Looking for Long Road Trip Tips!

[hallieworthington]

Hey, fellow lab parents!

I have recently made the exciting decision of accepting a job in Colorado, about 1700 miles away from my hometown in Georgia. I am out here in CO currently (with my four legged child being taken care of by my mom) and am heading home the first weekend in May to get the rest of my belongings and my Lulu and then driving back to Colorado to settle in to our new home!

However, I would love some advice on traveling that long of a distance with Lulu. She's 6, going on 7, so she's been on many a car trip, some a few hours long. Unfortunately, Georgia to Colorado is more than just a few hours. She usually just lays in the backseat the ride. She doesn't often sleep, but will lay there quietly. So here are some of the things I'm debating:

1.) I can do the trip in two 12+ hour days or break it up into 3 days (day 1 approx. 8 hours, day 2 approx. 10 hours, day 3 approx. 6-8 hours). I'm leaning towards trying to do it in 2 days, so that's less time for both of us to be in the car, and I know the factors vary from dog to dog, but I would love some input on making this decision.

2.) How often to stop/how to handle making sure she stays hydrated during the trip. Lulu doesn't often like to drink or eat in the car or right after getting out of the car. When I first drove out here, I stopped typically every 4-5 hours to top off on gas and give myself a bathroom break, so I was thinking of keeping the same schedule because I know her bladder can handle that long. However, I am super worried about making sure she stays hydrated. Anyone have any suggestions for this?

3.) I've had several people recommend that I give her a small dose of Benadryll for the ride, so she won't be antsy once we've been on the road for a while and so she'll sleep (since she usually doesn't sleep during car rides). I'm considering this because she does tend to get a little antsy whenever we've hit dead-stop or heavy start-stop traffic. It's very distracting for me when she's bouncing from one side of the car to another trying to see why we've stopped but not getting out. Since I can't control that ahead of time, I have thought about this. But I don't want it to negatively affect her during our ride.

I want to make this as smooth a transition as possible for us both, so I know that the less she's upset, the less I will be upset.

Also, we are moving out on our own with no roommates for the first time, so any tips to help her adjust to being home for longer periods by herself would be appreciated as well! She does sometimes have a bit of a barking problem, but I'm hoping some new toys, bones that take longer to destroy, and lots of exercise prior to my leaving for work will help with that. I also have a sonic bark collar I've used on her before to help, but any extra tips, advice, and suggestions are welcome

For the record, she usually grazes throughout the day, but my mom has started moving her food to where she's getting less in the morning and most at night, that way she can be used to eating in the evenings during our trip out here, so she's not trying to eat on the road. Also, she does have a seatbelt that I make her wear (so she can't be moving around as much) and a doggie hammock to protect her if she falls or I have to hit the brakes.

[xracer4844]

1) Totally dog dependent. My boy is fine in the car. He is used to us traveling all over the place for shows, training exercises etc. He can easily do full days in the car no problem. Make your plans flexible. If your dog just can't handle being in the car, take a break, or stop for the day if possible. It really is just dog dependent. We travel a lot and I know what he's capable of. Of course, when we stop, I find a field I can run him out in just to give him the opportunity to get rid of any energy he wants to get rid of.

2) Again dog dependent. Usually, I don't really deviate from his regular schedule. I feed him at the same times, I give him water, and stick to his daily bathroom schedule. I have a truck with air vents in the ceiling and seperate temperature control zones in the rear of the truck. Before we leave for a long trip, I fold all the seats down (they fold flat). I put his bed, and a big blanket down. He likes to be closer to us on long trips instead of way back in the trunk. I pack our stuff all around him so he has a cozy area to lay down. I angle the ceiling vents towards him. He loves AC blowing on him. He goes right to sleep for the majority of our car trips.

3) I can't really offer advice for this, as my dog is totally comfortable in the car. All I can say is a dog that is bouncing around in the car is extremely dangerous. You may want to consider crating during transport if this is the case.

If you are leaving her for long periods alone, you may want to transition her slowly. Do you crate her? If you don't crate her, I wouldn't give her full reign of the house without giving her time to adjust to the new place.

[Jeff]

Honestly for me this wouldn't be much of an issue. It all depends on your dog. My plan would be eat and drink in the morning hit the road. I would advise the day before leaving doing what ever you can to wear her out. Doggy daycare, play dates anything that will just wear her out and sleep. You may be able to get a lot of travel done the first day making it easier. Stop for lunch, potty and short walk around which would be good for both of you. Hit the road again until supper time. Eat supper and decide if you want to move on or not. If she is sufficiently worn out from the day before. You could probably easily do 12 hours your first day so 12 hours the second wouldn't be such an issue or you may choose to stretch it out and enjoy yourselves along the way. Again this all depends on your relationship with your dog. For me and Hemi we do road trips all the time. So he is used to it and he drinks in the truck all the time. I have 2 portable water bowls in the truck and we sometimes drive to walk on different trails and when we are done walking Hemi always gets a drink in the truck. We also regularly go to my sisters which is a 2.5 hours drive I always stop midway and he gets a drink and stretches his legs.

Bring some healthy snacks you both can share on the road. Apples, and bananas some fresh cut carrots and things like that. Not too much for her but I am sure it would help make the trip a little more interesting. Reevaluate the next day also buy a case of cheap water from the grocery or some gallon jugs filled up with water from home. Sometimes water quality on the road varies city to city and state to state so no need causing tummy distress.

Then I agree crating in the new place probably the best.

Then the benadryl, I am kind of against that unless you need it. Basically your trying to drug your dog to keep calm.

[Labradorks]

It doesn't sound like she's any trouble in the car, so I wouldn't worry about it, and I certainly would not drug her. Pack food and water and bowls for both. Bring a long-line or flexi-lead type thing so that if she needs to stretch her legs a bit, you can do so safely (obviously not where there are other people/dogs). Travel during non-rush hour if that's something you have to worry about in your locations, and travel when it's not hot (you should be fine this time of year). If she is not moving or panting heavily, vomiting or having diarrhea, or has an some kind of an illness, and she is not hot in the car, she's not going to get dehydrated. Also, if you don't have a first aid kit in your car -- for you AND the dog -- I'd invest in one for this trip.

I drove my dogs from NY to WA several years ago. I took a week to do so. The dogs let me know when they were ready for a break, and it was usually every four hours, which was when I needed a break (and fuel) also. They just popped their heads up from the cargo area. It worked well as they kept me from staying on the road too long, waiting until I HAD to find gas, food, a bathroom, or hotel. I stayed in hotels/motels every night that were dog-friendly. My days looked something like this:

Up by 7am, all of us eat, walk dogs, pack
Leave around 9am, missing rush hour
Stop around 1pm to fuel up and have lunch, let the dogs drink, stretch their legs, go potty
Drive until dinner time (5-6pm, depending on location as to avoid rush hour), then stop, eat, get a hotel, take care of dogs, fuel, etc.

I generally drove 8 hours a day, could have stretched it out to 10, and probably did some days. I was by myself and concerned about hitting an antelope in Wyoming or something while going 80+ mph, having no cell phone service, and not seeing anyone for hours. Those freeways are VERY dark, long, and lonely, and not a place where I'd want to be injured, let alone have a flat tire.

[JenC]

We moved from CA to CO back in 2006. We had 3 dogs: 5, 4 and 1 y/o. Dave had 2 in his car and I had one in my car. We just stopped for breaks when we needed to and let the dogs stretch their legs, drink, eat, whatever. We only had to stop overnight once.

Where in CO are you settling down?

[OHfemail]

We've taken Gabby on long road trips since the day we got her at 8 weeks old. The best advice I can give: churches or school yards are excellent places for some 10 - 15 minute play, potty, and stretch time. They have large grassy areas, and a decided lack of other dogs or distractions (barring Sunday mornings and school days!)

[hallieworthington]

Thanks for all of the advice!

I already have planned to have a talk with our vet before we leave, just to get his opinion on best traveling with her, but I also wanted to get some first-hand advice. She's never done a road trip this long before. I think the longest trip she's done has been about 4-5 hours, so this is obviously much longer for her, but I'm hoping she'll be as calm as she normally is.

Unfortunately, due to the size of my car, crating her during the trip isn't an option. She is crate trained and it will be coming with us to our new place to be the first thing to get unpacked, so she's got her stuff in the apartment first. I love the idea about snacks for both of us in the car. She loves fruit, like apples, so I think that might be a good idea for us during the drive.

Labradorks-I have a mini one with some basics (neosporin, ace wrap, bandaids, and I think peroxide) in the car, but is there one you'd recommend? Or any specific items you'd recommend adding to it?

JenC-I'm moving to the Colorado Springs area, which I'm excited for since all the trails are so dog-friendly! Lulu LOVES to go exploring and will run herself ragged sniffing everything in her path and running zig-zags all across the place. I'm considering an apartment that's right next to an open space/large park in town, because I think having it within walking distance would be great to wear her out before I leave for work in the mornings. Due to me being new at my workplace (and coming off an unpaid internship for 4 months), I'm working 2 jobs during June and July to help bring in a little extra income while I can. That means that I'll be working 7 days a week, with some days longer than others (but no longer than 8 hours). I'm really hoping that if I can wear her out during a long morning walk, she'll be tired out by the time I leave. I've also talked to a friend about stopping by on her days off to take Lulu out for a quick walk just so she's not bored during the day. She's used to being home by herself for extended periods while I was in college at work or at class, but since it's a new adjustment, I just want her to make sure she's getting the attention and the exercise she needs.

[Labradorks]

Here's a very long first aid kit list for pets. Some good ideas.

[JenC]

PM me if you need any input on the town. I am in the Black Forest area, northern Colorado Springs.