I’ll be out of touch for the next week or so, as I’m taking the doggies on a road trip. I am taking some time off of work so that we can go to Florida — whoo hoo! I found a great Orlando pet hotel to stay at, and since we’re driving down, we’re stopping on the way to visit friends in Saint Louis, Missouri. They offered to put us up so that we don’t have to look for dog friendly hotels at our halfway point.
Today, though, I wanted to talk about something that always worries me — the possibility of losing my dogs while I’m on the road. When you are in an unfamiliar place, having a dog run off would be disastrous, especially if you are on a time table. Here are a few things I do to help protect me from that happening. They are not fool proof, but they sure make it much less likely.
- Lots of recall training. Recall is your dog’s ability to come right back to you when you call. Unfortunately, this is a skill that many people don’t take the time to teach. I highly suggest, if you plan on traveling with your dog, doing a lot of practice on coming when you call, with a dog trainer if necessary. It’ll make it much less likely that you won’t be able to get him back if he runs off in a strange town.
- Microchip. Microchips can be done by your vet, and don’t cost all that much when you consider the peace of mind they can give you. The chip is placed between your pet’s shoulder blades, and can be scanned by any vet or the pound. As long as you keep the chip updated with your most current address and phone number, you can be contacted if your pet is found. Don’t forget to use your cell phone number as a contact number, as someone calling your home won’t do you much good if you are on the road!
- Always keep a collar and tags on your dog. Be sure that his tags also have your cell phone number on them, and that he wears his rabies tag, too. A rabies tag is especially important, considering many places are pretty strict about pets having them. Carrying a copy of your pet’s latest immunization records might not be a bad idea, either, in case your pet gets out of his collar.
It’s impossible to protect against losing your pet entirely, but it is important to take all the right precautions. These are some things you can do to keep your pet as safe as possible — and your trip stress-free!
