Vacationing Ideas?
 

Ok, the poll thread on have you snuck your pup in a hotel got me thinking about vacation. Where have you taken your pup on vacation? What do you do with your pup while you are there? What are some of the "risks" we need to watch for?

Like for example in some of the questions above, do you crate your dog? Put up a pen? If you go to the beach, do you take your pup on the beach (what about the sun? can they get sunburned?), do you have to watch them around the water?

We usually go to Florida every year and I definitely want to be prepared. We usually rent a condo. Any suggestions?

We take Romeo everywhere. We have rented a house in Orlando and also stayed in several locations in Florida. Provincetown has been the most dog friendly place we have been. We are road trip people. I do sneak him in for 1 night stays. For longer than 1 night I find a dog friendly place. I take him everywhere.

Before Rio, we took Hope on a trip to Atlanta. Very dog-friendly city.
She went everywhere with us. I also sneaked her into a cabin for 2 nights
in Mississippi -shhhhhh- don't tell!
We have not traveled with Rio yet.

We have taken our pupsters to: Gulf Shores, AL (several times!); Niagara Falls; Gatlinburg TN (several times); St. Louis, MO; Indy IN.

I would recommend taking: a good harness and leash; collapsable food & water bowls (we got these canvas ones and they are so handy for travel); potty cleanup supplies like wipes, bags; crate (I bought a canvas type that kind of winds up into a round disc - really nice for travel but I didn't have to worry about him chewing it up, some furbabies might!); familiar blankets and toys.

If you are going to a pet-friendly beach I would be sure to have an umbrella so you can keep him out of the direct sun for extended periods. Some beaches have sand fleas...not sure if animals can get those or not but I don't want to take the chance.

While traveling for long periods of time during the day, you have to think about where you'll eat your meals...many times we just have to do drive-thru's or bring snacks because it is too hot to leave them in the car and can't take them into most restaurants. Rest areas along the interstate are great for picnics and usually have pet walk areas which is really nice for potty breaks and exercise - just be sure to use the harness/leash because there are soooo many new and exciting smells to explore...I always think how horrible it would be for them to get away from me at a rest area!

I always crate them when leaving them in a hotel room or other lodging, for their safety. Most hotels require it too. Our favorite lodging is a beach house/cabin or condo though, so that barking doesn't disturb anyone else. If pup isn't 100% housetrained, of course you have to be super careful out of consideration for property owners.

We've taken our furbabies lots of places with us, but I don't usually try to take them in anywhere where they aren't welcome. To me, that's just part of being a responsible pet-owner - if they are with me, my itinerary should accommodate them too. I schedule plenty of walking time on trips, which is good for both of us! I will say I have never had a bad trip due to our furbabies being along, it just takes some thinking ahead. Hope your travels are happy!

We travel in an RV...... and most campgrounds are pet friendly!!! ......... and a stroller.... we have a All Terrain one that works very well... is something that we use all the time. Great for festivals... it is convenient, keeps them safe from other dogs (and undisciplined children).

Thank you! That was very informative.

One thing that is constantly on my mind right now is the heat. I have been carrying Maximus with me in his crate when I go to town, here and there, when gone long periods of time. Well, that is ok for now. The temps here haven't been too cold lately, so he does fine. I won't be able to do that in the Summer time when the temps in a car get so high they can fry a brain. :( I wish there were more pet friendly stores in the U.S.

Our pups are very accustomed to travel. When on the road, we stop every hour at rest stops and let them potty. They sleep most of the time while in the car.

We always tell the motels when we stay. We stay away from motels that charge high pet prices. There are plenty out there that are reasonable about their charges. In small towns some don't charge extra at all. We took them to Branson, MO for a week with no problem. They charged an extra 80 for the week with a refundable 85 deposit. Since our pups are pee pad trained, we just make a little home with all there favorite toys, beds and STUFF in the bathroom while we go out. When we take them outside they are always leashed and I carry kleenex and zip lock to pick up the poop.

In my opinion kids do more damage than our little yorkies. Nothing against kids. We've got 5 grown ones and 16 grandkids. LOL

They are much easier to travel with than kids.

I highly suggest you read thru the older posts in the Traveling with Yorkies section here on YT - lots of great information

We've taken our girl to Las vegas befor at a hotel that does not allow dogs. We got in trouble big time for it as we were out late one day, she was penned up in an ex-pen but was barking with people walking in the hallways. Well, they locked our rooms and luckily the night manager understood, didn't charge us the fine (in the hundreds) but simply asked us to remove the dog. Lukily our friends were staying at a condo that took the dog. Otherwise, we would prob have to pack up and leave.

You were extremely lucky on many fronts. Including they could have scooped up your girl and sent her to the pound.

I would never leave a dog alone in a motel room - someone could break in & still a valuable yorkie, one that even wasn't making noise if they new they were there. And that someone could be any number of hotel employees who have access to your room including a housekeeper.

Ahhhhh!!! Thanks! I never even noticed that section before.

I never thought of that; good point. About 10 years ago, we took our first Yorkie to San Francisco, on a business/pleasure trip. I had a great time with him while the woman did her business. I think if the hotel is reputable and allows pets regularly as our did, the security should not be that high a risk. That is a great walking city, and there is nothing like walking a cute Yorkie to get strangers to be nice to you and chat :). We did leave him in the hotel but only for maybe 2-3 hours a couple of times.

One warning about the beach; my first yorkie was a pup when we took him to an outer banks vacation and he had not experienced sand. He was a digging fool, but tended to get sand in his eyes, I felt so bad for him and had to leave to wash his eyes out and keep watch on him to stop digging.

Several years later, I had a job stint in Jacksonville FL and took him with me to the beach condo. He somehow learned not to dig when we'd go walking on the beach, and we met 3 other Yorkeis and they played together many times; I even let him off the leash (but was prepared to chase after him if he were to bolt). Yorkies are wonderful icebreakers and can keep you sane when stuck with no friends in a new place. I met so many nice people that would have probably not spoken to me if not for pippin, but of course they limit your freedom as well (a good trade-off IMO):)

i haven't travelled much with mickey
but mickey and his half sister casey went to niagara falls (canadian side) when they were little pups (i was 10 y/0)