Vacation Time with Your Dog

Spring has sprung and it’s time to start planning your summer vacation.  But what to do about the four-legged member of your family?

Leaving the dog at home

If you choose to leave the dog at home, you have the options of having someone come into your home to care for your dog, farming the animal out to family or friends, or finding a boarding kennel where your dog will at least not be miserable.

Leaving the dog at home, in his or her accustomed environment may seem at first to be the best solution, but you must carefully choose who will stay with the dog.  Aside from the normal concerns about having someone you may not know well in your house, you must consider whether the person is someone the dog knows well and will be happy to see.  I have twice cared for a neighbor’s dogs who wouldn’t come out of hiding for me the entire time the family was gone, so I spent the majority of the time I should have been playing with the dogs, cleaning up the messes they left for me instead.  Allow the caregiver to spend some time getting to know the dog before you leave so you can make sure the dog accepts the new person.

If the caregiver can’t or won’t spend an adequate amount of time with your dog while you are gone, the dog may become so bored or stressed that you won’t have much of a house left to return to!  My dogs once chewed through an entire shelf of cookbooks while we were away for a week.  If you are using a paid service to provide the caregiver, make sure you understand how many times a day they will visit the house and how long each visit will last.  You may also want to “chew-proof” your home by putting chewables behind baby gates or up where your dog cannot reach them.

Staying at Grandma’s

If you have really good friends or family members who would welcome your dog(s) into their homes, this can be the best of all situations.  The dog has nearly constant companionship unless the friend works long hours.  And if the dog becomes destructive – it’s their house not yours!  :>

Seriously, if you choose this option, make sure to provide the dog’s regular food, a leash and collar, some favorite toys, and perhaps a kennel lined with a towel or blanket that has your scent on it.  All of these little reminders of home can keep your dog from feeling so lonely while you are away.

Boarding Kennels

You really have to take the time to explore the various boarding options in your area.  Some kennels are institutional-like places with cages floor to ceiling, where the only human interaction your dog will get is when his or her bowl is slid into the kennel and when the kennel is hosed out to rid it of the dog’s waste.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can find a kennel where your dog is placed in a hotel-like setting with a television tuned to Animal Planet and frequent walks, grooming, and massages.  Alternatively, you might find a kennel that has indoor/outdoor runs or has a doggie daycare incorporated into the facility.

Choosing between the various options includes consideration of both your budget and your dog’s needs.  If your dog is a senior citizen or spends much of the day alone anyways, an institutional-type setting may be sufficient, and is certainly the cheapest.  However, if you have a high energy dog, you will want to be sure the dog gets adequate exercise.  If your dog is a lover, choose a spot where human interaction is featured.  Again, make sure to send some of your dog’s own possessions along so he or she feels more at home while separated from you.  Make sure the items you send are replaceable and not too expensive, as they may disappear during the dog’s stay at the facility.

Regardless of the type of facility, at a bare minimum it should be clean, odor-free, attended at least during daylight hours if not 24/7, and staffed by caring people who actually like dogs.  Ask the staff if they have dogs at home.  Ask your friends at the dog park where they take their own dogs.  Ask your veterinarian for recommendations.  It really pays to do your research ahead of time, rather than learning this type of lesson by trial and error.

Taking the dog with you

If you decide to take your dog with you, proper planning is very important.  Unless you are traveling by RV, you will need to find pet-friendly hotels and find out their policies before you book.  Some hotels charge a pet fee while others charge only a deposit that is refunded if your dog doesn’t damage the room.  Other hotels have a weight limit or a limit on the number of dogs they will allow per room.

Plan your route to include frequent stops.  Not only will  your dog need to go to the bathroom, he or she will also need to get some exercise and play time.

Consider what you will do with your dog while you are sightseeing, eating out, or visiting relatives who may not want dog hair in their  homes.  Most hotels will not allow you to leave the dog in the room unattended, so you need to have a plan such as one person staying behind or hiring a dog sitter when you reach your destination.  Never, never, never leave your dog in a parked car.  Even with the windows cracked, the internal temperature of the car rises very quickly and can kill in just a few minutes.

Before you leave home, test out your dog’s tolerance for being in a moving vehicle.  You don’t want to find out about his or her carsickness when you get 100 miles from your house.

If you are flying, check with your airline about their policy for carrying live animals. Make sure you have the proper type of crate and that your dog’s vaccinations are up to date.  If you have a large vacation budget, you may want to check out Pet Airways, which will transport your pet in the cabin of the aircraft, and you can meet the flight at its destination to pick up your dog.

Whether you choose to leave your dog at home or bring him or her along, make sure your dog has a legible tag that has the dog’s name and your cell phone number or some other way for people to reach you while you are on the road.  Many dogs have escaped from caregivers to go look for their families or have jumped out of cars or left hotel rooms during the trip.  Give yourself the best chance of getting your dog back by providing obvious identification, in addition to any tattoos or microchips that might not be obvious to the casual observer.

Check out travel guides for pets here.  See the AKC’s advice on traveling with your dog here.