Every family are waiting for the summer to spend the well-deserved holiday.
But what can we do with the four-legged member(s) of the family? The answer is simple, spend your vacation with your pet!
What is the secret of a relaxing vacation with your pet? Prepare in advance for the summer holiday!
We use a well-known accommodation search interface, booking.com. We set the filter that we only look for dog-friendly accommodations. Do not worry, nowadays there are a lot of pet-friendly hotels or apartments that are not only pet-friendly in the name. Regarding the type of lodgment, everyone can choose according to their ideas and needs. With 1-2 dogs, I suggest you the hotels, from 3 dogs, you should reserve an apartment or a house, maybe a garden-connected room. We usually travel with four dogs, so we prefer those accomendations where we can be more free. It’s worth to write to the lodgment that you’d like to know the local customs. For example, when we were i Italy, we went to a not too famous city, named as Pineto (and after that we went to the mountains) and we didn’t find any dog-friendly beach. However, we asked the hotel where we was and they told us that the human’s beach is approved to used by dogs from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. This is the most ideal time for bath in the sea with dogs because since it is so hot on the beach during the day that the dogs feel better in the air-conditioned house.
In the European Union (EU) there is a general rule that a puppy can only travel after it will be around 4 months (the official rule is 3 months and 21 days, because the puppy get the vaccination against rabies at 12 weeks old of age and the dog can go out of the country after 21 days of getting the vaccination), so if you get the puppy in summer, do not reserve foreign vacation.
You will need an EU pet passport to travel out of the country, this can be exchanged at any veterinary clinic, if you don’t have it already. The cost of the passport is around 40 euros.
Adult dogs are need a valid vaccination against rabies for the travel, it should be indicated in the dog’s passport. It’s very important to check in a vet that the chip has been transferred to the owner’s name and whether the datas in the system are valid. If something happen and anyone needs to read the chip, it’s great if the phone number on the chip is actual.
In the case of a couple of countries outside the EU (for example, Serbia), be prepared, because they will allow you to go abroad without any problems, but the dog can only come home if it has a Titer test. Serbia, for example, is classified as high-risk due to rabies, which is why this test is needed to return home (it shows the amount of anti-rabies antibodies (“titer”) in the blood to see if it reaches the prescribed limit.). Be sure to do this before you travel, it may take several weeks before the result of the titer test arrives.
It can be useful if we bring a first aid kit with us. Bandage, wound disinfectant (e.g. betadine), probiotics (this can even be a human product), charcoal tablets (salt water can cause diarrhea) and if the dog is taking any medicine, we don’t leave it at home either. If you haven’t received it by the time of the holiday, it is imperative that you take care of some form of protection against ticks and mosquitoes. If we want to insure ourselves extra, we can search for a nearby veterinarian in advance and save his number in case we need it. If the dog hadn’t received it by the time of the holiday, it is imperative that you take care of some form of protection against ticks and mosquitoes. We can search for a nearby veterinarian in advance and save his number in case we need it.
Pet insurance can also be taken out for the dog. When insuring the family, you can take out travel insurance for the dog in many places, and this is also available in several packages. It’s everyone’s individual decision whether they consider it necessary, but it’s good to know that it’s also available.
We travel a lot with the dogs, so all our dogs are routine long-term travelers. If the dog never travelled in a car, you have to get used to it with training. If you can’t do it alone, you can ask a trainer for help.
It’s important to fix the dog in the car well. The best solution if a dog transport box fits in the car. This can be plastic (as the dogboxes on airplanes) or it can be an aluminium box which is more secure than the plastic. If you get an accident, an aluminium box can save your dog’s life.
It’s a general EU rule that the dog must be secured in some way in the vehicle, according to this rule a dog safety belt that can be attached to the harness is sufficient. According to my experience, this is the least safe solution, so our dogs travel in crates, safety comes first.
For the trip itself, have the collar within easy reach (preferably the dog should have a tag with the owner’s current phone number.), leash, water, water bowl, some treat. In the case of ball-crazy dogs, a ball can also come in handy if we stand in a place where they can move around a bit.
It’s useful if the dog knows that what is the dog box and you can leave the dog in the lodgment for some hours. If the dog knows what is the box, you should set it up, so the dog will know that it is a safety place. Of course, before and after the dog box time you have to take your dog for a walk, trip or bath in the sea. However, when the weather is really hot, you shouldn’t go with your dog for a sightseeing or to the beach.
If the dog eats dry food, you should measure the daily dose before the vacation, and you won’t need to measuring in the lodgment. You should bring the dog food with you beacuse it’s not sure that you’ll get the same food in the city. A change of diet can hold unpleasant surprises (e.g. diarrhea), so it’s better to avoid it.
It’s a bit more difficult if someone is feeding raw or Barfing, but there is a solution for that too. If the dog eats it, it can be switched to dry food during the holiday (this should be done 2 weeks before the holiday so that the dog’s body can adapt to it) or pre-packaged ready-made food can also be used, but this requires refrigeration.
If we consider the above in advance, we can enjoy a carefree holiday with dogs. It’s a different experience than all-day wellness and pampering, but it also has its advantages.
If the family decides to travel without a dog, there is a solution for that, but you have to decide in time who will take care of your pet until then. Relative, dog sitter? Can you go back to the breeder? B&B?
The choice may not be easy, so you have to start organizing it in time if you want a dog-free holiday/travel as a family with a dog.
