Cross-Country Move with Dog, Update from the Road #25

[jadewolf]

So, next week on Wednesday I’m embarking on the biggest move and life change I’ve ever faced. The pup and I are relocating from Orlando, FL to Los Angeles, CA.

We’re doing five days driving across country in a U-Haul, pulling my truck on an auto transport behind. Pretty much I-10 the whole way.

I only recently adopted Loki, my 3 y/o border collie, from a shelter (he came home on November 6th). He’s settled in quick, but still on the tail end of his adjustment period, I’d say.

Any dog advice for me on my upcoming move? I’ve made tentative reservations at Motel 6 locations along the route, since they’re pet friendly (and cheap, thank goodness). Anybody done a trip this long with a dog before? How often did you stop for doggie pitstops? Any suggestions on how to keep the pup from going stircrazy on the long stretches through the desolation of west Texas?

And… just for viewing pleasure… here’s some pictures of the pup in question: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jadewolf/sets/72157628274960845/

[threedogpack]

what a pretty boy!

Is he comfortable riding in a car or are you using a crate inside the veh?

I’d want to let him out AND stretch my legs every 3-4 hours.

If you want to keep him occupied, special chewies that will not cause gastro upset are good.

Might want to freeze some of the water he is used to and use it as it melts.

Have fun on your trip, it sounds like An Adventure!

[My2cents]

You must read this, if only for a good laugh.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html

[jadewolf]

LOL! I had forgotten about that Hyperbole & a Half comic! I sure hope my move doesn’t go like that, ha! :lol:

Loki’s pretty good in the car. He usually just curls up on the seat with his head on the arm rest and just chills. When we stop, he pops up to look around, then curls back up.

I hadn’t thought about freezing some water for him, but that’s a good idea! I was definitely going to take a couple gallons of home water anyway. Thanks!

[lovey1121]

That sounds like an odyssey you are sure to remember! Just thinking of obvious stuff, like having a well-fitted collar with your cell# on it, basic first aid stuff, and I’d try to score some metronidazole for the trip-diarrhea dogs and cars don’t go well together…:eek::no::winkgrin:

[JCS]

[QUOTE=My2cents;6030535]
You must read this, if only for a good laugh.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html[/QUOTE]

Darn, you beat me to it! :lol:

[MunchingonHay]

I traveled from Ocala to Swan’s Island Maine in 3 days with a border collie lab cross. He was an excellent travel companion. I walked him at every gas fill up which is roughly every 4 hours, offered water at all times. He was very comfy in his bed in the back seat. He did come off his food a bit, but he tended to do that when we traveled. If I knew then how awesome canned pumpkin is I would have mixed some in with his food to get him to eat. But he was no worse the wear at the end of the trip. We were in Maine for a week before we traveled back down.

I made sure he was comfy, if the sun was beating down on him I would jack up the A/C and put on a sweater. We played ball at which ever Motel 6 we stopped at for the night. I never rushed him and had the motto “we will get there when we get there”.

I second getting Loki something to chew on if he will do it.

Oh and make it fun! I would play with my dog in the motel room and all rules are off when it comes to no sleeping on the bed, I let him jump all over those beds and of course sleep with me, since his bed was in the car (he never slept on the bed at home, it was an away treat).

Sing loudly, keep both hands on the wheel and dont text while you drive. Have a safe trip and take lots of pictures, when will you be driving cross country again!!

better yet, blog about it and share the link!

Do it from Loki’s POV.

[jadewolf]

Good call on the anti diarrheals. We had a bout of the flying poops when he came home from the shelter until we got him adjusted on a diet that suited him best. I’ve got several cans of pumpkin stocked up, so I might add some of that as a first line of defense.

Fresh chewies sounds like a good idea, too. Thanks for all the good suggestions!

And I love the idea of writing a trip blog from Loki’s point of view! What a fun idea!

[BasqueMom]

Not as long a trip, but we moved from Denver to Dallas with our border collie.
She loved to travel so not a big deal. On the real move, we had our three
cats in dog crates in the back of the pickup (had a shell and both had slider
windows. DH put lots of foam around so that heat from the cab would get back there plus we covered the carriers on three sides with blankets.

Spent a night at a motel that knew we had them. Sit the cats on the second bed and slipped out to grab a bite to eat across the parking lot at
the IHop. Ten minutes later, the motel’s security guard asking if anyone from
our room number was there…a dog was parking. Not only was she barking,
she had bounced around on our bed, knocked the phone off the hook and
called the front desk. Seriously! So she went in the truck while we ate and
learned never to leave her alone in the room.

On the trip back to bring two of the horses back, she got walked when Miss
Tiny Bladder stopped. At the Motel 8 in Kansas, she walked in the room, headed to the bathroom and got a big drink (like she hadn’t had a drink all day). She put herself to bed on the other bed with head on the pillow and
when I invited her to my bed, zipped over and put her head on the other pillow. And was fast asleep in about 30 seconds.

Across Kansas, she got to stretch her legs at the rest stops. Gave me the fish eye when she had to go in the rest room with me. Used one of those
extendable leashes so she had more room to stretch her legs.

When DH came to Denver and we loaded up the horses, she was overjoyed.
Always waiting under the drop down windows to check them as they put their heads out. Helped us tuck them in in Amarillo at the horsie bed and breakfast.

She was an absolute joy to travel with and we used to take her on family visits as she had good house manners. Being a little older than yours, we didn’t have to worry about as much pent up energy as a younger dog. She could take you on quite a hike before finding the perfect spot to do her business.

[jetsmom]

Get an id tag with your cell phone # and the landline # of a friend or relative. Put tag on a collar that you don’t attach the leash to. Just in case he ever slipped the collar with the leash, he’d still have id tags. And the landline # is important in case you are in an area without good cell phone reception, you’d have someone that a person could reach if they found the dog.

Stop by your vet’s a couple of days before you leave and pick up copies of the dog’s vet history. (give vet a few days to have it copied for you).

Don’t leave dog unattended in hotel rm, in case a maid comes in and leaves the door open.

Bring a bottle of an enzyme cleaner for any dog accidents in hotel rm/car. Keep a roll of paper towels in car/hotel rm. Bring gallon size ziplock bags to put poopy /vomit covered paper towels in. Keep them handy in the car/hotel rm.

[didgery]

I second all these suggestions: Collar and ID. Leash on a harness or second collar. Microchip.

I moved from Boston to Northwest Washington a few years ago. I was in a Geo Metro with my aussie, my cattle dog, my husband, and two rats. We camped, avoiding motels until the last night. Rough weather had left us and our camping gear so drenched in mud and muck that we just HAD to have a shower.

We stayed on the road constantly unless we were at our campsite resting . . . restaurants, sight-seeing, etc. was out as we couldn’t risk having the car heat up. The pets did fine.

I would actually avoid things to chew if I were in your shoes, as my dog vomits every time he gnaws more than he’s used to!

Good luck!

[kcgold]

I’d get him microchipped if he isn’t already (and register the info)…if he ever got away and slipped his collar, it provides the best chance of getting re-united…

[scierra]

I just did a move from AZ to Ind with my Bull Mastiff. She rode in the back seat, I had it packed so it made a level bed so she could have room to stretch out. I drove straight through so not quite as long of a trip as yours. I did stop every half tank of gas to let her out to stretch her legs and do business. She rode fine and arrived at our destination happy and rested. I did have a collar on her with my cell number, my mom’s land-line (our final destination), and it also said “chipped”. The only vet records I kept handy were her rabies cert.
Good luck with the move

[handydandyjake]

Not quite what you’re looking for, but I recently did a cross-country drive with cats. The biggest issue I had was with dehydration - I don’t know if you feed a dry kibble normally or not, but I (gradually, before the actual drive began) switched the cats to wet food for the trip and I recommend thinking about doing the same for your pup to at least get some guaranteed water into them.

We didn’t book any pet-friendly hotels along the way and every single one we stopped at was fine with the cats, so if you don’t make your booked reservations, don’t stress, you’ll find another no problem. In fact, I definitely recommend the Price-Line negotiatior for hotel rooms the night of, it’s a great way to save a few extra bucks.

The cats were excellent for the trip, they adjusted and slept during the drive and were bonkers hopping around the hotel room all night. But we all made it safe and sound!

[outside_line1]

We move every 2-3 years due to the military and have had at least one pet on every trip. I always worry and plan like a maniac, and the animals always handle it just fine.

Many great suggestions so far, so I will just add some I haven’t seen: call the hotels ahead of time and verify the pet policy. Have that info (when you called, who you spoke to) with you just in case. Unfortunately the policy stated on the website is not always current.

If it’s cold/raining and your dog needs to stretch, stop at a town with a Lowes. Well behaved dogs on leashes are welcome to walk around Lowes - so your pup can stretch his legs without you getting soaked/frozen.

If you have a smartphone, some apps to get: HotelFinder - lets you search for pet-friendly hotels on your route (I used this to book hotels on the fly when our itinerary changed due to a blizzard), Waze - great for navigation and finding rest stops/avoiding speed traps or traffic, and there are a couple of apps for finding dog parks, vets, etc - I think the one I have is called PetMD Pet Services Finder. Hopefully you won’t need any of that but it’s good to be ready for anything!

I have found that even my well-behaved, quiet dog may get anxious and act up when she’s alone in a strange place. We travel with a soft-sided pop up type crate so no one is loose and unsupervised in a hotel room. We also learned to turn on HGTV or Animal Planet if we do leave a pet in the room - seems to help keep them from ‘lonely barking’. (Next time we move will be our first move with 2 dogs - I think we will ditch the crate and DH and I will take turns supervising them and order pizza/take out whenever possible.)

Kong toys full of peanut butter (and then frozen, if possible) are another good way to deter barking if you leave your dog in a hotel room. I think it’s better not to leave them, but if you have to, you can do a lot to ensure that they will behave.

I think a blog would be a lot of fun - even though moving is stressful, it is also a great adventure and a great story to share! Good luck!

[Casey09]

Use a restraint in your vehicle for her safety and yours-a crate or a dog seatbelt. Be aware that hotels may have rat or bug poison out. Take a crate. I would use a martingale style collar that she can’t slip. ID is very important. It will be easier since it is cooler now. Take your time and you should be fine. I think there is some kind of trick with lemons to treat water.

[Kaytaz86]

I’ve done VT to WY twice now with my heeler. The first time she was barely a year old, and we camped the whole way- she was a trooper. I think the biggest thing with her is that she grew up in a car, so she’s pretty happy to hang out there. The second time was this last summer, and we went roundtrip to pick up furniture. Both times, I would let her out at every gas-stop, seemed to be often enough for her. (And, due to trucks with trailers, we were burning through gas like nobody’s business, so it was probably a stop every 2-3 hours which is about when my bladder was going to explode anyway!)
This last time, she wouldn’t drink for me…couldn’t figure out why, and then I realized that although she’s a very mellow and confident dog, she was afraid I’d drive off without her! So, I’d let her out, take her to pee, throw her frisbee a bunch, and then put her in the truck with her water. She’d drink immediately, and then I’d dump it and drive off.
I think it will be fine, just expect a very busy BC when you finally arrive! Have fun!

[oliverreed]

All good advice. I did a cross country trip with two cats years ago - L.A. to MA. Got myself kitty tranquilizers before we left as I was traveling with an unbelievably vocal and fairly nervous half siamese kitten. The only thing the tranqs did was make her woozy. She yowled and howled non stop all the way across the country. Pooped in her cat carrier repeatedly which in turn caused me to puke out the window repeatedly.

It was a fun trip.

[meupatdoes]

I recently moved from TX to WNY which was two days of driving the horse trailer and brought my 12lb dachshund/terrier mix with me.
Perhaps for us it is a different situation because Lily is quite used to car travel and was already well established to “go in your house!” (the “house” is a duffel bag looking pet carrier) and curl up in there belted snugly into the passenger seat. Whenever she comes along anywhere she always goes in her house, so when she sees “the house” come out she comes running because it signifies that she gets to come along rather than having to stay home while I’m out.

She also goes on planes in her house (under the seat in front, never cargo!) so she is used to spending 8+ hours at a stretch in it. It is her “come along” house that she is happy in.

A couple weeks ago did a marathon horse trailering trip that Lily came along for and it was 14 hours of driving the one day and 7.5 the next. She stayed happily in her house and went for a pit stop on the leash at the gas station. Normally she goes out before I leave for work and then when I come home from work, so I try to keep the schedule roughly the same. Other than that I did not pull over any extra times; I just let her out when the truck needed gas. She got her dinner in the passenger footwell at around the same time she normally gets it.

But then again, this is a dog who is very accustomed to coming along everywhere in her house so to her whether it is 15 minutes or 15 hours she is just happy to get to come along in her house.

[glfprncs]

I’ve traveled between SC and CO many, many times with 2 or 3 dogs on each trip. Mine are all fantastic travelers and sleep while the car is moving. I think everyone has given you really good advice thus far…

One thing that, to me, has become a godsend are dog seatbelts. Mine wear them now every time they’re in the car (except the dog who is crated). While I appreciate the fact that in the event of an accident, they may not become a projectile through the windshield, the best thing is that when you stop and open the car door, the dog cannot go bounding out as they are tethered to the car (either to the seatbelt or I actually tether the doggy seatbelt to the d-rings in the cargo area of my car. Makes stopping much easier and safer, IMO. I’ve heard horror stories of dogs getting loose at roadside rests or in gas station parking lots. : (