cross country travelling

when chili was a pup we travelled cross country thousands of miles and had 1 minor problem with a hotel room and curtains...but now chili is almost 5 and planning another long, long car trip. when chili was a pup he slept entire time in car in back seat uncrated. now that he is adult, he has a problem travelling unless i crate and cover crate with blanket. I tried benedryl and melatonin...neither work. I dont want to crate chile from west coast to east coast in car. I have a small suv/lexus nx....so I plan on either folding back seats down and tie down harness or maybe gate from trunk to back seats....chili's problem is that he has to be in front seat....this wont happen. long multiple day trip one way and looking for opinions...was going to fly til I realized his crate too big in most / all rental cars.

What behavior do you mean by "he has a problem traveling"?

Thor is a very happy-anxious passenger. He gets so wound up and excited about whatever is going to happen or wherever we are going he whines and cries and pants and paces. You would think he was under distress except for the fact that he can't WAIT to get in the car. We've tried desensitizing him by just putting him in the car and driving around with no destination in mind but that is enough to be a reward. One thing that has really helped calm him down is a car safety harness. I think it's a combination of the restraint plus the vest might do something similar to a thundershirt. My car combo is the Ruffwear Load Up Harness combined with their Dirt bag seat cover. Works well in the back seat of my Subaru Outback. The seat cover creates his own space and keeps him from wanting to crawl in the front seat with me.

yea the problem is excitement. I will figure something out. l have used his variocage for 3 hr trips no problem. but will probably be 6 hr trips going cross country.

well is there a checklist to bring for your dog when you travel out of state? I guess I need to bring shot records...anything else?

I would crate him for safety sake, especially on freeways where there is high speed and a dog could easily get hit and killed should an accident open a door or throw him from the vehicle. You know, I was looking through Golden pedigrees with a friend and was shocked at the number of "auto accident with owner" causes of death stated in pedigrees. It happens more than we think it does. Just take more frequent breaks; it's good for you and the dog!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by voodoo

well is there a checklist to bring for your dog when you travel out of state? I guess I need to bring shot records...anything else?

---

No requirements.

When I travel with my dogs, I bring:


Leash(s), and collar(s)/tag(s) with my cell number on it
Flexi lead for exercise/pottying (only after training to a flexi)
Crates for the car and soft crate for the hotel, tarp for under the hotel crate
Vaccine records/Rabies certificate (Heath certificate if flying)
Microchip number
AKC number
Images of my dog (usually just cell phone pictures)
Food
Water (either from home and/or bottled)
Stainless steel water buckets/bowls
Any medications or supplements or RX's
Poop bags
Cloth towels
Paper towels
Nature's Miracle
Veterinary office phone number/contact information/Vets name
Favorite toys/loveys/chewies/treats

Oh forgot to mention, I traveled with 4 dogs from California to Maryland, we stopped every 4-6 hours, let them out of their crates to relive themselves, run a bit it if we found a good, safe place to do so, and kept water buckets inside their crates and refilled them every time we stopped for gas or food or potty breaks.

There’s a website called The Wirecutter that is the NYtimes version of Consumer Reports, sort of. They had an article in the past year about equipment for traveling with pets. Maybe it will give you some ideas. For dogs who are anxious travelers they say Adaptil helps many dogs. I haven’t tried it but it’s a spray, not an oral medicine so maybe that’s something to look into.
The Best Gear for Driving With Pets: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think the balance is excerise . Gigi just hangs out in the back seat. She even has done 1000 miles in 20 hrs . She does travel a bunch with rhe kids in the back seat of my truck..

I usually stop to have her get some running a dog park works or a bike path is better as I can just ride my bike a few miles and let her run. If we do this say 30 minutes to 45. She will just sleep all day .

She goes camping so us with 2 kids and the dog all do all day drive in a truck.



Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk