Have you ever wanted to go on a summer vacation with your pup? With so many fun dog-friendly hotels, AirBnB’s and campgrounds to visit, who wouldn’t want to bring the dogs along?
If you’ve never taken your pup on a vacation before, there are a few things you should know in advance before packing your pup’s suitcase! Let’s go over some helpful tips to prepare your dog for their amazing summer vacation!
Tip 1: Confirm Your Location’s Pet Policy
When planning your fun dog-friendly summer vacation, make sure the destination is in fact, pet-friendly! Every location has different policies regarding pets as well as additional fees and sometimes breed/dog size restrictions.
For instance, many AirBnB’s may allow all dogs while some allow only small ones. These locations also tend to have additional cleaning and pet fees to ensure their property is ready for the next guests.
Hotels and resorts may also have pet and/or cleaning fees or breed/dog size restrictions depending on the location. Something that many dog-friendly hotels and resorts are doing these days is including fun pet perks for your pup including their own welcome basket for your room! How fun is that?
Another very important note when choosing your summer location is to choose the location that best suits your dog, not necessarily you. If you have a more reactive and anxious dog, maybe choosing an AirBnB where they won’t be surprised with new people multiple times a day down the hall would be best. You can even choose a local destination that isn’t too far from home that you can visit in advance to introduce the new environment to your dog. You always want to set your dog up for success, not failure and know where your dog is now, not where they will be a year from now.
Tip 2: Revisit Basic Training
Once you’ve got your dog-friendly vacation booked (yay!), it’s time to revisit some of your basic training. Having great communication between you and your dog is extra important when going someplace new since there will be added distractions.
It’s great to go over the foundational skills like “Sit”, “Stay”, and “Come”, but if your dog knows any additional commands that will keep them near you and listening at all times, we recommend practicing those as well. One of our go-to treats to keep our pups excited during training are our Mini Trainers! Available in five tasty flavors like duck and lamb, these treats are sure to be your pup’s new favorite!
By practicing these commands, not only do they keep your dog safe, they can also help create a positive experience for those around you. For example, if your dog has a very good understanding of the “Sit” and “Stay” commands, it can be very helpful with introductions to people they may meet (if allowed) to prevent any jumping behavior.
Tip 3: Prepare & Bring Treats For Your Pup
In addition to having treats for training practice, it’s also good to bring treats for a couple of reasons. First, bringing treats to have on hand when arriving at your dog-friendly location can help keep your dog’s attention on you and not the many distractions they will be faced with. Second, prepping some frozen treats or bringing some enrichment puzzle treat toys that your dog can enjoy can also aid in reducing any stress or anxiety your dog might be feeling from being in a new place.
By the way, if you love our Mini Trainers, check out some of our other fan favorites from our Single Ingredient Collection and our Jerky Collection.
Tip 4: Work On Crate Training
Depending on where you’re traveling to, having your dog crate trained is beneficial for many reasons, and we’ll highlight two here. The first benefit of having your dog crate trained is for traveling to your destination in general. Keeping your dog safe on the way to your destination is so important and there are many crash-tested dog crates on the market that are designed specifically for this very reason.
The second benefit of having your dog crate trained is to give them their own place to go when they’re unsure of their new environment. One of the top purposes of dog crates is to give your dog a safe space to go to and relax; it’s never meant to be used for punishment. When packing for your pup, in addition to their crate, bring their favorite blanket or bedding to put in it so that they not only have their safe space, but also the comforting smells of home.
Tip 5: Listen To Your Dog
Last but not least, is probably the biggest tip of them all, listen to your dog. If you’re taking your dog to a completely new place, make sure to pay extra attention to their body language and how they’re feeling. Extra panting and shedding can be signs of stress and anxiety in dogs. If there’s a big crowd of people and your dog is wanting to go in the opposite direction, don’t force them to meet people.
Like we said before, always set your dog up for success not failure!
Do you have any exciting dog-friendly vacations planned with your pup(s)? We’d love to join in the fun with you! Show us how you’re bringing Crumps Naturals on your dog-friendly vacation by tagging us on social @CrumpsNaturals. We can’t wait to see your many adventures!
