I am supposed to be traveling to my daughters graduation from college in North Carolina in the near future and considering taking my lovable basset hound, Priscilla with me. No, I am not about to take all my dogs, I cannot imagine trying to control all seven dogs while trying to travel by myself, but Priscilla tends to have anxiety when she is separated from me.
The questions I have been asking myself.
What is the best way to travel with a dog?
Can I get a pet friendly hotel?
My focus and considerations of how to travel with a dog consists of the different airlines, travel by car, Amtrak train, bus lines, along with hotel and motel accommodations. I thought I would consider all of my options, not leaving any stones un-turned when looking into traveling with a pet and have come up with so much information I want to share with you. There are many reviews and other information that will be accessible from this article so you can access all this abundance of information gathered from my research so you can decide what is the best option for traveling with your pet.
Air Travel for Pets – Is Flying The Best Bet?
Air Travel For Pets
Airline travel for pets has always terrified me and I am not sure if it is because of all the horror stories out there, or if it is just a control issue as I am so picky with who takes care of my fur babies. I think if I was able to take my precious Priscilla in the cabin with me I would do just fine; however, doing the research I found that as most airlines allow dogs to travel in the cabin, they have to be under 20 pounds and have to fit comfortably in a certain size kennel. With Priscilla, being a basset hound and weighing in at 55 pounds, that would require her to fly as cargo. What my baby fly as cargo? She is not a suitcase, but a very loved and spoiled family member?
I did go ahead and check into the information for many of the airlines, and have found many policies that include kennel sizes, health certifications, pricing as well as reading many reviews. With the vast information and differing policies between the airlines, I am posting individual reviews on the majority of the airlines that is posted (here) so that I can share the wealth of information with you and then you can decide what might be best for you and your pet.
How To Travel With A Dog In The Car – Is It A Good Choice?
Any time I have ever traveled with my dogs it has been by car so I feel I am fairly comfortable about traveling by car. I am considering the question of if I should take my own vehicle or get a rental car to make the trip. Other things I am considering is the time it will take to get there, safety factors, and health risks for my dog when traveling in a car.
Travel By Car With Your Dog
I would say, traveling by car with a pet will definitely take longer than flying, of course that depends on how far you are going. In our case it looks like this will be a 22-hour drive to get to my daughters town in North Carolina and includes no breaks, stopping to sleep and of course, no relief stops. Priscilla needs the chance to run around a bit, and a basset hound needs food stops. Taking everything into consideration we are looking at about 3 days to get there and 3 days back. This is really going to be a long time on the road.
If I choose to travel by car, I am really leaning towards renting a car due to the amount of miles that we would be traveling. To make that decision I am doing some research to find out if car rental agencies even allow pets in their vehicles. I found that most of the rental agencies do allow for dogs to be transported in their vehicles and even though many of the policies are the same across the agencies, they do have variations in policy. In order to share the knowledge of information for policies on the different agencies, I have provided rental car information for you below.
Click Here For Pet Friendly Rental Car Company Information
Not wanting to put my dear Priscilla in any type of danger from riding in a car, I want to take into consideration safety and health issues that we might need to be aware of for such a long trip. I would like to use some type of dog restraints, and I have heard it is required in some states. Another determining factor I would like to consider is health concerns as Priscilla is not getting any younger that will be traveling so many miles. I found there are multiple types of devices for restraining dogs in the car, and providing the information and research (here) shortly. To help anyone with health concerns and what you can expect along the way you can find that post (here).
Does Amtrak Allow Dogs – Basset Hound Not Allowed
Travel By Train With Your Dog
Starting in November 2014, Amtrak started allowing dogs on their rail line; however, they only allow dogs weighing less than 20 pounds and have restrictions on the size of kennel you have to use in order for the kennel to fit under your seat.
Despite the fact that traveling by train would be one of the cheaper options for traveling with a pet, I don’t think Priscilla could ever diet enough or I could ever stuff her in a kennel that small. It looks like for me and Priscilla traveling by Amtrak train is not going to work out for us. I have created a review for those of you that have smaller dogs and would like to consider traveling by train so check it out (here)
Travel By Bus With A Dog – Greyhound Not So Houndy.
Dogs Not Allowed On The Bus
After checking with two of the biggest bus travel lines here in the US, Greyhound Bus Line and Northwestern Trail ways, I found that bus lines do not allow your pet to travel with you unless it is a service pet. If you have a service dog that is trained for the purpose of helping a disabled person then they are allowed to accompany the disabled person on the bus.
I think the bus lines are missing out as I can imagine how my sweet Priscilla would keep everyone entertained on the bus expecting belly rubs, and because she is a basset hound, she is one of the biggest clowns around. It would be free entertainment for the other passengers they should think of the potential. One of the comments I found on line was maybe Greyhound needs to change their name considering they don’t allow hounds.
Hotel and Motel Accommodations – Does Priscilla Get A Bed Too?
Dog Friendly Accomodations
Researching pet friendly hotels and motels for my trip, I have found that many hotel/motel chains do allow pets; however, as most businesses, they have certain policies regarding pets in your room and most charge an additional fee for your furry friend. Priscilla’s biggest question in finding a room is if she will get to sleep in the bed with me as she normally does at home? Priscilla sleeping in the bed looks promising. I am gathering information on pet friendly accommodations that will be posting it (here).
The Verdict Is In – Or Is It?
Do I want to take the shortest route and fly and if so, what airline do I go with, that will make Priscilla and I the most comfortable, or should I rent a car and just make the long drive? It looks like travel by Amtrak Railways is out because the diet would never work for Priscilla and she would not approve of being stuffed in a small kennel for that long. The bus lines are out as they do not even allow dogs on the bus unless they are a service animal. I would say Hotel or Motel accommodations will be quite easy, I just need to find out what Hotel/Motel chains are in my daughter’s town in North Carolina.
I still have some time to decide but would really like to hear from you and maybe some experience you have had on vacation or just traveling with your dog.
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I always love to travel with my cutey puppy but I haven’t any idea about this vital matters. It will help me a lot. Great post! Thanks a lot.
I am so glad you left a comment and enjoyed my post, I really do hope it has helped you when traveling with your pet.
Many dog owners will appreciate your good information on traveling with their dog, I do get upset with our hot humid weather when I see dogs shut in cars while their owners are shopping.
Jeff
Thanks for the comment, I would totally agree with you. Cars can heat up quickly and it is not safe to leave a dog in a hot car while you are in shopping somewhere. This reminds me of the other day when we were returning to our car from an eating establishment, I walk past a car that was running, when I glanced inside there was a fur baby soaking up the air conditioning. I looked at the tags on the car and they were from out-of-state so I assume the fur babies parents were inside eating and of course not many eating places allow dogs.
You will be heading with your precious Priscilla to my neck of the woods, NC.
Traveling with dogs and pets is tricky. I read your previous posts on airline policies. We often take trips north to NY to visit family. The puppies (they are adult dogs) want to go too and we want to take them. We have stuck to using our car and making the trip due to all the restrictions.
The impact is a 10 to 12-hour drive. The dogs enjoy the ride. Added up it takes an entire day just in travel away from a vacation. I hope that accommodating of pets improve in the future so it is easier to include our whole family on a faster
trip.
I appreciate all your detailed research. It truly saves a lot of time.
Thanks for visiting my site and leaving information on traveling with dogs.
I am happy that you are able to travel by car with you babies and I don’t foresee any issues with taking Priscilla. I feel she will do well on the trip in a car as she is used to riding in the car. I just have not taken her on such a long trip so it will be a first.
It sounds like your babies do well on long trips and I am really glad to hear that. I am so glad you posted here as hearing your story gives me more confidence that the trip will be great. Maybe I will run into you in NC.
Again it is great that you have posted and really appreciate the comments, please don’t forget to bookmark this site as I am always adding information.