significant movement upon impact.
- Kennel or crate – Crates yield the best odds of preventing trauma in case of an accident, in addition to minimizing distraction while you drive.
- Back seat hammock – This is ideal for larger, older dogs and shorter trips, though animal hammocks for your car still function to keep your pets out of the front seat.
#2 Induce Relaxation
The easiest way to deal with your pet in the car is by not having to deal with your pet in the car. If they’ve mellowed out, you can relax for a bit, too.
You can do this in one of two ways:
- Excessive exercise – This mostly applies to dogs, but if you can convince your cat to play fetch, then more power to you. About 30 minutes before you load up the car, take your pup to a nearby dog park with your Chuckit! ball launcher and a tennis ball. You can also bring them on a long walk, but they’ll expend more energy in a shorter amount of time with a game of fetch.
- CBD treats – Let’s say you have an early morning departure time, there’s an unexpected problem to solve, or you’re nowhere near a suitable play area (or, inevitably, you can’t actually get your cat to fetch). Using CBD oil for pets gives you a quick and easy solution to animal anxiety, nausea, and discomfort. Visit Modern Dog Magazine for a list of CBD oils. This magazine is known for its award-winning products.
#3 Plan A Pet-Friendly Route
You’ll undoubtedly be stopping every couple of hours, whether it’s for your animal or yourself. However, letting your pet out on the side of the road isn’t safe for either of you.
Plan for a route with plenty of easily accessible rest stops and highway exits, so that you can safely stop for an on-leash walk whenever they need to pee or just stretch their legs.
You can also use an app for road trip planning that plots your route and provides you with animal-friendly restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, activities, and more along the way.
#4 Pack an Animal First Aid Kit
Anything can happen on the open road. Keeping everyone safe should always be your first priority, but accidents happen. Your second priority is to be prepared for those emergencies with these essential items:
- Gauze
- Bandages or wound dressings
- Tweezers
- A pet-safe disinfectant spray or solution
- A list of emergency contact numbers including your veterinarian and a local animal hospital
#5 Prioritize Your Well-Being, Too
Yes, there are a lot of things you can do for your pet, but you won’t survive anything if you’re not taking care of yourself.
Try to eat well instead of relying exclusively on rest stop vending machines and drive-thrus. Sorry, you can’t have McDonald’s or pizza for every meal (just most).
Get a good night’s sleep so that you feel rested and refreshed. Your cat’s crying or your dog’s whining will make you much less frustrated when you start the day off with a positive attitude and a full tank of gas (in the metaphorical sense, and in the literal sense, too, for that matter).
Embark on Your Next Journey Right Meow
There are a few things animals were never meant to do: sleep in a California king bed, wear sweaters and tiny hats, and spend ten hours a day in a compact vehicle.
And yet, here we are.
Unnatural or not, utilizing these five tips will help you survive your next road trip with your pet.
Who knows? You might even thrive.
