Travelling with your pets

Do you love to take your pet on outings, or even holidays? Are your pets the kind that Love going away with you, or do they get upset with the travel, and the change to routine?

Do you have to transport your pet to a new house, and you know they get terribly motion sick, and noone is going to enjoy that trip...

Travelling can be stressful for pets. They can be stressed about all the new things. new smells, new places, new people and new routines, and then there is the motion sickness!

This blog is about how to make travelling with you pet much easier, and better for them, and for you!

Keep them strapped in to keep them restrained whilst driving

Travelling with your pets can be fun, but there can be some challenges.

Taking our pets on holidays with us can be a lot of fun, and don't they deserve a holiday too?!

Some pets are much more adaptable to travel and holidays than others.

Sometimes we need to take a pet on a trip even though we know they are not good travellers.

Most dogs get super excited to be part of the whole experience. Usually they love travelling, but there can be a few problems we often find.

Some dogs get sick.

This is no fun for anyone.

Not for your dog, and not for you having to clean it up.

Dog vomit is gross at the best of times, but much, much worse when its in the carpet of your cars interior, and the smell will stay with you for the entire trip and beyond.

There are two main causes for dogs travel sickness.

Anxiety and stress

When a dog or cat is very anxious about being in the car, this can increase the stress response, and in extreme situations this can cause nausea and vomiting. They may start with excessive panting and drooling, and end up being physically sick from anxiety alone.

Motion sickness

This is nausea and vomiting that occurs from the movement in the car.

When they are feeling sick from the motion, this can also exacerbate their anxiety around travel, and therefore worsen their motion sickness.

This can become a viscous cycle, and we need to address both the motion sickness and the anxiety together to really get on top of the problem.

Taking your dog on holidays can be fun!

Ways to reduce the anxiety and stress of travel.

Make it fun.

If you are stressed about the kids playing up in the back seat, or you are running late, or have loud heavy metal music playing, your pet is going to freak out. They have such superior hearing than ours, you cant put them in the confines of a car where they cant escape the noise. They will feel stressed from the noise, and will also pick up on your stress. If you are yelling at the kids, he might think you're yelling at him.

Best thing to do here is to stop.

Take a few deep breaths and centre yourself.

Take a few drops of rescue remedy, a drink of water or what it is you find helps to you calm down.

When you are feeling calm, take a moment to give your dog a few slow pats, and you can drop some rescue remedy on their tongue, or offer it in some water. Rescue remedy can be given every two hours, or as needed.

There are some herbs that also work well f

or anxiety. Passionflower and skullcap are two of my favourites, but there are many more to choose from. Chamomile is also great for reducing the stress levels.

Motion sickness can also be eased by allowing your dog to see out the window. I don't mean head hanging out the window. This is dangerous (and scary for the person that drives past and your dog barks).

By seeing out the window, it can help their sense of balance, which is often involved.

i always recommend the dog to keep their head in the car. This reduces risk of injury.

Ginger is great for nausea and vomiting, and reducing motion sickness. This can be given leading up to, and during travel to help calm the stomach.

Fasting your dog while travelling can help.

With holding food can help for some dogs. this works mostly on the premise that there is nothing in their stomach to vomit up. It can also help if they are very anxious and their digestive system slows down a

nd the food is sitting in there like a lump.

Considerations around withholding food for travel. Some dogs are on medications that need to be taken with food. you can give a small, light meal in this case.

If your dog is a puppy, it is not a good idea to fast them. Give small regular meals throughout the trip. Give them some time to digest the meal prior to jumping back into the car and moving again.

But please don't withhold water.

We don't want our dogs to go without water, especially a dog fed kibble, that have a requirement for a higher water intake to be able to efficiently hydrate, and then digest their food.

If they get dehydrated it can have consequences for their kidneys. So always allow them water.

Most dogs should be able to hold their bladder for at least two hours- even puppies. Then they can do a wee when you stop – revive- survive.

Also remember to take some old towels, in case of vomit…..

What about travelling with cats?

Cats usually travel ok, but they really need to be restrained in a cat carrier, for their safety, and the safety of the driver.

Recue remedy works well for them too.

Travelling is usually much more stressful for cats. They don't tend to enjoy a trip away like a dog does.

Again we need to allow for water breaks, and opportunities to use the litter tray. Cats also prefer to travel in the dark, so chuck an old towel, or blanket over them.

It also helps to muffle the sound of wailing.

If your lucky they will sleep the trip away. Just make sure you don't over cover them, we don't want them to get overheated, or suffocate.

Keep cats in a crate for their safety, and yours.

What is happening at the end of the trip?

This will influence how they view travel again next time, you ask them to get into the car, and also impact their recovery from this travelling experience.

If they only ever get in the car for some unpleasant experience, they will never find travelling enjoyable, and are more likely to experience anxiety related to the car.

Try to break up trips with lots of breaks. Take a walk or play a game. Allow them time to enjoy the journey.

If you are finding you are only taking them away for unpleasant or stressful trips, try to add in some regular outings that can be more fun. A trip to the vet can be made more enjoyable by stopping a block away, and having a gentle stroll the rest of the way.

Taking them for a gentle walk helps ease the stress from a car trip

What are your experiences with travelling with your pets?

Be sure to leave a comment to share your experiences- good or bad. My worse experience was when I took my dog for a drive to town, but hadn't realised he was down the paddock beforehand, eating something gross and dead.

I learnt first hand how gross dog vomit was, on the carpet in the hatchback.

this wasn't normal dog food dog vomit. This was rotten, disgusting dead creature.

Give your dog a pat for me x

Kerrie