How To Travel With Pets » Pets

Dogs Not Allowed At The Hoover Dam

Anil P. — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:00:03 +0000

A side trip many visitors to Las Vegas make is visiting the Hoover Dam and the surrounding hills to take pictures as well as hike. Approximately 35 miles away, many pet owners staying in that surprisingly pet friendly city may assume the outdoor nature of the Hoover Dam an ideal place to give their dog a proper walk. That’s what I immediately assumed myself until pulling up to the parking deck – the first question the attendant asked was whether I was traveling with pets.

Fortunately I wasn’t traveling with this little guy who was resting comfortably in an air conditioned refuge with relatives. It did throw me off however, as I’m sure there are many pet owners who have to turn back due to the restrictions at the Hoover Dam. (Which, by the way, don’t apply to service animals.)

Why Are Pets Restricted?

None of the staff at the Hoover Dam could give me a good reason for the restriction. The crowds certainly didn’t seem to suggest space was an issue, either across the walkways of the dam itself nor on the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge nearby (where pets are also restricted). According to United States Department of the Interior, pets are not allowed for their own safety and those of others. Certainly heat may be an issue during the summer months but aside from the dam below, the walkway across the Hoover Dam isn’t much more than a wide sidewalk.

The same goes for the long winding trails that lead to the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and its pedestrian path, which provides incredible views of the Hoover Dam, Colorado River, and winding highways on both side traversing Nevada and Arizona.

Don’t Bring Your Pets – Or Try To

It’s never wise to break federal regulations as obviously as they will be when you’ve got your four-legged friend trotting alongside of you. There are numerous park police at various points on the Hoover Dam, the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, and even along the distant scenic overviews where pets aren’t allowed.

You not only face a fine but likely also ruin an experience to see what is an incredible feat of architecture. Hopefully one day the restrictions will be eased to more sensible regulations and your pets can enjoy the views of the Hoover Dam as well or you can compare hotel rooms nearby.

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5 Ways To Keep Your Dog Calm During Long Distance Travel

Anil P. — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:00:04 +0000

This is a guest post by Sarah Danielson who writes for Pitbulls, where you can find information on training, health, diet, and food for the popular and often misunderstood breed.

Traveling can be a pretty big hassle these days, even if you only have to worry about yourself. But throw a pet in the mix and suddenly you have a whole other world of headaches to worry about, not the least of which is keeping your animal companion comfortable and calm for the duration of this often stressful experience.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare! – The best way to know how your pet will react to travel is to try it out on a smaller scale ahead of time. Try taking an overnight trip to a place that is about an hour away to see how your furry friend deals with extended time in a carrier and staying in a strange location. Or take a short plane ride to visit friends and return quickly. Knowing how your animal reacts to various types of travel could make a difference in the mode of transportation you choose for longer trips (or if you opt to take your pet along at all). And acclimation to trips couldn’t hurt, either, especially if you travel frequently.
Get Comfortable With The Carrier - You should have your pet using the carrier from the time you bring him home so that when you put him into it, he won’t automatically become agitated (as when you only use it for trips to the vet). Try using it as a bed by putting him in each night to sleep, and consider taking him on short rides in the car often.
Bring Toys And Treats – If your dog or cat is preoccupied with a favorite toy, he may not even notice that you’ve plopped him down in one of many travel accommodations. And treats are always a good way to distract your furry friend and let him know that everything is okay.
Meet Their Needs – Just because you aren’t plagued by thirst and the need to use the bathroom doesn’t mean your pet is in the same state. If you’re traveling by car, make sure you take frequent stops to let your pet stretch his legs, see the scenery, and heed the call of nature. For plane travel, just make sure he has the option to use the great outdoors at the last possible minute before you embark.
Explore Alternatives – Unfortunately, even the best laid plans may not keep your pet from going a bit berserk during travel. In the event that you simply can’t keep him calm, you may have to consider giving him a prescription to calm or knock him out (this is generally preferred for plane travel). If you are worried about the side effects of such drugs, then maybe he’ll be better off with a pet-sitter while you’re away.

Some pets are good travelers that are as at-ease in a car or carrier as they are at home. But the majority of animals become excited, agitated, and even frightened when you remove them from their element and force them to travel great distances. Whether you’re going on the road or planning a trip by plane or train, you need to ensure that you do everything in your power to make the experience easy on your pet.

Thank you very much for the guest post Sarah. Readers, as a side-note, you should be careful if you’re considering the 5th option, as many airlines don’t allow drugged animals to fly. You can read more from Sarah on Pitbulls.org.

[photos by: This Year's Love (two dogs looking at camera), PetteriO (small dog playing with ball)]

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5 Useful Pet Travel Websites

Anil P. — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:00:52 +0000

Whether you’re planning or thinking about traveling with your dog, cat or other pets, there are many useful online resources at your disposal. With these listed sites you can plan your next trip with your pet, find out any of the applicable rules and regulations, and get advice from people who travel extensively with their pets.

1. Go Pet Friendly

One of the most useful websites for pet friendly accommodation and those traveling with their pets in the US, this search engine finds all of the pet friendly hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, and activities at your destination and everywhere in between. You can learn more about the co-founders Rod and Amy Burkert in my interview with them last year.

2. Dog Jaunt

This blog breaks down many of the airline regulations and other legalities that can come when flying with your dog. Primarily geared towards owners of small dogs, pet owners will find the Dog Jaunt guides time-saving and enlightening as well.

Dog Jaunt

3. Pet Travel

In addition to a hotel, restaurant, and general pet-friendly search engine, Pet Travel has a long list of resources for travelers taking their pets on international trips. You can find information regarding airline pet policies and pet import requirements as well as print out the necessary forms to prepare for your trip.

Pet Travel

4. Pet Relocation

A very straightforward interface makes it easy to plan out your US domestic or international trip with your pet. Pet Relocation has specific articles for most countries around the world as well as helpful videos and tutorials to make a somewhat complex process much simpler.

Pet Relocation

5. And A Small Dog

From choosing the right dog carrier to keeping you updated with the latest news in pet travel, And A Small Dog has hotel and destination information as well. Frustrated with many of the other pet travel sites when she first started out, Leila Coe hopes to be the accessible and versatile pet travel site she had been searching for.

And A Small Dog

More Good Resources

There are many other good and quite useful pet travel websites out there. Which ones would you recommend and why? Feel free to share in the comments or let us know about what you thought about the sites mentioned above.

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Traveling With Pets From The US To Europe

Anil P. — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:00:09 +0000

Traveling with pets from the United States to Europe, in particular the European Union nations, is a process that is simple once you know what to expect. Finding good information about the requirements prior to your trip is the most difficult part of the entire trip and most of the work is upfront. Importing your pets and getting through customs is the easy part.

First Steps: Where Are You Going?

This seems like a basic question to ask but you need to take be absolutely sure with the answers to these questions:

What are all of the cities you’ll be in, including layovers?
When is your trip? (You’ll need at most 30 days, at a minimum of 1 week depending on how current vaccinations are.)
Is your country in the European Union?
Which airline or airlines will you be flying and do they have any airline breed restrictions?
Crate dimensions? The airlines will require this before you can make reservations for your pets.
Cabin or not? If your pet is under a certain weight (i.e. 12lbs) you may be able to have them in the cabin with you. Airlines often only allow 2 pets per plane so call them early to ask. Also, if your pet doesn’t do well traveling and defecates, yowls, or has trouble when being transported, to the vet for example, consider having them fly as baggage where most larger animals are.

Many travelers often focus on the import of the pets and don’t thoroughly research these basics. Also, if you’re traveling with an animal other than a dog or a cat make sure there aren’t any prohibitions against importing them at your destination. Don’t just take the word of your vet or the airlines.

Check The Embassy Website

Like I mentioned above, do not get your pet travel information anywhere other than the embassies of each country you will be traveling to. Almost every single EU country will have information about what you need to bring pets in from the United States on their embassy websites. You can find contact information for every embassy in the world using EmbassyWorld and if you are unclear about anything feel free to give them a call.

What You’ll Need

This information is subject to change and is a general overview of what you’ll need to take your dog or cat from the US to the EU.

A microchip
A pet passport (that can be downloaded from the specific embassy’s website) – This ‘passport’ is a certification of health from your vet with the most important piece of information being that a rabies vaccination has been current for at least 30 days. So long as you’ve been keeping up to date on all of the US and state-required vaccinations you should be fine.
This passport must be signed and stamped with your state’s agriculture department. Your vet will be able to let you know where to send it.

Again, you need to verify all of the specific information for each country your animals will be going to and stopping along the way.

How Much Will It Cost?

Flying with your pets from the US to the European Union will hit your pocketbook on several fronts.

The Airline: The price per pet is usually around the $200 range from the US.
The Vet: A checkup plus any required vaccinations can run anywhere from $75-300.
State Stamps: Shipping rates vary but you’ll usually find yourself sending a $50 check for each pet. That’s the fee required to stamp and process your vet certificates of health and EU pet passports.
Crates: The airlines usually have restrictions on the type (i.e. plastic), size, and interiors of pet crates. Check with them to find out what you’ll need. New crates range on the size but start at $50 and can go up to $400.

There are also some miscellaneous costs as well like toys, treats, and chewing bones to keep your cat and dog happy for the plane ride.

Importing Usually Isn’t A Problem

When traveling from the US to the EU you generally won’t have any problems in customs with your pets. Often times they don’t even check your papers if your animals appear in good health. That doesn’t mean though you should try to skip or skimp on any of the requirements though since not having them could result in lengthy quarantines or possible deportation.

Check the requirements early, get your shots done on time, and make sure you’ve got the right crates and have informed the airline at least 10 days before your departure you’ll be booking for your pets as well. Once you’ve done all of the administrative work up front you can usually breeze through customs. The faster you’re at your destination and the quicker you get settled, the less stress your pets will face and the more enjoyable trip for everyone.

[photos by: Paul Schultz, Americatidol]

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Pet Airways: The Basics

Anil P. — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:29:16 +0000

Pet Airways is the first airline in the world that caters to animals, not people. In fact, people are not allowed to fly on Pet Airways and all of the animals fly in the cabin, not the cargo hold. Pet Airways is a new experiment in air travel and presents many pet owners with more options for getting their pets to fly comfortably in the friendly skies.

There are a few basic things to know about Pet Airlines so below I’ve complied a list of the very first questions you may be asking.

How Do The Owners Get To Their Destinations?

The Pet Airways website has a search engine you can use to book flights for yourself from other airlines.

What Is The Process – How Is Pet Airways Different?

Pet Airways is very different from traditional airlines that cater to human beings. The simplified process starts by you taking your pet to the airport. A special pet lounge is available at all of the airports that Pet Airways flies to and from (see next question).

These specially trained staff walk your dogs and give them the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Pets are not crated for the duration of the flights and given sections of the airplane cabin to rest in. Airline staff check and monitor the pets and come around every 15 minutes to make sure they are doing alright.

Pets are taken off the plane and housed in pet lounges on overnight flights.

Where Does Pet Airways Fly To and From?

Currently Pet Airways flies between New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.

What Animals Can Fly?

Pet Airways accepts dogs and cats with reptiles, fish, birds, pigs, and others to be added soon.

How Much Does It Cost?

Flights start from $149 and up.

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