Preparing Your Dog For A Family Vacation
Do you have a family vacation coming up in the near future and plan on taking your pooch along with you? Well, with all the pet-friendly hotels and pet specialty restaurants available, more and more families are actually traveling with their pets these days. Of course, the process isn't as easy as picking up your dog and heading out on the open road. In fact, if your dog has never even been in the car or van before, you might not even know how he or she is going to respond. Your dog could whine and vomit the whole time. This will completely ruin the experience. It is imperative that you make sure you do everything in your power to prepare for the trip in advance.
Keep Your Dog Restricted In The Vehicle
The first thing you need to remember is to keep your pet restricted within the vehicle. Just because your pooch has free reign at home or in the yard doesn't mean that he or she should have the same freedom in the vehicle. You wouldn't let your kid bounce all around the vehicle, and you shouldn't let your dog either. There is a variety of products available to provide adequate support for your dog in your vehicle. For instance, you can invest in a pet seat belt or a kennel. Anything that will keep your dog securely restricted while the vehicle is in motion will be effective.
Invest In A Pet First-Aid Kit
You probably have a handy first-aid kit with the essentials for you and an emergency tool kit for your vehicle. WApply the same concept to your pet, as well. Some must-have items include gauze, tweezers, three percent hydrogen peroxide for cleaning wounds, sterile pads, a towel, leash, muzzle, cornstarch to staunch bleeding and a list of numbers to local pet emergency centers in the area.
Consider Micro-Chipping Your Pet
If you are like most people, you probably remember when the option to micro-chip your pet first became available. You might have thought the process was cruel, unnecessary and expensive, but over the years the procedure has gone way down in costs. This procedure can be an effective way to keep your pet safe and sound. You will likely be stopping at rest stops and other out-of-the-way locations to let your pet go out. Even though you might be using a leash, it is entirely possible that your pet might escape from your grasp. Trying to track down a pet in your own neighborhood can be hard enough, but try tracking one in an unfamiliar area. With a microchip's GPS tracking, you can easily and quickly locate your pet within just a matter of minutes.
Written by Guest Author for The Healthy Moms Magazine and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.