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Location: Temporarily in Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada
167 posts, read 856,820 times
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JKgourmet, it sounds like I've been using crates only to about 50% of their effectiveness. And it was my mistake for discontinuing the use of the crate after a few months. This is my first dog, and I thought that once he seemed comfortable with his new home (since I adopted him at 10 months old), I figured he didn't need the crate. He's pretty well behaved, but I notice that he never hops up into my van. Maybe because it's too high, but I always have to lift him in. He's only 3 years old and has plenty of agility, and can jump that height in other situations. But he gets into cars that are lower to the ground by himself now, most of the time. And he ALWAYS seems eager to jump out of any vehicle as soon as the door is opened. That's something I need to work on.
MissNM, I took a look at the Pet Air website. It looks like they're mostly for the US, but it says they might be able to do Canada on request. Otherwise, someone would have to take him to Buffalo, NY (about 3 hours each way, plus the border crossing) and I don't know of anyone I could ask to do this. And on the other end, I'd have to take a ferry to the mainland, cross the border and drive to Seattle to pick him up. Not the most convenient... I suppose Pet Air would have my dog's best interest at heart, more so than a generic commercial airline. After hearing all of the good reasons NOT to use an airline to transport the dog, I have to admit, I am still hesitant to fly him - even with Pet Air (more for the logistics, but also I'm just not sure how my dog would handle the flight).
Sorry to OP: Anyone know whats the best route in late July/early August to drive east to west (VA/DC to CA/SF)? I will be doing this w/ wife and 2 labs. We will not have time to sightsee as we need to get on a plane to Maui at some point when we get to CA. Whats the time frame that is reasonable - a week? 5 days?
Location: Approximately 50 miles from Missoula MT/38 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
2,308 posts, read 4,121,934 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heartpa
Sorry to OP: Anyone know whats the best route in late July/early August to drive east to west (VA/DC to CA/SF)? I will be doing this w/ wife and 2 labs. We will not have time to sightsee as we need to get on a plane to Maui at some point when we get to CA. Whats the time frame that is reasonable - a week? 5 days?
Thanks for any comments and suggestions.
Considering you should stop to let the dogs out to exercise, pee, etc every 3 to 4 hours......I would allow 6 1/2 days minimum.......preferrably 7 days, and hope for a "trouble-free" trip with no delays.
You're loooking at appro 2725 (+/- 50 miles) (DC/LA) depending upon your route choices.
Tips: Take a couple of gallons of "your own water" from home-----some dogs will refuse to drink "strange water" due to unfamiliar taste.
Cut back on amount of feed for the dogs by about 20/25%.
Make sure you have them Micro Chipped.
Have I.D. Tags on their collars w/ your cell phone number & other important info.
I use Travel Crates for ANY travel with mine. (Of course it is great if they are already used to the Travel Crates.)
Please don't put him on a plane. If he hates the car, he will be terrified in an airplane AND, airlines have an abysmal record of dogs being injured or dying during flights. I would suggest having the vet prescribe an anti anxiety medication, not a tranquilizer which many dogs fight the effects of and then just keeping him as close to you as possible for the drive, stopping often. Best of luck.
Location: Approximately 50 miles from Missoula MT/38 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
2,308 posts, read 4,121,934 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heartpa
thx montana griz. so best highway? I70 in late july?
..............I would take:
....I-66 W out of the DC area
....go about 75 miles & join into I-81 S.
...go about 370 miles & get on I-40 W.
...stay on I-40 W all the across the central US to Barstow, CA.....
....at Barstow, I-40 becomes (joins) I-15 S.....take it into LA.
Whether or not this is the best route is a matter of opinion & experience......
it is the one I would take ........& I think it would be the fastest (all Interstates) & you should get the best cell phone connection(s) when on the Interstates.
I don't know what time of day you feed your dogs..........if it's not around 6pm, I would gradually change them over to that feeding time. Just a little insurance that they won't start out the day 'with a full tummy'. As you know, some dogs possibly can get "car sick" with several days in a row of traveling........and dogs usually sleep better at night having eaten late in the day.
Just make sure they have access to drinking water every 4 to 6 hours......I think it is very important, particularly on a mid-summer time road trip (hot weather).
Just a tip: Always have the dogs on their "leads" BEFORE you let them out of the vehicle........and,...be cautious of Rattlesnakes at some of the "Rest Areas" (in the southern US) when you stop to let the dogs out to pee. (In north Texas many years ago, I saw a five foot long western diamond back just 25 feet from where we parked the car to let the dogs out.
2nd tip: make sure you have (2) sets of car keys....so you can leave the car running with the "AC" running when you stop for lunch (or ??).......so the dogs will not possibly die from an over-heated car (interior)........AND, have a couple of cardboard signs taped on the inside of the windows that read:.... Caution: unfriendly dogs/do not enter.
Last edited by Montana Griz; 04-10-2012 at 12:04 PM..
Reason: Edit: 2nd tip
To the OP...you have gotten some wonderful suggestions/advise from a lot of people, let me throw in my 2 cents.
I have three dogs. Two are agility show dogs, one is a rescue that is a french fry short of a full happy meal. I've traveled many hours with all three. Crates is number one. They all have flown, with no problems, but I also made sure we never had connecting flights. The airline, AA, would always contact me that the dogs were on the aircraft before departure. We never flew during warm months, I believe the tarmac can't be hotter then 78 degrees, but it's been a few years since we flew. I will say airlines frown upon any tranquilizers while flying.
With regards to the car trip. I also agree crates are the number one thing, with leashes handy, usually attached to crate. As someone has already stated, start training for this now. Make the car a happy place, treats, toys whatever he needs to settle down.
With regards to the tranquilizers while traveling, not a huge deal. I'll give you a link about Acepromazine which is what my rescue gets while traveling. He gets 5mg every 8 hours. All it does for him is take the edge off. Though please read the link, they mention dogs with short noses. Also, you can play with Acepromazine before you leave for the trip. Give the smallest dosage, then take him for a drive. So how he responds. Link..
Talk to your vet, oh and since you are traveling into the US get your Health Certificate from your vet. Make sure you bring copies of your dogs shot records and don't forget your rabies certificate. I wish you luck and safe travels.
Location: Temporarily in Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada
167 posts, read 856,820 times
Reputation: 151
Yes, I have received so many excellent ideas here! Hopefully this thread will be of use to others travelling with dogs, so I hope it gets found and read often.
Although I have not yet decided 100% if I will travel through the US or Canada, I will definitely crate my dog, get him used to eating once a day, in the evening. I'll bring along a supply of our own water from home.
Since I will be travelling during the summer, I plan on installing a remote starter so I can leave the engine running and the air conditioning running if I have to leave the dog alone while I run in to use the restroom. In my van, if the engine is running, the doors will NOT lock - kind of a security measure to make sure you don't lock your keys inside with the engine running. If you have not opened a door, or if you shift to drive or reverse, the doors lock. Or if the engine is not running, you can lock the doors. So in my case, a remote starter would be a very good idea. And I can use it in winter to keep the dog warm if I have to leave him in the van for a few minutes. Good idea to put the signs in the windows so some self-righteous people don't get in a panic thinking some thoughtless person has left their poor dog unattended in a car in the summer and smash a window or call the police.
I checked the link on Acepromazine. I hadn't heard of it before, but may consider it as a sedative to use on the first day or two. I'd rather go without any sedatives, as I feel bad giving them to the dog. But we'll see how he does during our "practice trips" over the next few months.
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