If you want to take your dog along on a family road trip, you’re going to need more than just a leash and some poop bags. Unfamiliar surroundings and schedules can be stressful for dogs, but if you plan ahead, you can make the journey a lot more Fido-friendly.
We asked veterinarians what they do to make road trips with their own dogs a better ride for everyone. Here are some of their tips:
Secure your pooch
Never put your dog in a vehicle without securing it in a proper-size carrier or quality harness that can be attached to the car’s seat-belt system, says Dr. Andrea Y. Tu , a vet psychiatrist and chief of veterinary behavior services at Heart of Chelsea Veterinary Group in New York.
Before choosing a harness or carrier for your pet, she suggests checking out the Center for Pet Safety website. The nonprofit regularly tests harnesses and carriers and lists the safest ones.
Tu generally prefers carriers over harnesses for safety and security. The key, she says, is to keep the carrier in the back of the vehicle facing a window, so the dog can see out and satisfy its natural curiosity to know where it is and what’s around it.
To get your dog accustomed to a new carrier, she suggests leaving the carrier in the house with the door open for several weeks before you travel. Keep one of your dog’s favorite toys or blankets in there and toss in your pet’s favorite goody from time to time. “It will become your dog’s favorite place,” she says.
Create a sense of security
One of the most calming things you can bring on a road trip is the bedding your dog regularly uses at home, says Dr. Sunny House , a veterinarian at Cherrydale Veterinary Clinic in Arlington, Va.
House brings her dog’s special blanket because it gives her dog a sense of security. “She associates the blanket with her place and knows it’s where she’s allowed to go,” House says.
Since familiarity is critical when traveling, Tu also suggests bringing the same food and water bowls your dog regularly uses at home.
Scout out stops in advance
While public rest stops along the freeway are convenient, some vets avoid them because the trucks can be scary for dogs. “What if a truck backfires?” asks House. For dogs that are extra sensitive to strange sounds, she suggests bringing along cotton balls that can be safely stuffed in your dog’s ears and won’t harm its eardrums.
Another problem, she says, is that so many dogs are brought to these public rest areas to pee, poop and drink water that they can become unsanitary—especially for older dogs. As a result, it is often better to seek out local parks in towns located just off the highway.
Brian Collins , senior lecturer in the section of community-practice service at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, doesn’t like highway rest stops because if a dog gets loose it has nowhere to run but onto the freeway. Collins tends to search online ahead of time for local parks along his route.
It’s best to find safe stops for your pet every two to three hours, he says.
Don’t play stressful sounds
Don’t play music too loudly on the radio because dogs have sensitive ears, says House. Calming music, such as classical music, is usually best. “You don’t want to rock down the highway to death metal at 90 decibels with a nervous dog in the car,” she says.
It’s also probably a good idea to avoid talk-radio shows that involve people arguing in raised voices, which can be stressful for some dogs to hear, she says.
House’s dog, a nine-year-old lab/pit mix, likes to watch TV, she says. So when she travels, she will put on a movie that her dog can watch from the harness.
Follow dog’s regular schedule
Dogs usually do best with familiar schedules, so if your dog is accustomed to daily walks at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., try to stick to those times on the road trip. The same goes for meals.
Bring the same food you always feed your dog, and plenty of extra in case you need to extend your trip for several days.
If you can, set up a portion of your hotel room or your guest room so it looks and smells familiar to your dog by placing its mat, bowls and toys in similar places.
Reward, don’t punish
When traveling with her dog, Tu usually ignores bad behavior and instead regularly rewards good behavior with treats. Punishing a dog for misbehaving when traveling may only result in the dog having negative associations with road trips.
One way to help de-stress dogs before traveling is with medications such as Trazodone and Xanax, Tu says. She advises talking with your vet weeks before traveling to see which calming drug he or she recommends. Then test these meds on your dog ahead of time.
Keep microchip current
Many dogs are microchipped so they can be identified more easily if they run off or get lost. Anyone who finds a lost dog can take it to a vet, kennel or shelter to scan for the identifying information linked to the microchip, which is typically implanted under the skin between the dog’s shoulder blades.
Before leaving on a trip, check that the identifying information linked to your dog’s microchip is up-to-date.
Introduce dogs in a neutral spot
If you will be staying with a friend or family member who has a dog, don’t suddenly bring your dog into the house and expect everything to be hunky-dory, says Dr. Alison Meindl , associate professor of community practice at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
It’s probably best if the dogs meet off-leash in a fenced-in area. Once both dogs are comfortable with each other, you can bring them in the house, but make sure each dog has space to be alone and unbothered by the other dog if possible.
Request a dog-friendly room
If you’re staying at a hotel, Collins suggests requesting a room on the first floor as close as possible to an exit door so that you and your dog will have quick access to the outdoors.
Avoid using hotel elevators if you can because you never know who—or what other dog—will step in and upset your already travel-stressed pooch.
Ask for a room located far away from elevators and ice machines, which are constant sources—day and night—of unfamiliar sounds and smells.
Bruce Horovitz is a writer in Falls Church, Va. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com .
