TRAVEL WITH PETS

 We absolutely love traveling with our lab Arya! She's been exploring the country with us from the time she was 8 months old (we took our first cross country road trip) and we always bring her along when we can! Although bringing along pets is fun (and eliminates the guilt of leaving them behind with a sitter), it can definitely complicate travel plans. Here are some tips and tricks we've picked up over the past couple of years for bringing them along.

Hotels

 Many hotels in the Wyndham chain will accept pets (Days Inn, Ramada, Travelodge, etc. but have fees from around $10-$50). Most La Quintas and many Best Western hotels allow pets for a fee. In a crunch, our go tos for hotels are Red Roof Inn and Motel 6, they are almost always pet friendly and have no pet fee, so it eliminates the need to search around and read through all of the policies!

*Some hotels have weight restrictions, but we have called ahead and asked and had it waived. I have never seen pet size restrictions for Motel 6.

Health Certificates

When pets are flying, moving between states, or leaving the country, they are required to have a certificate of health. It's a quick check up that needs to be done within 10 days of travel, to ensure they are healthy and up to date on vaccinations. Health certificates can vary immensely in price, so it's best to call around to local vet clinics, we've found that a good price is generally $25-50. It is extremely important to ensure your pet is in good health before travel, for their own safety and the safety other animals around them.

Flying

We have had to fly with Arya on three occasions, and it always ended up fine, but my advice is to avoid if possible (I totally understand that sometimes it's just the only way to be able to bring them along!). It would be less of a concern with smaller dogs that can ride in the cabin, but our pup is a big girl (she's a 90-lb. black lab!) so she has to ride underneath. For larger dogs that are required to fly in the cargo area, Alaska is one of the airlines that will accept large dogs (up to 150 lbs. combined pet and kennel weight), and we have gone through them all three times and have had good experiences. Info for flying can be found at https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/policies/pets-traveling-with-pets. They offer the best deal for flying with oversize animals, at $100 per pet. Be sure to call ahead and reserve your pets spot on your flight!

Other popular airlines that accept larger breeds in the cargo area for a slightly higher cost include American, Delta, and United.  Check their websites for additional information.

In order to fly, the dog must have a health certificate issued within 10 days, have a kennel that meets the requirements, and a water bowl and food accessible for staff to give your dog if there are delays. Also, the cargo in planes can get cold so ensure you have a bed and blankets and favorite stuffed animal, as well as a collapsible water bowl attached. I also always put in one of my worn cardigans or shirts to help my pup feel more comfortable and ease some anxiety.

Another thing to consider when flying with your pet is the travel time and flight transfers. We always consider this when flying with our pup, and in our opinion, it is always worth paying extra or utilizing other forms of travel to minimize flight time and transfers. For example, our flights from El Paso, Texas to Seattle, Washington, were going to require a flight transfer and extended flight times. So instead, we drove to Phoenix and took a direct three hour flight from there. This isn't always possible, but is an important consideration when flying with pets.

Rover

Throughout grad school, I dog sat through a company called Rover. It is an app that connects users with dog sitters in the area, and is a great option if you want to find a sitter to watch your dog in either their home or your own while you are away! When we travel, we usually find pet friendly hotels, but use the rover service "doggy daycare" which starts at $15 a day. This way we can drop Arya off to have a play date at the sitter's house while we explore the city or do activities that aren't dog friendly. When I first started using Rover, I was still hesitant initially to drop my pup off with a stranger for a day, but I have had nothing but great experiences. You can read testimonies and view the ratings from pervious individuals that have used the sitter's services, and Rover now has the option to perform background checks for the sitters. Booking through the app is extremely easy, and most of the sitters are dog parents themselves who truly love having the pups around! I am not sponsored by rover, but I genuinely love both sitting for and utilizing this app!

Tips for booking with Rover:

*For $20 off your first booking, my referral code is https://www.rover.com/refer/sierrad8/ 

Pet Travel Supplies

Some of our essential travel supplies for Arya include collapsible bowls, food tote with scoop, hiking booties, tennis balls, backpack, and kennel (when flying). While living in El Paso, I bought the booties and backpack (I know, Levi rolled his eyes too when I told him I bought our dog shoes) but we both agree that they turned out to be extremely useful. Living and hiking in the desert meant sharp, pokey plants EVERYWHERE, which meant frequent stops to pull large thorns from cacti and brush out of poor Arya's paws. She resented the boots at first, but they ended up helping her paws so much, and she was used to them in no time! They are also great for when she needed to go outside, but the yard would get extremely hot in El Paso during the summer. The backpack was also nice because we could put an extra tennis ball, poop bags, her collapsible water bowl, and a bottle of water for her that we could access quickly whenever she needed it. 

Websites

gopetfriendly.com-tons of information about specific places that allow dogs and the rules. Many hikes and cities!

Bringfido.com : has info on everything from dog friendly hiking trails and restaurants, to international travel regulations. The answer to almost any pet related travel question can be found here! You can also download it as an app.

We order a lot of our pet supplies off of Amazon, and found her kennel on the app Offerup for super cheap!

National Parks

We have traveled to several national parks with our pup, and loved bringing her along! The rules vary from park to park, but there are some general guidelines for most.

1.  Some parks offer kennels for if you wish to board your pet while you explore, as pets cannot visit most popular trails and attractions. You must have paper copies of vaccination records, and be sure to book early. 
2. In almost all the parks, your pet must remain on a 6' leash at all times. 
3. Dogs are generally allowed on paved trails and roads only.
4. Pets must be supervised at all times.
5. Check out https://petfriendlytravel.com/national_parks for information regarding all of the National Parks in the US and their guidelines for bringing your pets.