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Travelling with Pets
Travelling with pets involves more than simply loading them into a car. Ensure your pet's good health and comfort and pre-plan your trip. If you're a traveller who is also an animal lover, ask CAA about the Travelling with Your Pet: the AAA Pet Book. It's free, and only available to CAA members.
It's up to you to focus on your pet's well-being every step of the way. And it's important that your pet conducts himself properly so that other pets will be welcome in the future.
Travelling with Your Pet is a complete guide for taking your pet on the road. It includes a listing of more than 10,000 pet-friendly, AAA-rated lodgings across Canada and the United States.
Other information covered in Travelling with Your Pet:
Should your pet travel
- Rule #1:
Pets who are either very young or old, pregnant, sick, injured, prone to biting or excessive vocalization, or who cannot follow basic obedience commands should not travel.
- Rule #2:
If your pet can't actively participate in the trip, they should stay home.
- Rule #3:
Be specific when making travel plans that include your pet. Nobody wants unpleasant surprises on vacation.
- Rule #4:
Never leave your pet with someone you don't trust.
Preparing your pet for travel
- Get a clean bill of health from the veterinarian.
- Acclimate your pet to car travel. (see Travelling by car)
- Refresh those obedience class lessons and make sure your pet can follow simple commands from you.
- Learn about quarantines or other restrictions before you leave.
- Determine the best mode of transportation.
- Pack as carefully for your pet as you do for yourself.
What to pack for your pet
- carrier or crate
- nylon or leather collar or harness, licence tag, ID tag and leash (make sure your area code is included on the phone number if you travel out of town)
- food and water dishes
- can opener and spoon for canned food
- ample supply of food, plus a few days' extra
- bottled water from home (many animals are finicky about their drinking water)
- cooler with ice
- healthy treats
- medications, if necessary
- health certificate and other required documents
- blanket or other bedding (if your pet is used to sleeping on the furniture, bring an old blanket or sheet to place on top of the hotel's bedding)
- litter supplies, a scooper, and plastic bags
- favorite toys
- carpet deodorizer
- recent photograph and a written description including name, breed, gender, height, weight, colouring and distinctive markings
- grooming supplies: comb/brush, nail clippers, shampoo, towels, cotton balls/tissues, paper towels
- first-aid kit: gauze, bandages and adhesive tape, towels, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, ointment, muzzle, scissors, tweezers (for ticks, burrs, splinters), local emergency numbers, first-aid guide for pets
Travelling by car
- Train your pet to travel in a car by taking short trips to ease your pet into the travel routine.
- For safety reasons, pets should be confined to the back seat, either in a carrier or a harness attached to the car's seat belt.
- To help prevent car sickness, feed your pet a light meal 4-6 hours before departing.
- Do not give an animal food or water in a moving vehicle.
- Never allow your pet to ride in the bed of a pickup truck.
- Avoid placing pets in campers or trailers.
- If your pet cannot ride in the car with you, leave them at home.
- Do not let your dog stick their head out of the window. Debris can injure your dog, and so can sudden stops.
- Drivers should stop every two hours for a stretch - and dogs will appreciate it, too. Plan a rest stop every four hours or so to give him a drink.
- Cat owners should take a litter box for rest stops, and dog owners should clean up afterward.
- Ensure your pet is leashed before opening the car door. If your pet is not used to travelling, use a harness instead of a collar as it's more difficult for them to wriggle out of it.
- NEVER leave an animal in a parked car, even with the windows partially open. It only takes a few minutes for an animal to develop heatstroke or freeze.
Travelling by air
- Determine if your pet is fit to fly. Very old and young, infirm, or pregnant pets should not fly.
- See the veterinarian for a check up 10 days before departure.
- Find out from the airline if your pet is allowed to fly - and where. Airlines are not required to transport live animals and can refuse to carry them for any reason.
- Decide where your pet will fly. Cats, snub-nosed dogs and long-nosed dogs are prone to severe respiratory difficulties in an airplane's poorly ventilated cargo hold and should travel only in the passenger cabin with their owner.
- Check your airline's specific baggage policies so you know exactly where in the hold your pet will be travelling, and if there are any dangerous goods present. When you reserve your ticket, reserve space for your pet at the same time, preferably well in advance of your travel date. And be prepared to pay an additional fee.
- Understand the potential hazards of the plane's cargo hold, as it is neither cooled or heated until takeoff. The most dangerous time for your pet is that spent on the ground in this unventilated compartment.
- Get an airline-approved carrier and acclimate your pet to its presence for weeks prior by leaving it open with a familiar object inside.
- Ask that your pet be hand-carried on and off the plane. Animals are classified as luggage, and may be loaded on the plane via conveyor belt. If the crate falls off the belt, your pet could be injured or released.
- Exercise your pet before the flight, and arrive at least one but not more than four hours before departure.
- Do not feed your pet less than four hours before departure.
- Freeze water in the bowl so that it melts throughout the trip, providing a constant drinking source.
- Attach feeding instructions and dry food to the outside of the crate.
- Secure to the top of the crate or carrier the name, address and telephone number of your pet's destination as well as the particulars of an alternate home contact.
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