What is it like to take a long drive with a dog?

[Hopeful8]

I have done the drive several times from Ontario to Florida and to Maine with a small dog with no problems. But she’s a well travelled small dog has also flown a lot and used to being in a carrier. Make sure you have current vaccination papers for the border.

Thank you! Very helpful! Our dog is 35 lbs so not that small, also need to think about comfort in the car, with her and my two teenagers!

 

[White Cat]

Thank you! Very helpful! Our dog is 35 lbs so not that small, also need to think about comfort in the car, with her and my two teenagers!

We have taken cats too. Sometimes at the border they ask for vaccination papers sometimes they don’t. At the airport they always have asked.

 

[loves to dive]

Only you know how your dog does in the car so that part only you can answer.

However, I can tell you we take our little yorkie with us everywhere we go. We have a 5th wheel now so we don't have to worry about hotels. Before we got the RV, I always checked along the route and at our destination to make sure we had a dog friendly place to stop. With the RV, neither the dog nor I can travel much longer than 2 to 2 1/2 hours without a stop. Our truck really beats me up so I have to get out and walk around. She does o.k. on road trips, if we are on the interstate she will pretty much just sleep in my lap. If it's country roads, she wants to hang her head out the window. Rest stops are your friend. If we plan on doing any kind of going out and seeing things, we only go places that allow dogs. Most cities/towns have some dog friendly restaurants - which means you sit outside. We did find the trolley tours in both Savannah and St. Augustine are dog friendly (at least one of them is) so we took her on those. We also found a beach in St. Augustine and on Jekyll Island that were dog friendly but she hates water so won't go even close to the ocean. We will leave her in the RV for about a hour if we want to go out to eat and did leave her in there for about 4 hours while camping a WDW. When staying in hotels, we never left her any longer than it took to go to the onsite restaurant to eat. We do a lot of hiking and walking around towns outdoors, if one of us wants to go into a store, the other stays outside with her. I do have a carrier for her that I can wear and there are a few places we have found that will let her in if I'm carrying her.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

What's it like to take a long trip with a dog?

Rough Rough.

 

[VandVsmama]

Have you looked into what vaccinations and paperwork you need to have to bring a dog into another country? You'll want to protect your dog from ticks and mosquitos down here, at least.

I was about to suggest the same. Definitely research what the US immigration rules are re: bringing in a dog from another country.

 

[JaxDad]

What's it like to take a long trip with a dog?

Rough Rough.

They never offer to share with the driving and expenses.

 

[MrsPete]

Pointing out the obvious: The dog you're considering taking on a road trip is the same dog who lives in your house now. You know this dog! If your dog is usually calm and easygoing, go for it. On the other hand, if your dog is completely insane (thinking of my niece's small horse), find the dog a spot in a boarding kennel.

And an idea: Use the internet now and try to scope out a dog park that you can stop at mid-day. Giving the dog a short break to run-run-run will make a difference in the second half of your drive.

 

[MrsPete]

What's it like to take a long trip with a dog?

Rough Rough.

Don't you mean Ruff Ruff?
Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[chickapin parterre]

not all dogs in rest area pet areas are friendly dogs...so take each stop with a risk assement of breeds in the area and what is off leash. we use a harness collar on trip so the dog cannot back out of its collar in scary situations. If you have popular tv commercial breed, expect folks to walk up to you..i.e. english bulldog...our bulldog was breeding male and hence not friendly to other dogs or even people....we always had him at far end of dog area, always parked risk free in that area...but 80% of the time folks come marching up to us...we had to wave them off. He loved to travel and we always sprayed scent the pet room before he was allowed in the room.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I've driven from NY to Florida and from NY to California with a dog. If they're used to being in the car, it's not bad. We just stopped every few hours for bathroom breaks and walks.

It's helpful to research what you plan to do for meals. We often did drive-thru/take out and ate in the car with the doors open. But we also found places along the way that had outdoor seating (and allowed dogs) if the weather was nice. You can also research parks/hiking trails to take a longer walk that are near your route.

We usually avoided dog runs/fenced potty areas at rest stops because they were often dirty with poop that wasn't picked up.

I also second the advice to make sure you have a really good harness that your dog can't back out of if they get startled in an unfamiliar place.

 

[sheilafri]

Some dogs will be better travelers than others. Our dog is great on our twice yearly 20 hour trip to/from our second home. We use a harness that attaches to the seat belt buckle but allows him to change positions, put his favorite dog bed on the back seat, put water in an old ice cream bucket with ice next to him. When my husband fills the car with gas, I walk him and offer him food and water outside the car. First one done goes to the bathroom, then we switch off so the dog isn’t in a hot or cold car. It adds a couple minutes per stop. We do get a reservation at dog-friendly motels for overnights. It’s usually $25-35 to have a dog in the room.

 

[nemodad]

For those with rvs you need to monitor for loss of power if you leave Fido alone. Many campgrounds (specifically Fort Wilderness) often lose power for several hours at a time. It can get hot very fast. There are several solutions out there now. I think some people have made refrigerator/freezer alarms keyed into WiFi or old cell phone to monitor. Probably solutions exist for Alexa. We took our chances when we used to camp 10 years ago. Wouldn’t do it again

 

[OhMari]

We drive from Wisconsin to NY/CT with our small dog and and our son does it with his 95 lb. dog. Get off the beaten path, to let them go to the bathroom. The Interstate rest stops for dogs are disgusting. People do not pick up after their dogs. We learned the hard way the first time we went and we ended up at our sons vet, because our dog smells everything and got a bacterial infection sniffing other dogs poop. I know it can be tough getting off the Interstate and finding a decent place, but we stop 2-3 times in a 16 hour period and find a small town and walk the sidewalks and pick up after our dog. Notre Dame in Indiana is one of our first and last places we stop for a 15-30 minute walk. We try to find the quickest place off the highway.

 

[mickman1962]

Drove from NY to Az with my dogs which I dreaded as my one dog hated the car. Put a crate in the car and the dog that hated car rides slept the entire way. The dog that loved the car spent the entire time awake and looking out the front window. So I guess you never know. Also would never want to do it again.

 

[TXRunner]

We have 3 dogs now so we always board, but we used to do it with one way back (I remember a trip to Disney/Universal in which we stayed at Portofino - daughter was about 2 and dog was a pretty chill labrador). I assume you're driving a SUV, fold up the crate & bring it. You don't want pup destroying hotel room. I mean it's a lot of work because you have to eat outside restaurants (we'd stop at Cracker Barrel, take out order to eat outside, feed dog too), stop for rest breaks, etc. Take along vaccination records. The best trip we took that Lab on was a house we rented in Colorado Springs because it was near an amazing dog park. Usually you just pay a security fee & show vaccine records. Along the way to destination you'll be able to find hotels (we often stayed in Holiday Inn). So, you CAN do it. The question is whether it's really a holiday for you if you take the dog along (remember you'll have to check on them throughout day - you don't just leave them alone for 12 hours etc).