Tips for Traveling with dogs
My biggest tip? DOG TRAINING of course. Having a well trained dog makes training much less stressful.
Tip 1: Train your dog!
Helpful behaviors to teach specific to traveling
STAY/WAIT. Not only does this help with safety: while you open doors for loading and unloading luggage or camping gear from the car, hotel room doors, etc. But it also makes getting “the perfect shot” for photography much easier.
COME. This is truly the most important cue you can teach a dog. Even though we keep our dogs on leash when traveling, accidents happen and knowing your dog will come back to you if you drop the leash, they slip their collar, the door gets left open, etc is the best peace of mind.
LOOSE LEASH WALKING/HEEL. Exploring new areas on leash is far more pleasant if your dog doesn’t drag you around. For my pups I use a harness for walking and the harness has the ability for the leash to attach to their back or chest. The chest attachment is their cue to walk by me and not pull, the back clip is their cue they can pull and do what they please. Using “heel” when we navigate a busy park or restaurant when I need them to leave everyone else alone and stay right at my side.
LOAD UP. Having your dog know the cue to go to the car and load up is so convenient. On that cue Leo jumps in the back of the car, or puts his feet up at the side door so I only need to boost his bum up. It’s so nice when I’m heading to the car with my arms loaded with luggage to say “load up” and have him just head to the car and wait for me to open the car door, keeps him from wandering around.
GO POTTY. Having a dog that knows the cue to potty can make it so much easier for everyone during travel. Many dogs are very habitual with potty habits and in strange places often struggle to go potty when they are distracted and can’t find the perfect spot. Saying “go potty” always helps my dogs to understand that this spot we are is the option they have to find a spot to go and helps them more comfortably travel knowing they have “done their business”. So teaching them the “go potty” cue is very helpful for travel.
Hyatt Place Page/Lake Powell, A fantastic pet friendly hotel we stayed at in Page Arizona on our trip to the Grand Canyon.
Tip 2: Finding pet friendly accommodations
Sites that can help:
These sites often offer reviews or more detailed information about a hotel’s pet policies, but you always need to check, sometimes they have changed since that site reviewed the hotel. My go to is generally googling “pet friendly hotels” in the areas I want to go, then I go to the reviews and check out what people personally experienced staying there. Then I will go to the hotels site/socials and see what their pet policies are. Often we call because with many sites they make it really hard to find the details when trying to book a room. It can be really tricky because it is not always easy to find a hotel’s policies as they tend to really bury them in their site. Often even if it says “pet friendly” under their amenities they often have restrictions to what that means: size of dog, how many dogs, what rooms they allow you in, etc.
I find that when it comes to hotels there are hotels that:
do not permit dogs
allow dogs- have some pet rooms available, often not their better rooms- often they put you in smoking rooms, the loud rooms nearest laundry/ice machines, etc.
pet friendly- a step up from the hotels that just stuff you in less desirable rooms. Often have a few extra touches- like some treats for your pups. But often still have restrictions like what rooms you can book, sizes of dogs allowed, etc.
cater to travelers with pets- they roll out the red carpet for you and make you feel truly welcome and not like an inconvenience. These are the gems! They often have dog beds and special touches for your pet, some allow you to leave dogs in the room (they give you special cards to hang on the door to alert staff and take your cell # so they can contact you if your dog is distressed). Many have resources for the area: local pet sitters, some have a pet concierge that can advise you on local pet friendly dining, hikes, parks, etc. They go out of their way to help you have the best experience on the road with your pup! Though they often cost more we generally seek out these places knowing we will likely have a much better experience.
Pet Policies:
Check for size restrictions
Check for restrictions on numbers of dogs
Is it a pet fee or a deposit? One you get back, the other you do not.
Is it a one time charge or per night or per pet?
Expect to pay from $25-100 for a standard pet fee.
Are there room restrictions?
Have pets that exceed policy limits???
Make your dogs a resume. I used to put together a folder with my dog’s obedience titles, reference letters from my vet saying I was an ultra responsible dog owner, pictures of my dogs being good dogs. Many times asking to speak with a manager and showing them our dogs were well mannered pampered companions and offering to pay a deposit worked to get us rooms that were often not available traditionally.
Ask if you can speak to the manager and see if they have any flexibility to their policy. You would be surprised how accommodating some places can be if you simply ask nicely.
Only get dogs that look the same so they have no idea how many you have 🤣, obviously kidding.
Please do not decide to get around it by pretending your dog is a service animal. People with service dogs often deal with businesses not believing them because of so many people breaking the rules by pretending their dog is a service animal, please do not do this.
THe best of the best:
BEST FRIENDS ROADHOUSE AND MERCANTILE.
Our FAVORITE pet friendly hotel we have ever stayed at! An onsite fenced in dog park with a splash pad, onsite dog bathing spa with everything you need, fire pit, outside tables for enjoying a meal outside with your pup, with high quality accommodations! This place is the bees knees! If you ever get the chance to visit if you are in Kanab UT do it! AND if that wasn’t enough, staying here helps the Best Friends Animal Society, their sanctuary is just a few miles away where you can take a tour, and if you are not traveling with your own pet, you can opt to bring a pet from the sanctuary to spend the night with you!
Cypress In, Carmel California
Feels like every pet lover ought to visit this gem that Doris day was a joint owner of. We visited many years ago with Butters and had such a lovely experience. Carmel is one of the most pet friendly towns to visit! Nearly every shop invited us in, the beach was basically one big dog park. Maybe not the easiest place for a reactive dog, but we sure had a wonderful time.
Hotel Chains:
Stay Pineapple!!! Each one of these we have stayed at has been the best pet friendly travel experience. Not only do they allow dogs, they cater to them! They have many perks that make you feel not just welcome, but like a special guest. If a place we are traveling to has a Stay Pineapple option we definitely choose them! We have stayed at both the Seattle and Portland locations and had a BLAST.
Leo at the Hotel Rose Staypineapple
LOGE Camps & Hotels. Being outdoors & dog lovers this is the best of both worlds! A group of hotels that cater to outdoor lovers that travel with their dogs. Not only are the pet friendly, but they offer a big variety of activities you can add on to enjoy.
There are many pet friendly hotel chains, however not all locations always allow pets so you need to check the location you are visiting to see if they take dogs. We have always had good luck finding comfortable consistent rooms from: Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, Hyatt & LaQuinta.
There are definitely many more great options out there, I am just sharing places we have had personal experiences with!
Be sure to let hotels know that you choose their establishments because of their pet friendly policies!
***TIP the room cleaning staff!!!*** Leave a tip of $3-5 per day, leave it each day incase the staff changes each day, leave it in an easy to spot location like on the desk or bathroom sink. Have them clean your room each day! The hotel itself these days post covid often don’t always offer automatic cleaning each day, help out the cleaning staff by requesting it, you are paying for this, take advantage of it! And again help the cleaning staff who are usually working for minimum wage. The more rooms they clean the more they get paid, leave them a tip, even though you get charged a pet cleaning fee they don’t give this directly to the cleaning staff.
Tips for making your hotel stay more comfortable for you and your pet!
Bring a blanket/sheet from home, not only does it help your pet not make a mess of their linens, it also makes your pup more comfortable having something that smells like home.
Crate training is a wonderful way for many pups to learn how to settle down and rest in a hotel. Leo slept in his soft crate next to the bed the first few times we stayed in a hotel while he was getting used to the sounds of sleeping in a hotel.
If your dog likes cozy sleeping spots bringing their bed from home can also help them feel more cozy and secure.
White noise. I often run the room’s ac fan or have the TV on when my dog’s are first getting used to a hotel room for the first time. I have also done things like put a towel or blanket along the bottom of the door as often dog’s are unsettled hearing/seeing people moving around just outside their door.
Set up your dog’s essentials (water bowl, food bowl, crate/bed) in as similar of a location as possible so they learn quickly where their things will be. Every hotel we stay in I put their water bowls in the same spot: in the bathroom on a towel by the tub/shower.
Bring some toys!
Don’t leave them alone! Even if they allow you to, wait until you are sure your dog is comfortable traveling before you leave them alone. The first time we left Leo we set up one phone on FaceTime so we could watch with the other phone to see how he did. We just left for 10 minutes and watched to make sure he was ok (he was fine).
Bring water from home or used bottled water if possible. Dog’s can have a very sensitive GI system when stressed, and travel can be stressful so try to keep their diet and water the same.
Keep special treats and foods to a minimum and never give them something they have never had before or you run the risk of having a sick dog. Dog’s can be very sensitive to fatty rich foods and get diarrhea or even worse pancreatitis. So make sure any treats you give are ones you know they have enjoyed before and keep them to a minimum.
Bring some toys for your dog! Leo also suggests getting more at each stop 🤣
AirBNB & Vacation rentals
Sometimes the best option is to forgo the hotels and find a vacation rental instead! In general when traveling with a pet we have found that you need to be staying in the same place for at least 3 or more days for a vacation rental to make sense. Usually between the normal cleaning fees & added pet fees, staying for just a day or two it ends up being more in fees than you would pay for a very nice hotel. Always be sure you check the final amount due before booking as those fees can be sneaky, so often the advertised rate is before all those fees that often end up doubling what you owe. But if you are traveling with a group, have dogs that exceed hotel size restrictions or have multiple dogs sometimes it is the best option.
If you plan to stay in an area for more than a few days this is usually the best option as many places have fenced yards and offer a lot more living space for your pups to enjoy. Also being able to rent an entire home or cabin can be much less stressful for reactive or anxious dogs.
On a tighter budget?
Tent Camp!
Our amazing private camping spot in Monument Valley that we found using the Hipcamp app.
It’s not as easy as it used to be, as now it often means committing to a trip 6 months to a year in advance to reserve camping sites.
But there are some tricks!
check out state and county parks, they often don’t have online reservations and are often first come first serve.
dispersed camping! what is this? camping on public lands that do not have developed campgrounds. There are apps like DYRT that can help you find spots.
private campgrounds. Often you can find privately owned and offered camps, not just commercial operations like KOA, but using apps like Airbnb, Hipcamp and dirt you can find camping offered up on privately owned lands.
We love camping and it’s often how we make trips more affordable, we mix it up between hotels and camping. When we were younger and hardier 🤣 we always camped, and back then it was a lot easier before online reservations became a thing, and it made travel a lot more approachable for us. It can still be done, but takes a bit more work finding spots, especially post covid.
When tent camping for travel keep it simple, take only what you need as likely you will just be sleeping here and moving on. His bed is his crate pad on top of the blanket we use on hotel beds. Sandwiches with warm cup of soup only need to be able to boil some water. Cereal for breakfast with hot coffee or cocoa, again only need to boil some water. That way the only kitchen stuff we needed was our backpacking stove, a small pot and some mugs, all of which fit into the camp pot.
Budget Hotels:
There are many budget friendly hotels. Age has a way of making a person more fussy and willing to pay more for a goodnights sleep, but for most of our early adulthood the only places in our budgets were the least expensive hotels. Red Roof Inn and Motel 6 are two chains that are almost always pet friendly. Look for locally owned options, often they are more reasonable. Also check out private campgrounds for pet friendly cabins, many have started to add little tiny houses for rent onto their grounds for just such purposes.
Ask for upstairs rooms which are usually quieter.
Ask for rooms not next to elevators or ice machines as those get the most traffic.
Factor in meals, does it include breakfast? Does it have a microwave and fridge so you can eat in the room instead of a restaurant? Sometimes you can go for a little more expensive room and save by eating in.
bring your own food!
You would be surprised how much you can save by bringing as much of your food and drinks from home, or stopping at grocery stores along the way instead of eating out or using convenience stores for drinks and snacks.
We saved so much money on our last trip eating most all of our meals from our cooler and drinking what we brought from home. Having a little backpacking stove meant we could even whip up hot cocoa and coffee on stops.
seek out free fun activities
hiking, walking, exploring new places is fun.
road side attractions break up the drive and give you a place to stretch your legs and have a picnic
want to find good local pet friendly hikes? Ask people! Especially if you stay in a pet friendly place, ask where locals hike with their dogs. Pop into a pet store, buy some treats and find out where locals think is the best hike to take with your dog.
Buy Yearly passes
We didn’t pay for a single park entrance! We have an annual National parks pass that works on all our federal hiking trailheads and National parks. By the time we took this trip we had already used the pass enough times to pay for it. So the annual pass cost $80, we visited 6 National parks in the past month which would have cost us $210 if we had paid per visit. And that is not counting the times we saved $5 per hike or day use area over the course of the year. Also many places offer discounts if you have the annual pass, like our local lake charges $10 per day for a pass, they have an annual pass that only cost me $27 after they discounted it due to our annual National park pass. Also almost all national forest campgrounds offer a discount if you have the annual pass.
Car Traveling Tips!
CRATE TRAINING!!!!! Having a safe secure high quality crate not only gives them a safe spot to snooze, but it can create a traveling routine to just chill out and rest in the car. Be sure to choose a safe high quality crate that can survive an accident and be sure to secure it in your car using straps and tie downs. (Seeing multiple photos of this crate surrounded by crumpled cars sold me on it). While it is more fun having a dog out of a crate so you can more easily interact with them, it is simply far less safe. So many dogs are lost in accidents because after the accident they get frightened and run away, even ignoring their owners calls because they are in fight or flight mode and just race off without any thought.
Seat belt your dogs if you do not crate them. True story many years ago a person I know was killed in a car accident by her dog’s flying body hitting her head when they crashed. Secure your dogs and things.
Use sunscreens and fans to keep your dog’s cool in the back of the car. A comfortable dog will be a less stressed dog!
You can see I’ve put a screen up between his crate and the window and have a fan blowing on him. That white box on his crate is a temperature gauge, I can tell you at times his crate which was directly behind my seat, and our car has rear ac vents, was still up to 10 degrees warmer than it was in the front of the car if I wasn’t running the fan. The fan pushed a lot more cool air back and quickly cooled his crate.
Here is the temperature gauge reader, his number is the “outdoor” one. In this case he was cooler than us as the sun was on my side of the car and my window wasn't shaded like his was. I was also able to use this gauge when we went into a restaurant or store without him so I could monitor the car temperature.
Schedule regular stops so your dog can get out and stretch their legs and decompress.
You can use apps like Sniffspot to find places to visit or what I do is travel with my atlas and I look for fun stops along the way where we might see something neat. Like the Sand Mountain we discovered was just a spot I saw on the map at a time that made for a good pit stop. “Rest stops” are my last choice for a stop with dogs, why? They are usually right on the road and loud, very busy spots that many dogs find stressful. So I like getting further off the road.
Acclimate your dog to travel gradually! Start with shorter trips closer to home to get them used to the car travel and staying in a strange place.
Again keep treats to known things and minimal so you don’t upset their stomachs.
Placing a towel or sunscreen over their crates can help create a cozier den that also lessens them seeming arousing or scary things out the window and act like “hooding” a bird, and often helps calm dogs in their crates.
Additional research for travel tips!
Research Dog daycares options before you go, even if you don’t plan to use them it is nice to know it’s an option. Again I google search “dog daycare (and the name of where I’m going)” and then I read though the reviews. Then once I find a few options I call and talk to people as well as checking out their socials, and see if I can see what the dog’s in their care look like, do they look relaxed and happy or stressed. I ask about their policies: are the dogs free playing together all in one area or are they separate in kennels (I prefer separate in kennels), how often are they walked or taken out, how many people oversee their care, what happens in the event of an emergency? Or maybe does the hotel you are staying at have pet sitter recommendations and you can hire someone to come stay with them. Calling local Vet clinics, pet stores, dog groomers can also be a resource to ask who they recommend locally for pet care.
You can also check out the Rover app, but always be sure you vet people and don’t just trust what someone posts. Get referrals, set up meet and greets and trust your gut if something doesn’t feel right. When traveling go with safe over fun, so I would 100% prefer hiring someone to come stay with my dog in my hotel room than send them with someone who is going to take them to play with other dogs, what if the dogs don’t get along, what it they are not careful and let my dog off leash, go with safe and secure over fun! If leaving them someplace see the facility and inspect where they plan on keeping your dog.
Use your socials. If you are on FB and IG ask people! Let people know you are planning a trip and do they recommend anything or anyone in the area? I found several of the places and the daycare we used with Leo by doing just that.
Research emergency vet options in the areas you plan to travel! On our trip in my phone notes section I had a list of Emergency Vet locations and phone numbers. You never know and an emergency is just that, so you don’t want to only then be starting your research to find help. Know before you go where to get help if you need it. Carry records of your dog’s vaccinations and any important medical information.
Know the local risks! I just talked to someone who had no idea what foxtails were until their dog was at the vet having one removed from its foot. I spent our trip being on the lookout for snakes, cactus and foxtails. Do the local waterways have toxic algae blooms? Are ticks an issue? Find out what you need to be aware of while in that area.
Leo’s Ruffwear Travel Bag with all his gear.
Dog Travel Gear
think about your adventure and bring only what you need, but be sure you have what you need!
Leo has some extras as I was trying hard to keep his coat in show shape despite all our adventures. So I brought what I needed to keep him clean and groomed.
Here was this trip’s list of essentials:
Ruffland Crate.
6 foot leash, for all parks and public settings where leash lengths are not allowed to exceed 6ft. I have attached to the leash handle a poop bag holder with plenty of bags.
Flexi Leash. For potty breaks at hotels and rest stops it is hard to beat the convenience of a retractable leash. I know a lot of people hate using them, but for travel it is so much easier than a long line in my opinion.
Travel food & water bowls. I like the sea to summit collapsing bowls, they fit in his travel food bag perfectly.
Food- I use kibble + a freeze dried raw topper.
Water- I bring water from home or use bottled water.
Tie out long line for camping.
Flat Collar with ID tags that he always wears.
Harness for walking/hiking and tying out when camping.
Treats, lots of high value treats. I like freeze dried when traveling, they seem to hold up really well with the big temperature changes in the car, they are high value despite being dry and don’t need refrigeration once open, couldn’t get more dry or stale in the desert 🤣.
Toys, a couple tennis balls and a big stuffy are on his essential list!
Brush/comb for getting burs out of his coat after hikes. (I also brought coat conditioner to protect his coat while doing so)
Pet wipes. I like using these to clean his feet if he’s walked in a sketchy rest area, and also if his feet are filthy before we go into hotel rooms since he gets on the bed with us. And they came in handy on the trip as one morning he urp’d on himself as he was too excited to eat breakfast and then barfed some bile on his feet. Earthbath Grooming wipes
Waterless shampoo, see above barf incident. So nice having the things you need to clean up a mess on the go. Earthbath - Grooming foam
Natural flea & tick spray - Wondercide I don’t like using monthly flea & tick treatments. They creep me out and are often horrible for the environment. So I use a natural spray before we go and then each evening or after a hike use a slicker brush (they catch the ticks in their fine teeth better than other brushes) and/or a flea comb to check them for fleas & ticks.
Paw Balm
SO MANY POOP BAGS. I stuff a roll of poop bags in every door, in every bag, in jacket pockets, in the glove box, in his bag, in my daypack. Basically they are always within reach so there is never a moment I am not ready to grab that poo.
An old empty wide mouth Nalgene bottle. This is my poop vault if he poops in an area where there are no trash cans so we can have it not stink up the car or my backpack. I bag it and pop it in the old bottle and it keeps the stink at bay until we can get it to a trash can. PACK IT OUT!
A battery operated fan for his crate. also his temperature sensor and monitor. Because we were traveling to the desert and I knew we needed to watch the heat.
Extra sun shades for his crate.
First aid kit.
Vaccine Records.
Needed adventure gear- selected by the adventure.
We brought his Ruffwear Float Coat since I knew he would be swimming in some bigger water, like here in the Colorado River. I love that it has a leash clip ring on the back of the harness so I could let him swim with a long line on for safety.
Here he is wearing his Dog Booties fleece booties. I like the fleece booties when I just want a little extra protection from the hot ground. For the more intensive hiking we use their cordura nylon booties. For extreme protection (like running on the salt flats I use the Ruffwear Grip Tex boots . I know that is overkill, but… dog boots are in general not great and each one has a pro and a con for each situation…. and the ones from dog booties take up no space and are very light.
Definitely don’t leave home without his Silvershade Mesh K9 Cooler the ONLY cooling coat that works effectively when dry!
Feet & Heat
I try very hard to keep my gear to a minimum, the backpacker in me knows how to pair things down. BUT when taking a dog on an adventure I ALWAYS prioritize keeping them safe in the heat and taking care of their feet! While hiking in the desert I was constantly checking the ground, on this hike he was fine until the last 10 minutes of the hike when the ground had heated up. We test it with the back of our hands, if it’s uncomfortable for our hands, his boots go on. Also much of the time we were popping in and out of the car, I had on my sandals so each time I slid my shoe off, stood for a bit on the ground and determined if it was too hot or not for his feet.
Once a dog’s foot pad is injured it changes the whole trip for them, so I work hard to keep their feet happy. Each night I checked between his toes for foxtails, checked under his feet for foxtails and to see how his pads were holding up.
I used his cool coat and fan to keep him cool. Once a dog starts showing signs of heat stress it can be very dangerous, so I play it safe and constantly checked to see how he was handling the heat.
Leo with all his gear loaded up! These Ruffwear Travel Bags were a splurge, but I absolutely love them, they made keeping his things organized so easy!
You can get by with a lot less! You can travel on a budget. It is really about finding the adventure that fits your lifestyle and budget. We traveled for many years minimally. The more we have adventured the more we have dialed in our system to make it as enjoyable for all as possible. These are things we have found along the way that make our experiences on the road easier and more enjoyable.