Winter Travel Tips with Your Pet
|Winter Travel Tips with Your Pet
Despite the freezing temperatures, winter still counts as one of the most beautiful times of the year, with the breathtaking snow and all the fun that goes with it. Traveling with your pet during this cold weather does, however, have its challenges, so it is very crucial to ensure you take all the necessary precautions to safeguard your pet’s safety.
So what are these precautions? And how can you safeguard your pet’s safety without too much of a fuss? Here is a shortlist of things you can do to safely travel with your pet in winter, all this is courtesy of this platform:
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- Proper Travel Gear
Although fur keeps your pet warm during cold weather, winter can be brutal to your dog. You need to ensure you have a sufficient supply of warm blankets, some extra jackets, and anything warm to keep your pet from freezing. You can also check to see if your car AC is operational, just as a precaution, in case the weather gets unbearable. You can also carry some extra towels. You should be able to decide the appropriate gear you require depending on just how cold it is.
It is also advisable to keep a close eye on the forecast. Knowing if it will get colder as you travel will give you a clear indication of what kind of gear will be appropriate throughout your trip.
- Learn To Read the Distress Signs
Dogs get a little fidgety and unruly when they are agitated. And because they can’t talk, they usually don’t have a way to tell you that they are in some discomfort. If you have had your pet for a while, then you must have noticed when they feel apprehensive or angry. That’s a plus. All you need to do is ensure you know how to read your pet’s non-verbal cues. This will allow you to identify when they are trying to indicate some sought discomfort during your journey.
- Get the Car Checked Out
Although pets are brilliant, they are still more like infants when it comes to dealing with strenuous situations. Dogs get uneasy with long periods of inactivity, and they sense when things aren’t going the way they should. For this reason, you must take your car to a mechanic to ensure it’s in the right condition to make the trip. Keep in mind that winter isn’t just brutal on your pets, the intensely cold weather is also a problem for you and your car. To prevent the possibility of your car breaking down, ensure you get it properly assessed, and only travel when your mechanic gives you the green light.
- Supplement and Hydrate!
It also doesn’t hurt to have some mineral and vitamin supplements to keep your pet’s energy up. Freezing weather can make your pet sluggish, so you need to have some extra protein treats to get it to enjoy the trip as much as you do. Water is also a vital addition to your travel gear. Ensure you have plenty of it, not just for your pet, but for you as well. Water can also come in handy when you need to wash the dirt off your pet’s feet. It’s always better to have some extra fresh water and not need it than to need it and not have it.
- Ensure Your Destination Is Pet-Friendly
It would be frustrating to drive up some remote mountain to find out your destination has a “no pets allowed” policy. Before you set out, please do your due diligence and research on the destination and what kind of rules they have on various types of pets.
Note that your pet is pretty much a part of the family, and tagging it along is meant to give you all a chance to bond and enjoy the great outdoors. Finding a pet-friendly destination will allow your pet to mingle with others of its kind freely, and perhaps make some new friends.
- Schedule Regular Breaks
Traveling should be fun; that’s the whole point. So don’t spend the entire journey couped up in your car. Just as it is ill-advised to leave your pet in the car during hot weather, it is just as dangerous to leave it in freezing weather. So, as you travel, set a specific number of miles to cover before taking a break. Make the breaks as frequently as possible, and ensure you have a potty, water and food break for your family and your pet. You can set the breaks in places that have some aesthetic appeal, a mountain view perhaps, or anywhere that has some scenery you can enjoy.
Bottom Line
Your pet is a part of the family, so traveling with it contributes to your well-being. Taking this trip is an excellent way to clear your head, and doing it often will contribute to you and your pet’s happiness in the long term.
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