7 Questions to Ask BEFORE Bringing Your Dog on Vacation

Hi everyone! It’s Zach here, Navy’s Dad and usually the one making all the final edits of these posts, or the one getting Navy’s attention behind camera. We wanted to give a special shout out to FeedSpot for listing Navy as a top pet lifestyle and fashion blogger. We are so incredibly honored and humbled to be selected! 

So you decided to go on vacation. That is awesome and we are officially jealous! Should you bring your dog along with you? Now that is a tough question to answer. Being away from your dog is hard–believe me, I get it. But sometimes your pup may be more stressed by joining you on your vacation. 

Navy has traveled with us a couple times before and we certainly learned a lot from each experience. Tomorrow we embark on our biggest trip yet with Navy, CALIFORNIA!  A great deal of thought went into deciding whether or not we wanted to bring her with us. We put together a list of some of our top questions to consider BEFORE you choose bring your dog on vacation.

However, before we dive into the good stuff, let us tell you two stories…

Story 1:

For Alex’s birthday we decided to take our family out of town for a weekend full of wine tasting. We ended up staying at a nice hotel out in Reston, Virginia that was “dog friendly” (we use quotations for a reason…). Alex and I decided to leave Navy in the hotel for an hour to grab a quick breakfast at a local restaurant. About 15 minutes into our meal, we received a call from the hotel saying their had been a noise complaint. Poor Navy must have heard something, got spooked, and started yapping.  Alex immediately went back to the hotel to grab Navy. We had to find another place last minute to dine.

Lesson: It is important to remember that most hotels have policies that pets CANNOT be left unattended in hotel rooms. Be sure to research these policies when choosing your hotel. Also, your dog may have separation anxiety being in a new place without you. Be prepared for this! Now, we like to keep Navy busy with interactive toys, a Kong or bully stick, or even find a sitter for her.

Story 2:

We allow renters at our house in the Outer Banks, North Carolina to bring their dogs. Our family brings ours down to the beach when we visit so we wanted to allow our renters the same privileges. Like Story 1, a renter left their dog to roam the house. Unfortunately this dog (probably) got anxiety from being alone in an unknown place and completely destroyed a large section of carpet.

Lesson: If your dog is crate trained, consider bringing a crate or baby gates. If your dog has anxiety being alone, consider purchasing some interactive toys to help prevent destructive behavior.

Okay now back to the reason why you are reading this post, the seven questions to ask yourself before deciding to bring a dog on vacation. 

1. If an emergency happens, are you prepared? Are there any vet offices or animal hospitals close by? 

When researching the areas you are traveling to, be sure to look to see where the closest veterinary office or animal hospital is. If your dog gets sick, or worse, injured, you are going to need to know where to go in case of an emergency. 

2. If something serious DOES happen, how flexible can you be? Are you able to postpone or change travel plans to care for your pet?

No one likes getting sick on vacation, especially your pup. Getting sick could also extend your trip if your dog can’t fly or travel. A sick pup could also cut your vacation short! Are you able to miss work or afford paying extra money to change your travel plans, vet bills, and staying arrangements?

3. Is your dog ready to travel? Have they ever traveled before? Does your dog get sick in car or at airport? Does your dog get anxiety staying in new locations?

The questions you need to ask are can your dog handle long rides, crowded airports, or bumpy rides? If your dog has anxiety when staying alone or being in new locations, maybe traveling with them isn’t the best option. CBD oil/treats or medications from the vet may help ease any travel anxiety. 

Check out the blog discussing our experience with CBD! 

4. How long is your travel time?

Long flights or car rides can be hard on dogs, you’ll need to let them use the bathroom multiple times and keep them occupied if anxious or bored so that they don’t bounce around the car like a 4 year old child. Allow for stretch breaks and potty breaks if possible!

5. How pet friendly is the area you are traveling to? Are you going to be able to bring your dog out, or will they have to stay in the hotel?

Whenever we travel Alex makes sure to build out an itinerary. Sure, we like to be spontaneous, but you cannot be spontaneous if you are traveling with a dog! Perhaps the most important part of traveling with a pet is make sure they fit within your itinerary. There is no point in traveling with your dog if you can’t take them around with you. Make sure the area you are traveling to has pet friendly parks, views, restaurants, and activities that you want to do while traveling. If you do have to leave your dog for an extended period of time, we recommend using a sitting service like WAG! 

6. Where are you staying? A hotel? What are their pet policies? Can you leave your dog in the room unattended?

As we mentioned before, most hotels don’t let you leave your dog in the room unattended. If you do plan on leaving your dog in the hotel room, be sure to find a hotel that allows this! We generally prefer staying at Aloft and Kimpton Hotels as they are incredibly pet-friendly!

7. Did you budget for the extra costs of traveling with your pet?

When you start to add up all the costs associated with traveling with your pet (hotel fees, airplane fees, etc.) it may be more cost effective to leave your pet at home with a sitter. Sure boarding or hiring a sitter can add up, but those extra fees of bringing your pet with you quickly add up as well. Create a estimated cost plan on how much you think bringing your dog will be so that you can see if you can afford it.

Our family absolutely loves traveling and we want to experience these special moments with Navy. However after going through the above list of questions, we oftentimes find ourselves leaving Navy at home. 

We hope reading through these questions help you plan your next trip with your pet. We will be sure to document our first flying experience with Navy on a later post! Is there anything we can add? Let us know us know in the comments below!

If you liked this post be sure to read our previous travel blogs to Lynchburg, VA and the Outer Banks. Subscribe so you don’t miss out on more of our dog-friendly adventures and travel tips!