[airics]

I am trying to figure out how to bring my 3 dogs to vegas.. they are about 55lbs each... Coming from Cleveland, Ohio which is approx 2000 miles.. is it wise to put them on a plane, (personally, i dont like this idea), in a car for 3 days, where do you stop and rest.. any other ideas... (if you feel i should leave them behind, don't bother responding as i would never ever consider this)

[toyojo]

i too dont like the idea of them riding on the plane. if it were me, id most likely drive and rest at rest areas. if you have a truck it might be a lot easier. when its time to sleep put them in the truck bed area. thats we did with our 150+ pound rotts. they seemed fine although it wasnt as long a drive as yours will. thats just my 2 cents. although a friend of ours said her dogs were just on the plane.

[Desert Palm]

If driving check out these 2 sites for hotels that accept pets

Pets Welcome Map

Pet Friendly Hotels and Motels Only

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by airics

I am trying to figure out how to bring my 3 dogs to vegas.. they are about 55lbs each... Coming from Cleveland, Ohio which is approx 2000 miles.. is it wise to put them on a plane, (personally, i dont like this idea), in a car for 3 days, where do you stop and rest.. any other ideas... (if you feel i should leave them behind, don't bother responding as i would never ever consider this)

I wouldn't put them on a plane. Bring them in the car. There are lots of motels and hotels that allow pets now. When do you plan to make the trip? Right now it isn't too hot but very soon it will be. You'll have to carry a lot of water for them and find some shade for them when you stop to eat, etc. Just don't leave them in the car if it's over 80º or so. It will kill them, or if anyone sees them locked in a hot car they will break your windows, or they will call the police who will break your windows. You won't find an abundance of rest areas in the last 1,000 miles or so but the desert is a big place for dog walks. Our dogs aren't that big but we've traveled all over with them. BTW: Bring some Benedryl for them for motion sickness too. They'll probably just sleep most of the way with or without it.

[airics]

i would never leave them in a car unattended. the route looks like cleveland to omaha (stop), omaha to denver (stop) and denver to vegas.. how much desert will i go through?

[acl]

we're in the same boat. we have to fit 4 cats in carriers in one car. totally sucks but doable nonetheless. we have a 20 hour drive total, so 10 hours and then a night in a hotel, and 10 more hours. pets get used to it. we did michigan to oregon with two cats and a completely packed car.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by airics

i would never leave them in a car unattended. the route looks like cleveland to omaha (stop), omaha to denver (stop) and denver to vegas.. how much desert will i go through?

We moved to Las Vegas in July in a very small car pulling a trailer with three adults, a toddler, and a cat, and no air conditioning. It was fun. Only broke down once...had to put on new shocks...and we all took turns driving and sleeping. One night we stopped for a shower in a truck stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and visited a lot of tourist attractions along the way. Did I mention that the cat was deaf?

Since you are coming by the northern route, if I remember correctly, the desert pretty much starts around Grand Junction, CO, so it's about 500 miles.
Driving Directions from Grand Junction, CO to Las Vegas, NV

If you were coming by the southern route it would be more like 1000 miles.

But when are you coming? It should be pleasant up until the end of May. But it will soon be in the 90s which isn't bad in the desert. Closed cars get amazingly hot inside though even in the 80s.

Towns are few and far between from Grand Junction to Las Vegas, so keep your tank full and eat when you have the chance. Most of what looks like towns on the map are just wide spots in the road from Grand Junction to St. George, UT. There isn't much out there. But there is a nice diner in Green River, UT, and a great little Mexican restaurant in Beaver, UT.

[5kingsinvegas]

We drove from MI to LV in June 2006 with 3 kids and 2 dogs. We also took the northern route. It actually was fine. We took 3 days and stopped whenever we wanted to. The worse part was going through the mountains in Colorado. My black Lab and my 9 year old daughter were both whining about their ears. Seriously, my poor dog whimpered in the back for about 3 hours while driving. We kept thinking he had to go to the bathroom but whenever we stopped he just rolled around and scratched at his ears.


The other thing was, when we stopped at rest stops starting in, I believe Colorado, we started seeing a spigot marked "potable water". Well, we had no idea what kind of water it was so we would take the water jug into the bathroom and fill it with water for the dogs. Later, after arriving in LV, we asked a relative what "potable water" was and they told us it was water that is suitable for drinking. Soooo, save yourself the trek to the restroom and fill the dogs water at the "potable water" spigot!!!!

Good luck and enjoy the drive, there is some beautiful country out there.

[BobKovacs]

It's likely that you won't be able to do the plane route soon anyway, as they restrict pets in the cargo hold when temperatures along the route get outside of a comfortable range. Check with the airline you're considering, since they each have different regulations.

[guinnessjim]

flying by plane w/ be expensive, too (basically another ticket/dog). {and bob's right....once the temp gets up a little more, you won't be able to fly your dogs into LV}

the drive wont be that bad if your dogs are fine w/ rides. i just took my two to milwaukee and back over christmas. if you are looking for places to stay, most best westerns allow dogs...many super 8s do. in addition to the sites listed above, you can check out:

DogFriendly.com® - Pet Travel Guides and City Guides for Dog/Pet Owners

been a decent reference for me in the past when i have traveled w/ the boys (both dogs ~100lbs).