We travel with our dogs whenever we can. Zoe and Punkin have seen more of the United States than most humans I know. Sometimes when we venture out on the town, we have to leave them in the hotel. We make it so comfortable for them, that sometimes they don’t even seem to notice that we are gone. Here are a few pet friendly travel tips on how to keep your dogs happy and quiet when leaving them in hotels. All it takes is a few minutes to prepare your pet friendly hotel room and they should be ready to go!
- When you check into your room make sure to bring your luggage, your pets food, and their bedding in immediately. The smell is comforting and the dogs will feel a little more at home in the hotel knowing that there are things in the room that smell familiar.
- Once the dogs are settled in, we make it a point to leave the room. We take a short stroll around the hotel and come back into the room 15 – 20 minutes later. This keeps the dogs from having separation anxiety because they know we are not abandoning them. It also let’s us know if they are going to bark or not when we leave for a longer period of time.
- I immediately shut the toilet. My dogs never drink out of the toilet at home, but for some reason, hotel toilet water seems to be a delicacy.
- Pick up all of the garbage cans and put them on counter tops out of reach. I cannot tell you how many times we have returned to our room to find torn up tissue rolls and bits of soap wrapper everywhere. They never do this at home either. Traveling causes some stress for pets so they tend to act up. Zoe also likes to snack on hotel soaps. We have found this out the hard way, several times :(
- I always lay out Zoe’s blanket and pillows in a chair or a corner of the room for her. This let’s her know to stay out of the bed. I also put their favorite stuffed turtle in the room so they can snuggle him and feel safe. Dogs are den animals, and having a space of their own is very important to keep them un-stressed.
- I leave the TV or radio on when we go out. The noise seems to lull the dogs to sleep. If they should bark at something, hopefully the sound will also block out the barking. It also does a good job of filtering out noise coming from the hallway.
- Make sure to leave your pets with a sufficient amount of water for the amount of time you are gone. Remember that stress causes dogs to pant and panting makes them extra thirsty.
- If you are leaving your pets alone for more than a few hours, take them for a nice long stroll before you go. This gives them some quality time with you and also ensures nap time for them while you are gone.
- Give lots of love and lots of treats before leaving. Leave toys and chew sticks or bones so they have something constructive to occupy their time. Bored pets will find something to chew. Make sure that it is a toy!
- ALWAYS PUT UP THE DO NOT DISTURB SIGN! You don’t want an angry room attendant making a phone call and dragging you back to the hotel away from your fun, or worse, the hotel asking you to vacate your room.
These easy pet friendly travel tips will ensure that you and your pet have a happy, stress-free journey. Ramble on!
If you enjoyed these Pet Friendly Travel Tips, you may also enjoy these related posts.
A Guide to Pet Friendly Sedona Arizona
Dog Water Safety Tips
Safe Car Travel with your Dog
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Hi,
Just spotted your post via Twitter, this is such good advice! I’ve always wanted to take our dog away with us, but worry about how to do it basically…Husband beware, next trip is with dog (and kids!0 in tow!
We’re glad you liked it! We started on short trips with the doggies and now they travel cross-country. Let us know how your trip goes :-)
Super good post!
Thanks Laurie. Most of these things are second nature to us now :) but it is still all very good advice.
Great advice guys!! We ALWAYS travel with my 2 girls (half chihuahua/half jack russell mutts) and they do great. And we do much of the same things. #1, 6 and #10 are probably the MOST important in my opinion. Nothing worse than the maid letting them out!
One thing I have to add though, only after a terrible pet stay in Atlanta. (Avoid the Peachtree Wyndham in downtown Atlanta if you have dogs with you.) When booking a pet friendly hotel, ask about an area to walk them. I never would have thought this an issue as we have stayed in LOTS of pet friendly rooms and never had a problem until last summer. It was upon check in, at 10PM in the rain, that when I asked the hotel clerk at the Wyndham, where the pet walk was and I was told to walk 4 blocks to Olympic Park! Alone, at night, at 5′-0″, unarmed! Needless to say, we had a rough week at this hotel. So I have now added to our list of questions when booking a pet-friendly hotel… do you have a pet run or walking area? or at least a median in the parking lot? or something??
Thanks for another great read!
Great Point! We normally stay in the suburb of a city so those hotels typically have a pet area, but we have run into that when staying at a hotel in the heart of a city.
We’re just beginning to explore the idea of pet travel. What do you do if the dog decides to flip out while you’re gone? Any advice specific to the first time hotel pet traveler?
Well, that’s a tough situation to handle sometimes. It’s why we recommend leaving the room for 10 minutes or so then returning. Normally a dog flips out because of separation anxiety or boredom. If you leave then come back they know they aren’t going to be abandoned. We also bring familiar blankets and toys so it feels like home to them . This also makes them more comfortable and less likely to flip out. You can also leave them with snacks like busy bones and other chew toys that take a little while to chew through.
Som pet friendly hotels are very good at providing comforts for your dog such as a blanket, bowl and a bone, certainly in the high end hotels. My top tip though for travelling with your dog is to plan ahead. Do your research before you go looking for dog friendly restaurants, beaches and attractions so that you don’t feel tied down by your dog whilst you’re away.
i am glad that you have shared so much info for traveling tips and hotels room for that.
Its nice that the travel tips are great for prepare hotel rooms for dogs when travelling.
Hi Lauren, I love your article, and I was relieved to come across it, as my husband and I are going to have to start taking our dog with us to hotel rooms while we are out working in different states. My mom-in-law enjoys having him with her for a companion while we are away, but he has started to show signs of anxiety separation ever since we got back from a 10-month work stint, (if we run to the store, or are gone overnight visiting my parents), so I can imagine what it will be like from here on out, when we leave to go and work for weeks and/or months on end. We’ve decided that it’s time to start taking him with us, and besides that, we miss him so badly when we’re away from home. However, I have concerns about him barking and howling, while he is left alone in the room for several hours, while we’re out inspecting houses. We will never be leaving him alone all day, only for a few hours in the mornings or afternoons. I am afraid that if a hotel attendant or hotel guests hear him, that we would end up getting kicked out of the room. Our dog has never stayed in a hotel room before, either. Any suggestions other than what you have already suggested in your article to prevent barking? What are your thoughts on anti-anxiety pet meds? I have never used any, and would rather not…We just can’t afford to get kicked out of hotel rooms and moving to other hotels. Thank you very much for your time and suggestions, I greatly appreciate it!
Oops! I meant to say a 10-WEEK work stint…Not 10 months! LOL.
Liz shoot us an email and we will be more than happy to reply with all of the pet traveling tips that we have used for years :) lauren@theconstantrambler.com :)