Safety Tips for Travelling with your Pet

Keeping Your Pet Safe When Travelling This Summer...

Whether your pet is coming with you, or staying with a friend, there are a number of things that you can do to keep your travels stress free and enjoyable when it comes to the safety of your pet.

The information in this article was sourced from The PDSA . 

Taking your pet with you?

The idea of taking your pet away with you is wonderful and you can make many everlasting memories. However, as you are in a new environment, there are few steps you may want to take to ensure your pet stays safe, happy and healthy for the trip.

As your pet would be in a new area, the surroundings they are in will be unfamiliar to them. This can make it easy for them to become disorientated. It is so important that before you go away your dog has a collar tag with your name, address and phone number on them at all times (if you are an Animal Tracker customer, you can order these from your account). Before you go away, it is also a priority that you ensure all of the information registered on your pets microchip is correct and up to date. It is also a good idea to set up a temporary address with your microchip database for the period of time your animal will be away from home.

If your trip incudes a lovely trip to the sunny seaside, there are a few dangers to watch out for. Ensure to pay extra attention to your pet if you are walking along high cliff paths or taking a dip in the sea, even if your pet is a strong swimmer currents can be extremely dangerous to them. To ensure that there is no damper on your day, be sure to research in advance that the beach you are visiting allows pets as rules can change on beaches depending on the time of year.

Out in the sun?

Whether you’re out in the sun at home or away, there are plenty of risks to your pet. Some things to watch out for include…

· Heatstroke

· Flystrike

· Dehydration

Leaving your pet with someone else whilst you travel…

If you are going on your summer travels without your pet, it is key that you arrange a responsible carer for pet for that time, whether this be a kennels, a friend or a professional pet sitter.

If you are taking your dog to a kennels for the time you are away, it will more than likely be required that your dog will need to be fully vaccinated and wormed. This means that you should check that all of your dogs vaccinations are up to date. You may also want to contact the Kennels in advance in case they require your pet to have additional vaccinations such as Kennel Cough.

If your pet is a cat or rabbit, the best option would be to have a friend, neighbour or pet sitter visit the pets home environment to look after them. If this isn’t possible then similar to dogs, cats should be left at a reputable cattery (again with the needed vaccinations).

Travelling with your pet in the car…

It is highly recommended that during car travel you use a car safety harness for medium to larger dogs or a pet carrier for a smaller dogs. This will ensure that your pet stays secure for the journey.  

Further travel safety tips include:

· Making sure your pet is on a lead before opening any car doors

· Keep your dog inside the car during travel (letting them stick their head out the window can lead to eye injuries).

· Carry plenty of drinking water with you on your travels for your pet and also make frequent toilet stops where your pet can stretch their legs.

· Don’t feed your pet immediately before the journey as this can lead to travel sickness.

Before your travels, you can train…

Before setting out on the trip, it may be a good idea to get your pet accustomed to the inside of a car. You can do this by letting your pet explore the car when securely parked and then rewarding them with praise or a treat, this will create a positive association with the car for your pet.

You can continue this training by getting your pet used to wearing the car harness or having the engine on so that they can have more of the experience before the long trip ahead.