Touring the Country With My 6lb. Dog

“This post is sponsored by Autotrader; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.”

Happy Monday friends!

I’ve got a lot of new followers lately, so I thought I would introduce you to some of my favorite people in the world.

This is Lulu,

Charlie

and Gracie.

Besides my hubby and daughter, these little guys are the loves of my life.  Another love of mine is traveling, so when you combine the two together I get really excited!

Now let me start this off by saying not all dogs love to travel. My dog Gracie is one of them. She gets super anxious and stressed, so it’s better for everyone when she stays home where she is happy. Lulu likes to run an occasional errand here and there, but long trips tend to stress her out to.

Charlie, on the other hand, will go anywhere and gets so excited!

When we first started taking Charlie on trips, he used to get carsick. The vet told us he would probably grow out of it as he got older and traveled more, and he did (thank goodness). If your dog doesn’t, you can get medications from your vet to help. We started him on short trips to the post office or to the grocery store, where one of us stayed in the car with him. We then increased the trips from quick 10 minute trips to 30 minutes and kept slowly building up. The last thing you want to do is take your dog on their very first trip and have it be lengthy, only to find out they hate traveling and are sick the whole time!

Before we load the little guy up for a ride, we either go on a walk or play a quick game of fetch to burn off some of his energy. That way he is a little more relaxed when we head out.

When we do travel, we make sure we stop every couple of hours for potty breaks as well as a few minutes of play time. Make sure you bring a leash, as you don’t want your pup to run off at some random rest stop far from home. We bring a collapsible dish for food and water, as well as some treats. Make sure you bring a towel along in case they get some muddy paws or get wet feet while out on a break.

One of our favorite purchases is this dog car seat, which we installed in the back seat. My hubby thought it was ridiculous at first, but after we took it on our first trip he changed his tune. It rides high enough that when in it, Charlie can see out the window, and you can attach his harness to it, so he isn’t running all around the car — the last thing you want when you are going 75 mph is a little dog getting under your feet or distracting you by being on your lap!

Did you know that there are certain cars that are more dog friendly than others?

If you go to Autotrader.com/DogDay you can see if your car is on the list, as well as get some tips that will make traveling with your pup easier.

If we travel, we take my hubby’s car which is a Subaru Crosstrek. It is lower to the ground which makes it easier for Charlie to jump in, plus Subaru has a large variety of pet travel accessories like seat covers, ramps and steps.

I’m pretty sure my hubby loves Charlie more than me … with that being said, he loves to travel with him! He makes sure to never leave him in the car (even for a few minutes) unless the windows are cracked, the temperature is very cool (as cars can heat up at an alarming rate), and he’s within eyesight/earshot at all times. Most of the time, one of us stays in the car with him while the other pays for gas or runs into the store just to be safe!

With National Dog Day right around the corner, Autotrader will be releasing a limited edition “New Dog Smell” car freshener that will bring back sweet memories of when you brought your fur baby home.

For every order of this funny car accessory, Autotrader will make a donation to the Humane Society (where we got Charlie) to help support adoptions nationwide.

Just about the only negative of traveling is being away from our pets, so when we can take them with us it’s a win-win.

Planning ahead and making the trip as painless as possible for us and for Charlie makes us all happy campers!