Traveling by car with your dog

Are you going on vacation with your dog soon? Before you pack your dog for a road trip, there are a few precautions you should take to ensure your dog's trip goes smoothly. To prepare for your trip, I interviewed Julie and her dog, James the English bulldog, who are used to traveling together in the car. We exchanged a few tips and tricks and decided to share them all with you in a practical co-written article full of little travel anecdotes from James and Musher. Let's go, everyone in the car!

It will not have escaped you that traveling by car is still the easiest way to go on vacation with your dog… So here are some tips to prepare the trip well and arrive ready to make the most of the vacation!!

Flying with your dog is a “good” solution for smaller sizes, but for everyone else, it's compulsory! AIE Aie Aie!!! The train with his dog? The solution seems good but once again if you travel with a dog that does not fit in a bag, you will quickly become disillusioned given the prices offered by the SNCF. If you can take advantage of reduced price tickets, this is not the case for your dog who will have to pay half price of full price; not to mention the travel constraints… I definitely ruled out this solution with my dog.

Musher and James are traveling by car! Musher was accustomed to the car from a very young age: to go for a ride, to go on weekends or for holidays... Living in the countryside, the car is essential for everything. With the car, I'm free to stop whenever I want for a break, to visit something on the way, to refresh myself… I like this freedom on the way.

Julie chose the car for James for more serenity. No way for her to leave it in an airplane hold. James being a english bulldog, he has a predisposition to respiratory problems. She is too afraid that he will panic and have a fatal respiratory attack. As for the train, wearing the mandatory muzzle frankly does not thrill her and anyway, she is too afraid to stay on the platform between 2 stops… So for her and her dog it's a car.

Don't have a car? You can find a carpool who accepts dogs here, or even rent a car here 😉 Freedom is yours!

Musher travels in the trunk of my car. Of course, I removed the rear parcel shelf so it has its own space, without luggage. She can stand, sit and watch the road or sleep quietly. James meanwhile travels in the back seats of Julie's car. Julie equipped her car witha protective cover for its seats and James with a short leash attached to the seatbelt. Thus, he can move correctly (sit, lie down, turn around, etc.).

Whichever system you choose, you have to pay attention to several points:

• Under no circumstances should your dog be able to move freely in the passenger compartment of the car. He can distract you and if you brake hard, he can hurt himself or cause an accident!
• Your dog must be tied up or separated from the front of the vehicle by a protective grid or a safety net to prevent it from being thrown by the windshield in the event of an accident.
• La transport container perhaps a good compromise provided of course that it is strapped to your seats or in the trunk.
• Make sure that wherever your dog is going to travel, it is well ventilated and above all well in the shade. Dogs are also claustrophobic so don't lock it in your trunk in the middle of your luggage… it goes without saying, you might say, but miscellaneous facts are unfortunately not that rare!

I added a transparent black plastic film on the window of my trunk so that Musher gets as little sun as possible… The air conditioning helps to ventilate well, but Julie has added classic sun visors so that James is not in the sun.

For an easy journey, here is a small list of things to remember:

• water and a billy. The further the trip, the more you have to plan for. Let's remember here that dogs don't sweat and regulate their heat by sticking out their tongues and hydrating themselves a lot… I help Musher to cool off a bit by wetting her at each break. So I always travel with my 5L container (I recycle the demineralized water container from the iron 😉 )
• vest ou refreshing mat. Musher has a cooling vest and James a mat. Two very useful accessories to bring some comfort to our darlings when it's very hot. Failing that, a dampened towel will do the trick.
• collar and leash. How do you take breaks and let him stretch his legs a bit without that? On the motorway service area, the dog can be a little stressed: new place, full of cars, people... be careful that he has his collar on and that he holds his leash firmly so that he cannot escape. The motorway service area is not a playground. It cannot in any case evolve freely.
• Toys. Musher has several toys at his disposal. She doesn't destroy anything so I leave it to her without risk. Remember here that you should never let a dog play unsupervised, he can shred toys, ingest them and that's how dramas happen.

A quick break from your reading: if you're like me and always afraid your dog will escape when you're out walking, a GPS for dogs will change your life.  You will be able to locate it anywhere in real time!  I tested several models with Musher: discover our GPS comparison here. Aside ended: return to the article

Like you, your dog will surely find the journey endless. Unlike your children, he won't ask you every minute “when are we getting there? ” but think of him and stop regularly. He will be very happy to stretch his legs and sniff new, fresh smells!!!

Musher is a big foodie. The grassy areas of motorway service areas are often used as picnic spots for vacationers who leave an incredible amount of waste after their passage... I always have an eye on what she sniffs because she quickly swallows n anything. It can be dangerous… James also seems greedy according to Julie. He is also a fan of children and the latter return it well. Few of them can resist his face, so Julie is very wary that neither James nor the children suddenly cross the road for a few hugs.

To properly prepare for our road trips with my dog, I plan a ride so Musher is happy to rest in the trunk. I'm also planning a nice walk on arrival to stretch my legs. She thus explores her new holiday territory! 🙂 James is not sick in transport either and better than that, the car rocks him! Let's not forget that he is an English bulldog and that sleeping is one of his three favorite activities! Conclusion: James loves car trips :p

DANGER OF DEATH: YOU MUST NEVER LEAVE YOUR DOG ALONE IN YOUR CAR WHEN IT IS VERY HOT EVEN IF THE CAR IS IN THE SHADE OR WITH THE WINDOWS HALF-OPEN. Here you are on a break in a motorway service area… pee, coffee,… “Leave the dog in the car for a few minutes and come back quickly?” NO AND NO!! Imagine there is a queue? Better to take turns and stay outside with your dog. The car can quickly become an oven under the effect of the sun. Heat stroke can happen so quickly and the outcome is often fatal. Especially since finding an emergency veterinarian on a Saturday in the middle of a traffic jam lost in the middle of France on a motorway service area quickly becomes complicated...

-> Small civic note that it is good to remember: remember to pick up your dog's droppings! If everyone leaves them, can you imagine the state of the areas when you return from vacation?

If we have already mentioned above that heat is a real enemy for your dog. Warning to heatstroke, dehydration,… Here are two last tips for a trip to the top.

• Your dog may be car sick. In this case, a detour to your veterinarian is essential before the big departure. He will be able to advise you. A sick dog in the car is complicated and for him and for you! Take something to clean up the damage.
• Even if it makes for funny pictures, don't let your dog stick his head out of the car while driving. It's cute but it's not good for the ears and ear infections are often present. We ride a motorcycle with a visor or sunglasses to avoid sticking gnats and dust in our eyes. So beware of conjunctivitis for your dog who sticks his head out of the car.

A quick break from your reading: if you're like me and always afraid your dog will escape when you're out walking, a GPS for dogs will change your life.  You will be able to locate it anywhere in real time!  I tested several models with Musher: discover our GPS comparison here. Aside ended: return to the article

To learn more about this lovely duo and discover beautiful photos of James, find them in their Portrait Wow Good !