Roadtrips or travel with a dog? Our top tips...

Roadtrippin' with your furry friend? Gracie’s health and comfort on a long trip in our old motorhome is crucial. She’s our fur baby after all. We definitely didn’t get it all right to start off with so here's some of what we've learned about roadtrips and travel with a dog....

Here goes! Our top ten tips for taking your precious pup away with you (including the crowd-pleasing dog travel carrier (backpack) above which comes with a health warning as you'll be photographed A LOT….

1. Giving them a chance to get used to the van before your roadtrips or travel with a dog. With short trips and weekends away before any long roadtrip - even if they’re great in a car (like ours is)! We’d found that chilling in the van with a cuppa for us and some treats for her for an hour or so without travelling at all was really helpful in the days running up to any trip.
   

2. Something to carry your fur baby in! Do you have a small-medium sized dog? As pictured above, we bought a really high quality dog travel carrier - a backpack. Sounds bonkers, we know, but Gracie shocked us by immediately loving hers and now we can all go further afield on the bikes together! Watch Gracie having the time of her life in it on a bike ride in Champagne, France. It took a little getting used to get her into it the first few times but there's helpful guides online and you'll find your own way easily enough.

   
   

   Note that this has been a complete game-changer for us as it means, generally, that we can park up and use public transport as most buses/trains etc in France and Spain allow (smaller) dogs in secure carriers such as this. Note that they won't be fooled by popping her in any old bag. Trust us, we tried! We're even using this out walking sometims now too. A long day in a city (especially after a long journey in the camper) is exhausting for Gracie so she chill for a bit when she needs to. She is just having so much fun and seeing so much more as well as enjoying the occasional nap in it! We're pretty sure she just enjoys the security of being close to one of us and, because of the design, she feels safe and secure (there are straps behind her back to ensure this). If you're thinking about getting one (and we suggest you do as it's just amazing), just make sure you measure up and get the correct size for your doggo. Gracie is just under 8kg and quite small (bigger than a Chihuahua - similar size to a Jack Russell) and she fits the 'small' sized backpack perfectly.

   
   

3. Make sure that they can travel safely. We use a very simple harness, like this one, which simply attaches to the head of the drivers seat in our van. She travels in the habitation so she's protected if we do hit the brakes suddenly for some reason. There's lots of different things on the market but it's the law to use something in most countries so we had to read the local rules before travel, of course. Our fur baby isn't used to being crated so that wasn't an option for us (and takes up too much space anyway)!
   

4. Choosing the right bed was important for us as we wanted something comfy for her but not too big as we also pull it in and out of van so she can join us outside, depending on the weather. Speaking of which, so that Gracie can be outside with us as much as she fancies, we use this pet ground stake and lead. In fact, it's one of the first things that we set up when we land so she can have a sniff while we're setting up the awning etc. We've just found that we need to be careful to ensure that she can't reach the road (even on a campsite) at full length. That way we can all relax!
   

5. Creating a super safe space in the campervan. Our doggo can go underneath our motorhome's habitation area table when she’s a little anxious (but not while travelling, of course). Thunderstorms can be much louder in a van so this feels really important for her. We always ensure that there’s space for her there, even when we have our spare water bottles and 'off-grid' friendly powerstation hiding under there too.
   

6. Plenty of treats helped to get Gracie used to new noises and spaces. We had to try plenty of different treats on arrival in France until we found the right selection for her as we had to ditch the last of them before crossing the border, of course (sadly)! If you're already in the EU, you're laughing though!
   

7. Pre plan the 'en route' stops. Park4Night and other apps/tools like Searchforsites (read more on navigation and how to find places to stay here) usually give a good idea of what’s around for your motorhome. Otherwise, we just search along our route until we find a park or a river! An extendable lead means your dog can at least have a nice long wander and sniff for some stimulation if it's 'on lead' only. This has been super important to us to ensure that Gracie gets regular breaks, especially while she was still getting used to the camper and it's MANY noises (remember, ours is old)!
   

8. We wish that we'd researched pet food (and stores) earlier but we fell foul of this and found it frustratingly difficult to find quality pet food early on arrival in Europe. We used supermarkets at the beginning but have found that even the big ones have remarkably limited choice but this will clearly depend where you are on your travels. For us, in Spain, we use Tiendanimal as they have a wide selection and many of the better known brands. We, personally, have found supermarkets (generally) to be very poor for quality dog food. Luckily Gracie isn't too fussy but this would've been a nightmare if she was!
   

9. Bring enough medication. We initially took three months of flea and worm tablets with us so we wouldn’t find ourselves short. It's a good idea to bring any other treatments too (i.e. we have Nutripaw Anti-itch supplements which we swear by as well as Otridine ear wash with us too).

   
   

   Also, we found out later that we needed a liquid (or collar) tick and flea treatment (we use Advantix) as diseases/parasites like leishmaniasis are absolutely rife in the south of Spain so this is super important as a flea tablet won't protect against ticks.

   
   

10. Last but definitely not least is pet insurance for travel. We knew we needed to have enough European cover (or cover for wherever you’re off to!) We swear by Waggel who we’ve used for years and they’re straight forward, honest and have paid out quickly and easily. We wouldn’t use anyone else (while we’re UK based)!

    
    

    EDIT: As we're now well over three months in Europe, we've had to cancel our Waggel pet insurance policy, which is a real shame. We're now with PetPlan Spain which, interestingly, doesn't provide as much (in value) cover but that's because prices are generally much lower in Spain, where we're predominantly based when we're not moving about in the van. We shall see how that goes as we haven't had to claim yet (luckily)!

OK, we promised ten but we fibbed as there’s another tip that was super important for us….

Take spares of everything! Rain or a little bit of mis-guided poop after a doggo tummy upset can cause havoc in a small space with no bathtub or shower (that we can feasibly use for Gracie), as we obviously found out. BLEARGH. Despite limited space, we have two harnesses, two normal leads (and an extending one), her Mutt Mop (and a spare towel as back up), and two little rain jackets - the zoomies is a challenge in a van (as we’ve learned the hard way! To be honest, a foldable doggo sized tub would've been a good idea too but that will depend on the size of your dog and isn’t always practical. We haven't got the space.

Gracie even has two collars but that’s because her address changed when we crossed the border.

One last thing if you have an anxious dog (perhaps a rescue or adopted dog like Gracie).... We support the fabulous business, My Anxious Dog, who sell very bright yellow leads, harnesses and other accessories with messages to let others know that your dog is anxious and to encourage them to keep their distance or just be be cautious and aware of your pup's vulernability or reactiveness. Their fab accessories come with different messages depending on what you're trying to portray (i.e. 'keep away' vs simply 'anxious'). These are increasingly widely recognised and can save lots of heartache for you all. If this feels like you and your pooch, you can use the discount code GRACIEISARESCUE at https://myanxiousdog.co.uk/ if you do decide to buy something and hopefully make things a little more comfortable for you all as your dog grows and adapts.

Buen viaje and have fun (you won't regret it)!

[Don't forget to check out our roadtrip tips or blogs on life in Spain for more on travel with your pup!]