Don’t Travel the World Without Your Dog, Here’s How

Of course, you will also have no one to keep you company. Traveling with another person adds even more complexity. Almost everything you do is twice as expensive. You have to book two plane tickets. Every meal is for two. And your hotel room or villa is more expensive when there are two adults. The price can really add up fast.

If you have taken day-trips with your dog, you already know many of the challenges and joys of traveling with pets. But everything is ramped up to a new level when you are traveling overseas, and for a long stay. It gets worse. There is a good chance that such a trip will include multiple locations. So all the challenges are multiplied by the number of locations you visit along the way. 

Not all beaches are dog-friendly. And not all parts of the world are dog-friendly. So when you bring your dog with you on a long trip, you have to be sure to know which activities are canine inclusive. You are going to need to be willing to engage in more activity than you normally would if you have an active dog. 

You have got to be prepared to walk longer, play fetch longer, do more hiking and less beach sitting. Your joints might ache a little more than usual with all that extra activity. So be sure to bring plenty of CBD chews and any other home remedy you rely on that might not be available to you in the place you are visiting.

Many hotels will not allow you to leave your dog in the room unsupervised. This can be a real problem if it is just you and your dog. Some extra research will need to be done to find pet friendly hotels. I'm not saying it will be easy, but depending on your destination you may be able to work something out.

You also have to carefully read the fine print. A pet-friendly hotel might restrict based on breed and weight. You don’t want to get there only to learn that your Dog is one Happy Meal over the limit. You also want to be sure you can leave your pet in the room while you go off and do something else. This is the kind of fine print that can make life difficult for travelers with pets.

It is different from being at home because you can just leave your dog in the house or backyard to entertain itself. When traveling, you have to be a lot more hands on. Be sure to source those dog-friendly activities before you leave for the trip.

Be Willing to Sacrifice

Having a canine companion is a lot of responsibility. It requires a lot of sacrifice. You will have to make twice as much sacrifice when you travel. It becomes a matter of managing limitations. Your choice of flights is limited to the airlines that have favorable pet policies. 

Your choice of restaurants is limited. Your choice of hotels and house rentals are limited. Everything you do with your pet will likely be more expensive due to pet fees and deposits. Nothing you do on vacation will be easy with a dog, but it is possible for those who cant stand the thought of leaving their pup at home.

It takes a lot of extra research beforehand. But these limitations are possible to manage. Just be prepared to make a few extra sacrifices.

Cleanup Duty

No matter how well-trained and house broken your pet is, being in new places has a way of bringing the worst out of them, and at the most awkward times. You have to be prepared with poop bags all the time. It could happen in a restaurant, or beach, or police station. “So sorry, constable.” Being a responsible pet traveler means always being able to quickly and thoroughly perform cleanup duty.