#dogstravel

Travelling with dogs is like travelling with kids, they both have accidents in the car, they both slobber everywhere and they both give you the look of “Are we there yet!?”

There are a lot of things to take into considering both before and during when taking your dogs on an adventure.  Here are some tips before you go to make that adventure easier on both you and your furry friends.

1.      The number one thing to check before you travel is to ensure where you are travelling to is pet friendly. Many places, especially in Australia and New Zealand, have national parks which you cannot take pets to. Accommodation is not always pet friendly either. The following websites are great for finding pet friendly accommodation:

a.      www.escape.com.au

b.      www.holidayingwithdogs.com.au

c.       www.stayz.com.au

d.      www.dogzonline.com.au

e.      www.big4.com.au

f.        www.dogsonholidays.com.au

g.      www.bringfido.com

h.      www.homeaway.com

 2.      Vet check-ups before you go are essential to doggy heath, depending on where you are going they may need some vaccinations.

 3.      Pet ID tags are always a good idea just in case your furry friends decided to chase a kangaroo or wonder off somewhere new and exciting. In a new environment your pooch may not be able to find his/her way back so it’s good to have your number and the dogs name on their ID tag so if found someone can contact you.

 4.      Feed your dog serval hours before leaving to avoid motion sickness or toilet accidents.

 5.      Take poop bags. Clean up after your dog no matter where they may have laid their breakfast. No one likes fresh poop stuck to the bottom of their shoes.

 6.      Exercise your pooch before leaving and take periodical breaks for exercise and toilet stops where you can.

 7.      Prepare a first aid kit. You never know what your furry friend will get up to on their adventure. For small injuries a normal first aid kit will be suffice. For larger injuries or snake bites its always best to go to the nearest vet or if you’re not close to a vet give them a call for some advice.

 8.      Always make sure they have access to water. Dogs will dehydrate quickly during travel, even more so if they are nervous.

 9.      Take the doggy essentials. Leashes, food, bottle water, toys, treats and food bowls. Doggy medication if required.

DOG TRAVEL CHECKLIST

Medications

Travel food and water bowls

Toys

Bed or blanket

Poop collection bags or pooper scooper

Enough food for the duration of the trip

Vet certificates if needed

First Aid Kit

Leash

Harness

Towel

Brush

Shampoo (In case they roll in something horrible)

Calming and stress relief products if needed

Glow sticks or light for at night/early morning walks/toilet stops.

Dogs can be very unpredictable. They poop when they want, talk when they want, roll in something disgusting before you have a chance to yell NO! So, it is always good to be prepared for the unexpected.

While in Acadia, Lucas finalized his job in Minnesota working the Sugar Beet harvest and we had five days to get there, from Maine to Minnesota. We decided to drive back to his grandmother’s and get a good night’s sleep before leaving.

We went from Acadia to Grand Forks in four days.

  By the time we made it to Grand Forks, ND we had visited

Virginia

Maryland

Delaware

New Jersey

New York

Vermont

New Hampshire

Maine

Connecticut

Pennsylvania

Ohio

Michigan

Indiana

Illinois

Wisconsin

Minnesota

North Dakota

We hit 17 states, skipping Rhode Island because I was worried about not getting to Grand Forks in a timely manner.

Tiny one liked to sneak under the driver seat, which is unsafe.

  Gas cost on average $2.08, sometimes we found it for $1.89, and sometimes we couldn’t find anything cheaper than $2.39. The GasGuru helped us find lower gas prices, if we were running low and had to get the expensive gas we would just get like $10 worth.

The first day and a half of driving was uneventful and we just ate leftover food and deli sandwiches.

Beautiful Rest Stop View

Nice View

When driving long distances , it’s really nice to find paths and nice views to break up the monotony of the road. I can’t exactly remember where this was, but I’m pretty sure it was West of Ohio.

We spent the day in Kalamazoo, Michigan and I have a whole separate post about the nice time we had there.

Overall the drive wasn’t that bad and we made it to Grand Forks in four days, with quite a few stops to pee and stretch our legs.

One of the highlights of the trek was a stop for breakfast in a small town in Minnesota named Ashby. We were starving and didn’t feel like eating yogurt or cereal and decided we wanted a Denny’s or diner type breakfast. After about 20-30 miles of not seeing a Denny’s, we decided to take the next exit, which was for Ashby, MN. It was a few minutes off the highway to get to the town, but once there we found a local diner and had a great breakfast and talked to own of the owners who told us her and a few of her fellow classmates had bought the place and were redoing things. She said that if we decided to live there, we’d be welcome with open arms. The town has a current population of 446.

There was a display from a local museum of a bunch of duck species, and look at that OLD register!

Pumpernickel Rye, the BEST type of bread in all of history! And that sausage, YUM

  I’ve got two other posts coming about the other food along the way and our day spent in Kalamazoo!