B and I decided to leave the snow and bitter Ohio weather behind and drive down to our family's home in Marco Island Florida. I have been coming to the island since I was an infant and it has always been like a second home to me. In September I made the 1202 mile drive by myself (which was totally empowering and I am so glad I did it), but this time I wasn't doing it alone! So at 2 am we all piled into the SUV and began the long journey. I took the first shift and drove until about noon, then B took over. I do not like to drive in Florida, so it worked out perfectly!
We have two fur babies, Buddy and Barrett. Buddy is a 5-year-old 20 lbs cockapoo, and Barrett is a 1-year-old 8 lbs Teddy Bear Dog (Bichon and Shih Tzu). Buddy has made this drive once before about 4 years ago and did really well, so we were hopeful this trip would be a success too! It definitely was but, a bit of extra planning is required before taking pups on such a long journey.
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We always have this dog seat cover on the back seats of the car. I love it because it easily clips to the front and back headrests to protect the seats, and create a safe little hammock for your dog to ride in. It is perfect for any size dog and comes with a seat belt to connect to their harness. The harnesses we use for our boys are very secure, easy to put on, and will not choke them. Unfortunately, Barret gets car sick easily, so he has to ride upfront with us, but Buddy loves having the back seat to himself! We just put a pillow on our lap and Barrett pretty much slept on it the entire time.
We also packed enough food for the entire trip and water for the ride. Our dogs did not want to eat along the way but drank plenty of water. We have collapsible food/water bowls for them and made sure they drank every time we stopped, and I would offer it to them in the car as well. It is very important that your dog stays hydrated while traveling. Every three hours or so Buddy would let us know he had to potty by waking up and barking. Barret would get very antsy and bitey. It usually worked out that we needed gas around this time too, but sometimes the dogs had to hold it for a bit longer. They have gone up to 8 hours without going potty so I knew they would be ok. A few times we got stuck in traffic for long periods of time and this did seem to upset them a bit, especially if there were sirens or loud noises. I can tell you it made my anxiety a bit high too! But I stayed calm for them, gave them treats and love, and they seemed to be ok.
When traveling with your dog it is important to keep in mind the trip will take longer than usual. When planning the drive, keep in mind the time your pup will need to go potty and stretch its legs. When I drove straight through without stopping, except for gas, back in September, I made the drive in 17 hours. This time it took 20. But it was fine because we planned for this time.
Finally, around 10 pm we arrived at the beach house! The dogs were very excited and wanted to explore! Even though we were exhausted and wanted to get right to bed, we gave them time to get acclimated to their surroundings. Because dogs are creatures of habit, it is important to remember they might seem a bit off for the first day or two. Dogs need a routine to be happy and do not like it when that routine is broken. Make sure you get your dog back on its schedule ASAP so they can enjoy their vacation too!
Hopefully, your pup(s) will sleep the entire way like ours! For more road trip tips and stories, check out my Safe Traveling blog post here!
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Happy Traveling!