Tips for Traveling with Your Pet

Traveling with your pet can be a daunting experience for the both of you. Your pet faces brand new sights, sounds and smells and you worry about their wellbeing on the road. To put your mind at ease and make your journey as calm as possible, here are four key tips for traveling with your pet both by air and by car.

1. Create a Safe, Cosy Bed for Your Pet for Air Travel

When traveling by plane, your pet's space should be made as comfortable as possible to encourage them to sleep through most of the flight. Your pet will be confined to either a crate in the plane hold or a crate or bag that fits underneath the seat in front of you in the cabin. It's really helpful to put their bed in with them to create a comfortable space that feels familiar and safe. You could also include a blanket or shirt that smells like you to help them feel secure.

2. Restrain Your Pet in the Car

When traveling by car pets often have space to roam across the back seats or the trunk of the car. However, it's important to restrain them adequately enough that they don't interfere with your ability to drive and they're less likely to get hurt in the event of an accident. You could be at risk of committing a driving offence if your pet isn't suitably restrained, depending on the laws of the region in which you're traveling. If not using a crate for car travel, be sure to use a suitable harness, seatbelt or guard.

3. Consider Anxiety Remedies

Travel can be new and scary for pets so it may be useful to invest in some anti-anxiety remedies. Pheromone collars, essential oil sprays, compression coats and nutritional supplements can all help to alleviate stress and don't require the supervision of a vet, although it can be helpful to ask your vet for recommendations. Be sure to test all remedies out before you travel to see how your pet responds.

It used to be common to sedate pets before long journeys, particularly those made by plane, but the American Veterinary Medical Association now recommends against it. Sedated pets risk developing heart or breathing problems during air travel and many airlines require that pets are not sedated before travel. Anxiety remedies are a great alternative.

4. Get Your Pet Microchipped

Nobody wants to think about their pet going missing during travel, but if the worst happens and they do get loose in an unfamiliar region you want to have the best possible chance of finding them. Microchipping is proven to improve the odds of identifying lost pets and reuniting them with their owners, so be sure to get your pet chipped before making a long journey. In some regions microchipping is a legal requirement so if you're planning a move to a new area be sure to check local mandates.

Traveling might be a new experience for your pet but if you take adequate steps to keep them safe and make them feel comfortable, your journey together will go without a hitch.

Need more info? Here's what you need to know about different laws for bringing pets into countries around the world.