Long car trip with dog

[NolaRiordan]

Am driving out of state in a few weeks to visit a friend and contemplating bringing the dog or not. It's about a 6-7 hour drive. The longest drive we've ever had is maybe 30 minutes. How much of a pain is it to travel long distance with a dog? He's generally a good boy on car trips, but I just don't know since we've never been in the car for this long. How often would we need to stop? What else do I need to consider? The dog is fairly big and my car is fairly small though he would have the whole back seat to himself.

[rhiOrion]

I think travelling long distances with a dog who likes the car is a breeze. The longest I've ever done is about 6-7 hours also, and it's really easy.

I'd stop to let the dog use the bathroom at least once or twice, depending on how long the dog usually goes without using the bathroom at home.

I'd bring along a chew toy that won't stain your back seats (if your dog is into chew toys). A kong or something with a little peanut butter inside keeps our dog entertained for along time.

I put a sheet down over my back seat to help keep dog hair off (it doesn't help much), and to avoid dirty paws on my seat, bits of peanut butter, etc.

Make sure to bring a water bottle and a dish. Maybe a few favorite treats.

I know it's wasteful, but I sometimes divide out her meals into ziploc bags, so all i have to do it pull out a ziploc and dump it into a bowl.

We usually take an extra leash, just in case something happens to ours. If your dog is prone to boredom chewing, I'd take the leash off of him in the car. But be sure to put it back on before you open the car door, especially if he's a runner.

[Aries1985]

We drove 8 hours to get my dog when he was 8 weeks old, so car trips were his life. We bought a travel bowl for water and stopped once or twice in a 8 hour trip for him. He also had a seatbelt, which was amazing in a car accident.

[Mom2M]

If he is normally fine in the car, you should have no problem. My dog loved the car and we took several very long car rides with him. Bring water bowls and food and I brought bones. Stop every couple hours to let him get out and walk around and you should be good!

[Chloe'sMama]

We moved cross country with our dogs 2 times and it was no problem. Water every once in a while, a few potty breaks, walk around a few times.... should be no problem.

Just so you know, you may want to look at the vaccination laws in the state or states you will be traveling through. We don't vaccinate our dogs normally, but there were laws about confiscating unvaccinated animals, so we did for both trips cross country. Bring the records (or copies of) if you have him vaccinated, just in case.

Have fun!

[Sarah W]

We've moved cross country with one dog twice and one dog once. They've done numerous 7 hr trips (KW to Orlando and back) Neither are huge fans of the car, but after about 45 min or so, they got used to it. Every bathroom break or when we stop to get gas we would walk them to let them stretch and let them go to the bathroom. I kept a bowl of water in the back as well as food. We'd also get treats for them.

[LeahBoo]

I brought my two dachshund mixes (2 and 14 years old) on a 4 turned 7 hour trip (we stopped a lot). My older one gets anxious so I kept a bunch of cheerios in a cup up front and when she got particularly whiny, I tossed her a handful. She loves food.

[blessedwithboys]

i just got back from a long road trip about a week ago. i brought my adult toy poodle. she adores car rides so it was easy for us. we went from FL to NC then to PA for a few days, then to NY for a week, then NJ overnight, VA overnight, and then back to FL. total breeze. the only issue i had was that she eats BARF. i compromised and bought 5 oz cans of wellness. she ate one can each day. if i had just been me and my pup, we could have stopped for potty breaks only when we needed gas, every 350 mi or so, but it was an SUV filled with...are you ready? LOL me, my 2 adult sisters (one is 5 mos pg!), my 15yo, my 8yo, and my two nieces, ages 8yo and 3yo! the kids and preggo chick had to pee way more often than the dog! haha so we stopped on average every 90 mins for a quick break. each time i gave the dog a quick walk and then a chance to drink some water. she really isnt a big drinker, esp on raw or canned food, so it was all good. smooth sailing for 2 wks of road tripping.

oh, i wanted to add that as a toy poodle, she's not really a terribly active dog. i mean to say that while she loves a good hard romp with my boys, she's equally content to just sit on someones lap for hours on end, which is just what she did in the car. she didnt need toys or chewies to get through the ride. if your dog's more hyper than that, a kong would be great, but we didnt need it.