How to Move Cross-Country With Dogs
I’ll admit it. I was a bit too confident when moving cross-country with my dogs. We travel with our dogs a lot, so I thought our cross-country journey would be a piece of cake–I was wrong. Recently, we moved across the country and I learned some valuable lessons while stuck in a car with my husband and two dogs during a 17-hour road trip that never seemed to end (it should’ve been a 15-hour trip). If you’re traveling longer than 10 hours, it pays to be proactive and plan before the big trip.
Stop Every 3-4 Hours
I know you want to get there as fast as possible, but trust me take 15 minutes and potty your dogs every 3-4 hours. Our cross-country road trip presented many obstacles, including a horrendous sandstorm and ridiculously long traffic jams that extended our journey by 2 long hours. When humans and dogs haven’t pottied in 5 hours, it quickly becomes a painful experience, especially when the delay was completely involuntary. Set a timer on your watch and stop at safe rest areas. You never know what can happen during your journey.
Freeze Lots of Food Stuffed Toys
This is a must-have. Just like children, dogs can get restless during long drives. Travel savvy dogs mostly sleep, but when stuck in a car for extended amounts of time, they become agitated just like their pet owners. Give your dog something to do while traveling.
Plan to bring one food stuffed toy for every 4 hours traveled per dog. So, you’ll need 2-3 frozen food stuffed toys per dog for a 10-hour drive. And pack extra frozen food stuffed toys! I learned my lesson when I didn’t pack enough food stuffed toys. I had to improvise while traveling, so I stuffed toys with nuts and crackers from the gas station.
Keep Your Dog’s Regular Meal Schedule
You have a few feeding options here, but make sure your dogs eat at their regular time per your past time zone (the time zone at your starting location). It can become confusing quickly when traveling through several time zones, so beware when crossing into different time zones. It’s posted on the interstate.
As for feeding, I recommend stuffing your dog’s meal in a food stuffed toy. If you feed kibble (dog food), layer kibble and peanut butter over and over until the toy is filled, then freeze over night before your trip. Keep frozen toys in your cooler and toss in your dog’s crate when it’s meal time. If your dog is larger, than divide meals into several food stuffed toys and feed every 4 hours after each rest area stop.
Don’t Forget Your Dog First Aid Kit
Thankfully, we packed our dog first aid kit, but we’ve never needed it until this cross-country trip. We stopped to potty our dogs at night when one dog cut his pad on a sharp rock. We promptly cleaned up the area using a flashlight packed in the first aid kit, wrapped it up and were on our way. Make sure your dog first aid kit is packed in an easily accessible area; you don’t want to unpack to find it.
Play Soothing Music For Dogs & People
Oh my gosh, this helped us so much! Whenever we were stuck in traffic or stopped during a sandstorm, we played soft music. Whenever someone (dogs included) became restless, we switched to our soft music CD. Within minutes of soft music playing, our dogs would settle down and sleep. As for humans, we slowly chugged caffeine drinks, but settled in nicely too.
While you can’t plan for everything, it’s pretty satisfying having everything you need while traveling across the country. Good luck during your journey. May roads be clear and the weather perfect!
