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You may be part of the growing group of people who enjoy traveling by recreational vehicle. You may also be one of those individuals who have, or at least desire, to take you pet with you on vacation.
If you’ve yet to take your pet on an RV trip, there are a variety of strategies that you need to keep in mind to ensure that your pet is safe while traveling, and actually enjoys the trip.
Proper Identification and Microchip
Before departing on your RV trip, make sure that your pet has a proper tag on the collar. This holds true for a dog or cat. If you are like most pet owners, your dog already wears a collar and tag all of the time. If you have a cat, he or she may not typically wear a collar.
You need to not fret about a cat injuring his or her self when wearing a collar. There are reliable collars that automatically release if it snags onto something while your car is moving about.
If your pet has yet to be microchipped, get it done before you hit the road. If your pet is microchipped, but your information connected with the chip resource is not current, bring it up to date immediately. For example, if you moved your changed your phone number, updating is vital.
Update Vaccinations
Before you head out in your RV with your pet, make certain that his or her vaccinations are all up-to-date. Make sure you travel with official documentation confirming that your pet’s vaccinations are up-to-date.
Keep in mind that vaccination requirements may vary from one state to another depending on where you travel. Make sure that you educate yourself on the pet vaccinations requirements of any state you will be in during your RV travels. This includes a state through which you only plan to pass through and not stop beyond dealing with necessities like refueling. The last you thing you will want to have happen is for your pet to be taken from you and quarantined because you lack proper certification about vaccinations being current, and of the type required in a particular jurisdiction.
Proper Crate for Your Pet
You also need to make certain that you really do have an appropriate crate for your pet. The reality is that your pet will spend a good amount of time crated while traveling by RV.
There are crates that are approved by the USDA. These represent the types of products that you should seek in order to ensure your pet does have the safest type of crate available.
Size is also important when it comes to your pet’s crate while traveling. It needs to be large enough so that your pet comfortably can stand and turn completely around, comfortably and without any issue.
Pack Food for the Entire Trip
Some individuals who plan a longer RV trip do not pack enough pet food for the entire trek. They conclude that purchasing food along the way is easier than packing everything needed in advance of taking off.
By packing enough food for the entire trip you ensure that you have what your pet is used to eating available to him or her from start to finish. As mentioned previously, travel can be stressful, at least to some degree, for a pet. If you discover that you cannot find your pet’s brand of food while on the road, you add to that stress.
You also better monitor your pet’s health and wellness by packing food needed for the entire trip. Like most pet owners, you likely have spent some time determining what food is best for your pet. Your pet’s health and wellness needs do not vanish simply because you take to the road for a vacation in your RV.
Prepare for an Emergency
Before traveling, identify veterinary clinics along your route, including emergency centers. Odds are that you will never need to see a vet while traveling by RV with your pet. Nonetheless, the old cliché of “better safe than sorry” absolutely rings true in this type of situation.
You might want to think about taking out a pet insurance policy. In this way, you will have at least some coverage if your pet becomes ill while on the road. In the alternative, make sure you can access funds needed to cover veterinary assistance, if needed, while on the road with your pet.
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Jessica Kane is a writer for Handicapped Pets, your most trusted source for dog wheelchairs and harnesses.
I found this an informative post. We had an old dog that could have used one of those doggie wheelchair devices in the past, whom we had to put down because he couldn’t walk anymore. This would helped out a lot, so I’m glad to know the product is out there.