Traveling with my baby

[yavenay]

So now that I am finally in a position to semi-retire, I am looking forward to being able to travel. My goal is to do slow travel where I go somewhere for a minimum of 30 days. I plan on doing this several times a year.

Of course I am taking my baby with me wherever possible but I am a little worried about air travel. She hates the car and will only go about 20 minutes in the car before she starts whining and sometimes she even vomits. What do I do if we are in the air and Duchess starts freaking out? Do I get sedatives for her? What if they wear off while we are in the air? How do I deal with her if she becomes stressed out. I plan on taking a short trip with her to see how she does but I won't have any idea how she will behave on longer flights.

Secondly how do you guys handle food? Duchess is on Merrick's limited ingredients because of her colitis. Obviously I don't want to have to carry a month's worth of food but what if Merrick's doesn't ship to the country I am visiting? I plan on doing Airbnb for my accommodations. Do I send a month's worth of food ahead of time? I don't want to take a chance on changing her diet while in a foreign country as this could cause her colitis to flare up and I definietly do not want her to poop bloody diarhhea in someone else's house.


Leaving her here would not really be an option as I will not have anyone to take care of her for that long and of course there is no freakin way I am giving her away so I can travel so I will need to find solutions to this.....wherever I go, my baby goes. My stepmom will be taking care of my cat while I am gone because she absolutely loves cats but I don't want to burden her with two pets.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by yavenay

So now that I am finally in a position to semi-retire, I am looking forward to being able to travel. My goal is to do slow travel where I go somewhere for a minimum of 30 days. I plan on doing this several times a year.

Of course I am taking my baby with me wherever possible but I am a little worried about air travel. She hates the car and will only go about 20 minutes in the car before she starts whining and sometimes she even vomits. What do I do if we are in the air and Duchess starts freaking out? Do I get sedatives for her? What if they wear off while we are in the air? How do I deal with her if she becomes stressed out. I plan on taking a short trip with her to see how she does but I won't have any idea how she will behave on longer flights.

Secondly how do you guys handle food? Duchess is on Merrick's limited ingredients because of her colitis. Obviously I don't want to have to carry a month's worth of food but what if Merrick's doesn't ship to the country I am visiting? I plan on doing Airbnb for my accommodations. Do I send a month's worth of food ahead of time? I don't want to take a chance on changing her diet while in a foreign country as this could cause her colitis to flare up and I definietly do not want her to poop bloody diarhhea in someone else's house.


Leaving her here would not really be an option as I will not have anyone to take care of her for that long and of course there is no freakin way I am giving her away so I can travel so I will need to find solutions to this.....wherever I go, my baby goes. My stepmom will be taking care of my cat while I am gone because she absolutely loves cats but I don't want to burden her with two pets.

You have to make sure you know the pet rules for each country because some might require quarantine or just not let her in. It also could potentially be dangerous to leave her alone in your room because she might get stolen.

[Wylie's Mom]

If she has a really sensitive tummy, then yes, I'd ship the food for sure! Or put in suitcase.

If she does not like a crate or carrier...then *absolutely* get Acepromazine as a travel tranquilizer. I've used it bc I have to with my Marcel if I fly or he cries...and that's not pleasant for you, or anyone near you...trust me.

If you do get the Ace, for sure TRY a dose before you travel so you know how she reacts. Ask your vet for a *range* of doses to give her safely - in case the lowest dose has little effect, causing you to need to give more.

[Britster]

Definitely ask the vet about meds. I use an anxiety medicine (Trazodone) for Jax for long travel because he does tend to get anxious (but he loves every other aspect of travel -- visiting new places, hotels, new people, stores, etc etc) but the act of being in a moving vehicle for long periods of time can cause him stress. The Trazodone really helped ease his anxiety a lot.

You could also work on training beforehand and having to be in a carrier, work up to longer periods of time so she gets used to it.

Check out the site Dog Jaunt » Traveling with a small dog -- they have a ton of good info regarding rules, airlines, international travel, etc.

I love traveling with my dog. It's such a wonderful experience and such a fun opportunity for a dog to have. So I don't blame you for not wanting to leave her! I don't like to at all either. Unfortunately my boy is bigger so I haven't considered air travel as of yet. I just don't think he'd be very comfortable being shoved under a seat at 18lbs.

I would bring as much food with you as you can but you mayyy want to try to find a backup that works for her prior to actually traveling in case you need to purchase a different brand in a pinch but get her belly used to it.

[Russpilot]

We have pretty much resigned ourselves to travel by car/rv exclusively as there is no way in Hades that we are going to leave our girls in the care of someone who may not understand the special food needs Bella has or the chance they wouldn't be treated well in our absence.

[BayleighL]

Before you plan much further, you should check the countries you think you might travel to for their rules. Even Hawaii has very strict, almost prohibitive rules. Also, check with each airline you will fly. They can have very strict rules - and it can add significant cost. For example, an in-cabin dog on Alaska Airlines is $100 and has to be under the seat for the entire flight (unless you have a flight attendant who takes mercy on you) AND the dog counts as your carry-on.


Also, check the countries for their dog-friendliness while you are there. Even the US with it's big pro-animal adoption etc. push, is not very dog friendly when it comes to venues. I can't imagine museums, restaurants, performances, etc. allowing dogs. And kenneling in a foreign country, even if for a few hours?


If all that checks out, then you need to look at dog carriers allowed in airlines, airport rules, health certificates (and how long they are good for and what it takes in a foreign country to get a new one on your return if needed) along with your food etc. We find that our pup gets her own suitcase that carries her dog crate, piddle pads, food, toys, meds, etc. that get checked in and then we have her and a doggy day bag for the plane. We always take less so her bag is counted in our allowed bag count.


Then you can get to sedatives, etc. I wish you luck. Hope you can find destinations and procedures that make your travel dreams with your dog come true.

[canana]

Happy almost retirement! How nice it must be to look forward to travelling the world!

I don't have any advice on flying with dogs, but sometimes Casie will get a little motion sickness in the car if the ride is over an hour. During our last trip, I gave her small bits of freeze-dried patties, assuming they are easier on the stomach to digest. I always keep a bag of freeze-dried dinner patties (whether Primal, Stella and Chewies, or other brands) as treats. My two are feed kibble dinners regularly. Anyway, I think it helped!

About travelling dog restrictions...I wish Hawaii didn't have the quarantine requirement. Each year when we go to Hawaii, it sucks to leave my babies behind at home and then see all the happy local dogs all Mahalo and chill hanging out on the beach.. sucks!

[yavenay]

Thanks everyone.

I do plan on making sure the countries we travel don't have quarantine. For those countries I just go on my own for a few weeks. Fortunately the countries I am traveling to initially do not require quarantine, just doggie passports (up to date shot records etc)

Also, every where I go she will go. I can't really think of a time she will be alone. My main concern is how do I handle her if she freaks out in the plane and what to do with food. I have some excellent suggestions. I hope my little one is able to fly with me.

[BayleighL]

Originally Posted by yavenay

Thanks everyone.

I do plan on making sure the countries we travel don't have quarantine. For those countries I just go on my own for a few weeks. Fortunately the countries I am traveling to initially do not require quarantine, just doggie passports (up to date shot records etc)

Also, every where I go she will go. I can't really think of a time she will be alone. My main concern is how do I handle her if she freaks out in the plane and what to do with food. I have some excellent suggestions. I hope my little one is able to fly with me.

When we fly we use Acepromazine and an OTC called Bach Rescue Remedy for dogs. The combination of the two gets us through up to about a 5 to 6 hour flight with airport time. We try not to give the meds until we are through security and about 30 from boarding the plane. We give with a little food a lots of water or for some reason it doesn't seem to get into her system. The effect is variable, but mostly effective. I keep a piddle pad with us and if she gets antsy I'll take her to the bathroom and put a pad on the floor. She complies quickly. You should talk to your vet and try any medication prior to flying so you know how your pup reacts and find what works best. The Rescue Remedy can be a nice combo.

[yavenay]

Originally Posted by BayleighL

When we fly we use Acepromazine and an OTC called Bach Rescue Remedy for dogs. The combination of the two gets us through up to about a 5 to 6 hour flight with airport time. We try not to give the meds until we are through security and about 30 from boarding the plane. We give with a little food a lots of water or for some reason it doesn't seem to get into her system. The effect is variable, but mostly effective. I keep a piddle pad with us and if she gets antsy I'll take her to the bathroom and put a pad on the floor. She complies quickly. You should talk to your vet and try any medication prior to flying so you know how your pup reacts and find what works best. The Rescue Remedy can be a nice combo.

Thanks for the suggestion. This is definitely going to be trial and error but everyone has given me some excellent tips which I will be trying. Any suggestions on how to handle her if she freaks out on the plane? I plan on taking doggy diapers for her potty needs but I'm not sure what to do in case she starts panicking in mid flight. I am hoping and praying my baby can travel with me. If she can't what do I do? I want to travel but I will not give up my baby to do so. I think the only thing I can do if doesn't like the plane is go places for only a few weeks instead of a month or so and she stays home. I can either board her or have my stepmother watch her. 1st world problems

[BayleighL]

Originally Posted by yavenay

Thanks for the suggestion. This is definitely going to be trial and error but everyone has given me some excellent tips which I will be trying. Any suggestions on how to handle her if she freaks out on the plane? I plan on taking doggy diapers for her potty needs but I'm not sure what to do in case she starts panicking in mid flight. I am hoping and praying my baby can travel with me. If she can't what do I do? I want to travel but I will not give up my baby to do so. I think the only thing I can do if doesn't like the plane is go places for only a few weeks instead of a month or so and she stays home. I can either board her or have my stepmother watch her. 1st world problems

Based on our experience, a lot of what you can do if your dog has issues mid-flight depends on the flight crew. Of course, you can always give more meds if it's been long enough or you have a range of dosage options and you start with the lowest. The Rescue Remedy is quite flexible as a booster. We have held the carrier in a lap and just put a hand in to soothe our pup. And one time, the flight attendant actually suggested to me to just take her out and hold her until landing. We had one flight attendant who was hostile and would have preferred to kick us off the flight even before take off! Not nice!! We found a special chew - Yak milk bones called Himalayan Dog Chew that we save for plane trips. They keep our pup interested for a long time. Landing is the hardest for our dog. I think the pressure gets to her. And since there is no option but under the seat we try to find something to keep her licking and swallowing. By that time most of the people around us love our pup so we get sympathetic looks if she whines a bit.


We have never boarded our dog for more than a few days and only twice, so I have no advice for long term care. Visit a few kennels to find the one you think is best. If you do have to board, do some daycare sessions in advance to get to know the kennel staff and to let your dog adjust. Pay for a little extra daily grooming or exercise so your dog gets more hands on care and attention. We've learned that our dog is more flexible than we think and is fine when we pick her up from the kennel. She's glad to see us and we're glad to see her. We do a little preventative retraining of behaviors at home and all is well. We learned from experience that a kennel might be safer than leaving the dog with someone because their home may not be puppy proof. Won't go into details, but it involved some vet care. Luckily no permanent damage. Hope you figure out what works best for you and your pup.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by yavenay

Thanks everyone.

I do plan on making sure the countries we travel don't have quarantine. For those countries I just go on my own for a few weeks. Fortunately the countries I am traveling to initially do not require quarantine, just doggie passports (up to date shot records etc)

Also, every where I go she will go. I can't really think of a time she will be alone. My main concern is how do I handle her if she freaks out in the plane and what to do with food. I have some excellent suggestions. I hope my little one is able to fly with me.

Keep in mind food places and eating places may not allow a dog in.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by yavenay

Thanks for the suggestion. This is definitely going to be trial and error but everyone has given me some excellent tips which I will be trying. Any suggestions on how to handle her if she freaks out on the plane? I plan on taking doggy diapers for her potty needs but I'm not sure what to do in case she starts panicking in mid flight. I am hoping and praying my baby can travel with me. If she can't what do I do? I want to travel but I will not give up my baby to do so. I think the only thing I can do if doesn't like the plane is go places for only a few weeks instead of a month or so and she stays home. I can either board her or have my stepmother watch her. 1st world problems

I think doggy diapers are a really bad idea. If she pees and it's not changed right away she could get urine scald and poo would be extremely messy.

[yavenay]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Keep in mind food places and eating places may not allow a dog in.

Yup that is true. I'll be doing Airbnb so a lot of my cooking will be done at my temporary home. It looks like I have four main areas of concern when traveling with my baby.

Food
Air travel
Leaving her alone.
Medical emergencies


I know others travel with their dog so I know people have figure out these issues. While these issues are of concern, sometimes you just have to take calculated risks and just go for it. I will be smart and any place I go to I will make sure there is vet services, food and of course safety.

[yavenay]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

I think doggy diapers are a really bad idea. If she pees and it's not changed right away she could get urine scald and poo would be extremely messy.

Is there anything else I should try besides potty pads which in a confine space she will end stepping all in the poo?