New Adventures- Helping a dog survive her first night in a hotel

[yellowbritches]

I will be traveling with my ladies in a few weeks, and we’ll require an overnight in a hotel on both ends of our trips. My older dog, Stella, is a seasoned traveling professional who is better traveled than a lot of humans, has stayed in a ton of hotels, and is a pretty chill dog. Not much causes her to raise a fuss, so I can count on her to stay quiet and content in even the busiest of hotels.

However, her little friend, my fluffy little Rita, is kind of your stereotypical small dog. She is reactive and will bark at unfamiliar noises or people and animals not doing what she deems is correct (we’re working on it, but it’s a slow process). I’m worried that we’ll be in for a long night in a hotel of her raising a fuss and me fussing back at her and Stella just sighing dramatically.

She’s a good little dog otherwise, and I’m excited for her first BIG trip (we went to Pittsburgh a few months ago, which was her first OFFICIAL road trip), and she’s going to get to experience some cool doggy things (she’ll get to go to the beach!!). Looking for any suggestions to help us have restful nights in the hotels (we’ll be at my mom’s house once we reach FL). I typically leave the TV on, even when just traveling with Stella, for ambient noise for both of us (I’m a light sleeper), so will DEFINITELY do this for Miss Rita. I also don’t plan to leave them in the hotel room alone, or at least not for extended amounts of time (I can do this with Stella, but I rather not try it with Rita). When I book the rooms, I will ask for a room that is quiet without too much traffic by it. I’m hoping I can run her a bit ragged, too, before settling in for the night, but, at least the night going down we’ll probably be arriving around 10 at the hotel. Any other ideas on how to help her first hotel stay be as calm as possible?

[Grover]

I have one that barks at every little sound and she does much better in motels where the door opens to the outside. You don’t get people walking past your room talking or the click of doors closing in the hallway or elevators dinging. For my little one who is newer to traveling we bring her favorite snuggle toy (not one she plays wild games of fetch with!) so she has something familiar that smells like home. A good chewy - not messy, lasts at least 10 minutes - helps everyone unwind and settle in for the night.

[S1969]

You never know; she might surprise you. I just traveled halfway across the country with my dogs for a show - and my 15 month old puppy had never spent the night anywhere but home. 10 days on the road and 6 different hotels and he was amazing.

He didn’t love it, and he was stressed in the hotel, but he was quiet.

You’ve outlined the best options - ask for ground floor/close to back exit…tire them out (although traveling is exhausting), if they have a special toy/blankie, etc. bring it. (My dogs suck on fleece dog beds…so embarrassing but they really “need” them on trips.)

Be prepared to get up early. That’s really the only thing. Once they were awake around 4:30-5:00…that was it. They wanted walking, feeding, etc.

Good luck!

[EquestrianRunner]

No suggestions-- but have fun! And I will be using some of these tips when I take my dog on a hotel road trip!

[vacation1]

My dog spent part of her first night in a motel room in Very Alert mode, as a BC mix who felt the universe needed her guidance at all times. She relaxed after a while, having had a very long drive, but yes, did wake up at 5am for walkies. Thank God she was a big, wolfy-looking dog as 5am in a half-empty motel is a little creepy. It was a budget motel. A few years ago, we stayed at a nicer place, an extended-stay Marriot, and the soundproofing on the rooms was much better. So go as pricey as you can Ask for a groundfloor room near an exit door if you stay at a hotel rather than motel.

Ideas:

1. Distraction - as in, oh, you’re barking? Let’s trim those nails. Or, Hey, I brought that Santa hat you hate! Let’s put that on.
2. Muffling - Walmart, Target, etc. all sell pretty effective noise/light muffling drapes. I’ve found these very helpful in lowering the stimuli at home, so maybe draping one over the hotel door or the dog’s crate would help.
3. Food - more distraction, but nicer for dog. Home is where the food is.

Although I do remember Dog waking me at some point in the night with a single sharp bark, when someone walked past the room. They kept going and she came back to bed like “I fixed that.”

[GraceLikeRain]

Do you have a good sound machine? There are several good phone apps that can work in a pinch but that won’t help a lot if you want to run out of the room. Whenever I travel with my guy and have to leave him in the room I put a white noise machine on fairly loud and by the door. I also turn the TV on to a talk show so that any overhead hallway talking blends in with the TV.

Overnight you can also click on the fan in the bathroom to create even more consistent background noise and drape a blackout blanket over the crate on three sides.

[RPM]

Sounds like a fun trip! I’m glad you have a beach to go to that allows dogs!

I hope you will be in for a long night at the hotel and not a short one by getting kicked out because your dog is disturbing the other guests.

Can your vet give you something to calm her down, at least at night?

[bdj]

Second the idea to stay at motels (with outside corridors) rather than hotels - Red Roof Inns are dog-friendly and generally easy to deal with.

I’m going to suggest that under no circumstances do you leave the dogs in a room alone. It’s limiting, but when I travel (which I do pretty extensively with my girls for competitions), the dogs ride along and hang out in their crates in the car whenever I have to go out. This means that I usually only get to sit down to a meal in a restaurant with friends when the weather allows, and that when it’s hot, I get take out and eat in the motel room with the dogs. It’s just the sacrifice you make when you travel with pets - and honestly, I think my dogs are happier hanging out in their familiar crates than they would be in an unfamiliar hotel room.

When you get to your motel, close the drapes (who wants random strangers looking in at you anyway?), and adjust the HVAC unit so that the fan blows continuously - I find that makes for really good white noise.

If you can, ask for a room that’s on the ground floor and away from the stairs, and depending on the location, I try for the side of the building that’s away from the road, and as S1969 said, when the dogs get up in the morning, you get up.

Oh, and don’t forget to take a sheet or blanket to toss over the hotel comforter! (And if you forget to do that - don’t go to the nearest Walmart and get the super-on-sale microfiber sheet - they’re too slippy to stay on the darn bed!)

[betsyk]

We took ours into bed with us (ssssh!) and kept them snuggled all night. I remember one barking session (3 or 4 barks, not a jag) in response to the dog next door who barked at something outside, but ours were amazingly good. The first floor room with outside access was actually harder for them because there was more dog traffic going past the door. We stayed at another place that put is in an inside end room, and it was really quiet and so were the dogs.

Some of my best memories are traveling cross country with the dogs. Have fun!

[S1969]

[QUOTE=betsyk;9002929]
We took ours into bed with us (ssssh!) and kept them snuggled all night. [/QUOTE]

Oh, we’re not supposed to do that? Mine always sleep in my bed in hotels.

[yellowbritches]

Yeah…Stella has always slept on the bed with me in hotels. Oops!

I honestly don’t think it will be too bad. She’s a good little dog and tends to follow Stella’s lead, so my guess is if Stella jumps up on bed and goes to sleep, she will too, with maybe me having to remind her or distract her a couple of times that she doesn’t need to tell us someone walked by the door. Hell, she might be totally fine and this all a non-issue!

RPM- there is a dog beach near my mom’s house, as well as a state park they can go to on leash, I believe. Stella went to the dog beach last year and loved it. Rita isn’t the water dog that Stella is, but she is learning to appreciate it!

[bdj]

I thought of something else - I also like to bring a new toy that I know the girls will like (so I’m usually bringing 2 - my girls don’t share well) so we have something fun to play with. A little game of hotel room fetch and a good meal can be great ways to acclimate the dogs to a new hotel room, and distract them from unusual outside noises.

Honestly, I bet she’ll do fine, YB - she’s got a good role model and you’re a good dog mom - it’ll just be another fun new adventure for little Miss Rita!

[Bicoastal]

Bring sheets to put over the beds. Definitely find a motel-type option without a hallway of traffic going by your door. Hotels tend to clump the dogs together, which is good and bad, as your dog hears every jingle-jangle of other dogs.

Ask to not be near any stairwells or higher-traffic areas. Park as close to your door as possible and consider leaving her in the car if she’s going to make noise all night. Definitely do not leave her in the room alone ever; into the car. The majority of places have a rule stating no pets unsupervised in rooms, anyway.

Will she settle into a crate or bed? That can be really helpful.

Here is a random list of items for generalized or situational anxiety:

DAP diffuser or collar
Rescue Remedy
Lavender oil on bedding
Thundershirt
L-theanine
Melatonin
Xanax

[EquestrianRunner]

Keep us posted!!! Bailey and I want to hear all about this adventure!

[GoodTimes]

We just moved back to Ontario from Alberta last week. 3 days in the car, and two hotel rooms. We stayed at Comfort Inns both nights as they have walk out rooms on the main floor so it was easy to take her out before bed and in the morning. I was able to find quiet areas outside to tire her out with some fetch before bed. I also gave her some Comfort Calm before bed so she could chill out. We left the tv on both nights as well.

Please don’t leave them in the hotel alone. Hotels actually have the right most places to enter your room and remove the dog if they’ve been left alone and are disturbing other guests.

[RPM]

I’m glad about the dog-friendly beaches. One of my favorite vacation spots allows dogs on leash during certain hours during peak season, and off leash any time the rest of the year. I think that is a great idea, both for visitors and for residents!

My cats have slept with me in hotel beds. I didn’t know they weren’t “supposed” to! :eek: :winkgrin:

[yellowbritches]

My cats have slept with me in hotel beds. I didn’t know they weren’t “supposed” to!

I actually work in hospitality and we have a few rooms that are pet friendly. We don’t allow pets on the furniture (we have a pet policy that guests have to sign), but we also have antiques and very high end upholstery and linens in our rooms. I have actually never seen anywhere I’ve stayed with dogs that they are not allowed on furniture- just that I am responsible for any damages. So far, never been charged for dog hair on the bed!

[yellowbritches]

Hi all!! Just wanted to update everyone. I’m actually sitting next to Rita on the couch in our hotel room. She has been a total pro! She even rode in her first elevator last night! We did end up in a HUGE suite, which I’m sure is helping (the bedroom is away from the door to the hall), but even so, she walked in last night and just followed Stella’s lead of setting right in. Woot!!!

Leaving shortly to finish our drive to FL! Hoping the temps start to climb soon.

[EquestrianRunner]

YAY!!! Keep us posted and take beach pics???

[bdj]

Because I saw your post on Saturday night and also happened to be staying in a hotel room with one of my girls, I figured I’d share a more or less typical night in a hotel with my Number 1 Grrl: https://flic.kr/p/QE4G2t
For the record, yes, that is a king sized bed; she weighs all of 21 pounds and yes, this is pretty much where and how she slept all night. Being the family rockstar has it’s privileges…