The Complete Guide to Traveling With Your Pet
The Complete Guide to Traveling With Your Pet
Having pets is now very common. People that own pets will tell you that making travel plans includes choosing whether to bring the pet with you or leave them at the animal boarding center. Whether you’re traveling by air, car, train, or foot, carefully think about your pet’s needs and thoroughly check the choices available, and plan as necessary. You must always consider your pet’s health, security, and preferences when deciding whether to bring your pet or leave them at home with a pet sitter.
Tips About Travelling With Pets
Many pet owners grow so keen on their pets that they prefer to travel with them anywhere they go than leave them behind. This, therefore, calls for preparation for pet-friendly travel. This article will give you a pet travel tips list for this preparation.
1. Identification Tags
Pets can not identify themselves. Therefore, no matter the mode of travel chosen, it’s essential to tag your pet with correct identification before going out. This would help ensure your pet finds its way back to you if you get separated. It also helps avoid confusion between owners in cases where two pets might be similar to each other.
2. Permanent Identification
The wise state is that you can never be too cautious. Therefore, apart from tagging your pet with the needed identification tags, it’s suggested for you to give them a more permanent mode of identification, like a microchip. This would also help in tracking your pet in case they wander off, or you become separated.
3. Train Them
While still young, you must train your pet because animals take a long time to completely master commands and expected behavior. You must teach them to stay calm throughout the trip and properly respond to instructions. A reward system is strongly recommended because it helps the lessons learned stick more. If you have any pets, you should train them individually.
4. Secure Your Pet
After teaching the pet, many people believe it’s safe to let them roam around the car/plane while traveling. However, this is wrong. Just like people, pets can get injured when the vessel of travel assumes a sudden movement or in the case of an accident. Therefore it’s advised to crate the pet to keep them protected.
5. Bring a First Aid Kit
We never know if or when accidents may occur. The best approach to counter this is to be prepared if they take place. Pet owners are suggested to carry a pet first-aid kit that has plasters, gauze, and hydrogen peroxide just in case inducing vomit is needed. You should always follow the steps given by an expert first before personally treating your pet from suspected exposure to toxic substances.
6. Be Extra Careful
Regardless of how well you know your dog or cat, you can never tell how they react to new stimuli. Your cat, for example, might choose to look for refuge between your legs while driving after hearing a loud sound such as a vehicle honking. Unfortunately, this can lead to a fatal accident, and hence it’s highly advised that you keep your pet safe at all times throughout the trip.
7. Handling a Dog Throughout Flight
Most airlines will allow you to hold your pet in the plane’s cabin only if the pet fits in the pet carrier. Also, it’s a need that the pet’s size enables it to stand and move in the carrier. You’ll also be required to pack a couple of essentials for the pet, such as a poop bag, a water bottle, a retractable bowl, a current image of the pet, and a leash.
Conclusion
The above guidelines mainly focus on the protection and wellness of your pet during travel. Therefore initial safety precautions, such as making sure your pet should remain in a good physical condition to travel, are observed. It’s also important to guarantee that the travel destination is free from animal illnesses like rabies. Following the above tips makes taking a trip with pets less hassle and a convenient experience.
For more detailed manuals and advice about this topic, please see KC Tech and Travel Blog.