Travel Safety Tips for Your Pet this Holiday Season

The upcoming holiday festivities might see you book a train or plane ticket to one of your favorite or dream destinations in the company of your pet. Unfortunately, most pet owners rarely plan how to keep their pets safe as they jet set or sail around the globe. Luckily, we have broken down a few handy pet safety tips if you are considering traveling with your poodle or kitty this festive season.

1. Invest in a Comfortable and Quality Pet Carrier

Even before anything else, it is imperative to have a safe, comfortable, and well-made pet carrier for your favorite animal companion. The carrier in question should be roomy enough not to induce suffocation but not so large that they find themselves jostling around uncomfortably during the trip. In short, your pet should be able to stand or turn around cozily within their carrier. Remember that carriers made for airplane travel have to meet different safety requirements compared to those constructed for short car trips.

2. Take a Few Practice Trips

This especially applies to those pets that are hardly accustomed to long traveling spells. In this case, you may want to take a few practice short trips to get them oriented to longer and more arduous trips. You can try spending a night or two in a nearby motel (if you can afford it) with your pet to get them used to sleeping in new surroundings before embarking on a long journey.

3.  Try to Keep up the Same Routine as Much as Possible

Try as much as possible to maintain the same routine that your pet is used to at home when you are traveling with them. If they, for example, have a particular bed they are fond of sleeping or napping on, you should bring it along on the forthcoming trip. The same applies to the feeding, playtime, or bathroom schedule, which should match your usual schedule as closely as possible to avoid upsetting them unnecessarily.

4. Limit Contact with Strangers

Unlike us humans, who are pretty much social beings and don’t mind making new friends whenever an opportunity comes up, most animals hardly enjoy the same. Therefore,  to keep their anxiety levels checked, you may want to limit their contact with strangers as much as possible when you’re on the road and even after arriving at your intended holiday destination. 

References: RedCross, ASPCA