He has been here during your ins and outs. Whenever you come back home, he can’t wait to give you a warm and friendly hug. Although you often leave him home alone, he is braver than Kevin from Home Alone. If you break up with a girlfriend, you do not have to tell him anything. He can feel it with every empty can of beer you throw hurl from your sofa into the bin.
He is your best friend and now it is time to let him know how much you care about him – it’s time for you to hit the road with your dog.
Hitting the road with your dog is going to be an amusing and life-enriching adventure for both of you. Take all the pre-trip safety measures and have fun on your vacation.
Make Him Ready – If your dog has rarely been driven in your car, never force him in at once. It is a machine and an unknown one. As with everything else with animals, there needs to be a phase of habituation between the dog and the car. You could start with teaching him to spend some time in the car when it is standing still. To make him more relaxed, you can put some tasty food like Comfortis into his food bowl and sit with him while he is enjoying the meal. That way he will get comfortable with the surroundings. And every time your dog gets into the car, try to give him a few bites of that same food. Such conditioning will make him feel as if being at home.
Gradual Drives – Now that the dog knows what a car is, you can try to take him for shorter drives. When you go to a supermarket, you can put the dog into the car. Those rides are usually not too long and you have room and time to stop the car if it turns out that your best friend is not too keen on being driven. It is important that you make the dog safe in the car. It means that a dog must not move freely in the cabin, because he (or she; it can be a female dog) can pose a risk for the driver. Driving you dog a couple of times on these short everyday routes will make him feel even more comfortable in the car.
The Big Day – The Trip – Since you have made your dog pet feel the car and taken him for a few drives (make it at least ten) and everything was all right, it is time for you two to hit the road. Before you leave, make sure that you pack all of the dog’s accessories, such as his food bowl (some dogs won’t eat from another bowl), toys (if any), food, the leash and, very importantly, a pet’s first aid kit.
If something happens to your dog while on a vacation, you have to be able to react. Also, always get a phone number of a vet in the area you are going to so that you can react quickly in case of emergency.
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