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hi guys this is Laura from da GU and
today we're gonna be talking about the
top 5 tips for going on a long road trip
with your dog in this video is for my
friend Scott who's going on a long road
trip to Alabama with his dog Stella in a
couple weeks so I thought I'd share with
you guys what I would tell him about
going on a trip with your dog and I'm a
lot of experience with this this summer
in three weeks we did a little over
eight thousand miles with two energetic
herding dogs seeing seven national parks
we've also done four German Shepherds
one cattle dog and two humans and a
minivan down to Florida from Connecticut
in 24 hours so lots of experience
everywhere from British Columbia down to
Florida up to Toronto Holland dogs
everywhere pet dogs and service ox so I
have a lot of experience with dogs on
the road so let's get into our top five
tips for what to do with your dog on a
long road trip so everybody is happy
healthy and comfortable tip number one
don't go for that long trip all at once
to start with
don't throw your dog in the van and say
hey we're gonna drive for fifteen hours
hope you do well we don't want to do
that we want to start with short trips
to your friends houses
maybe a trip for the weekend a couple
hours away then maybe a six hour trip
you want to really build up to that big
trip if you can so that your dog isn't
shocked the first time he has to sit in
a car for a really long period of time
you also know your dog better you'll
know his tolerances you'll know what he
likes you'll know how he settles in the
car and that's really what we want we
want a calm relaxed dog having short
trips that go really well will help
build up to that big longer trip tip
number two exercise your dog first okay
so if you know you're going on a really
big trip tomorrow and you gotta leave it
like 6 a.m. I'm gonna make sure that
today he goes on a really long hike he
goes running with me he goes biking he
does some type of very vigorous exercise
a couple hours if he's tolerant of that
and used to that type of thing so that
he's tired for tomorrow I really want to
pre exercise my dog now if I'm leaving
later in the afternoon I'm gonna do that
exercise in the warming so that they're
really tired on the day of but
you gotta leave really early and that's
not part of it so exercise the day
before don't leave I'm sitting in the
house all day because I know you've got
a pack and you're rushing around and
doing stuff put the time in your
calendar to exercise your dog first then
he'll be a more settled and relaxed
partner as you drive down to wherever
you're going tip number three keep your
dog safe in the car the safest way for
your dog to travel in most cars is in a
crash tested crate in your car away from
the back so you want to keep your dog in
a crate if they'll tolerate it because
it keeps them the most safe in the event
of accident nobody wants an accident to
happen but sometimes it does and having
your dog crated means that they don't
become a projectile or go through your
window I know it's a little dark but it
does happen and nobody expects it to
happen so if you can create your dog the
other reason to create your dog is they
tend to relax more and settle when
they're in a confined space also if you
need to run into the store or get some
gas you know the dog isn't wandering
around the car getting into trouble so
it keeps them safe it keeps them
protected and it gives you the peace of
mind knowing that your dog isn't getting
into any trouble during the ride and
they'll be more likely to relax in a
crate now if you can't create your dog
you want to try and seatbelt your dog
you want to give some way that your dog
is protected in the event of an accident
and stays put when they need to so you
want to get a crash tested seatbelt I'll
put a couple links in the description
below of some seatbelts and some crates
that I use with my own dogs but you
should have some way to contain your dog
on a road trip sitting on your lap while
driving not safe then stepping from the
back into the front while you're driving
can cause an accident you want to make
sure everybody in the car is safe
including your dog tip number four bring
a lot for your dog to do in the car so
that means chewing project a chewing
project is something like a call or
Maribelle and that's what I'm gonna
start out with when I've just been able
to pull them out of the freezer then
usually you're not gonna have a freezer
with you so then you can transition to
something like Bully Sticks tracheas
those kinds of things that are going to
keep your dog entertained
usually a Nylabone or something that's
not as
his food isn't gonna do it for your dog
so you want to bring something really
engaging that they want to chew on so in
those periods where they get a little
bit of restless you can say hey why
don't you chew on this have them calm
down relax and they'll start associating
this long road trip with something
really awesome that they're doing so
definitely bring lots for your dog to do
while they're stationary in the car last
tip tip number five
lots of bathroom breaks so you want to
make stops every time you're getting gas
or switching drivers you want to let
your dog out to stretch their legs take
a bathroom break and maybe have a little
game of tug or frisbee I also when I'm
on a long trip try to find a park
periodically for that longer leg
stretching so if your dog loves to play
ball or loves to play frisbee I'm gonna
look on my GPS and see hey there's a
park nearby let's stop there instead
give the dog at least a walk around put
them on a long line let them stretch
their legs play a little bit they get
themselves a little bit tired if you
bring them back in and they sleep for
the rest of the ride so I do that every
six seven hours or so but I do pee
breaks more towards three or four hours
just to make sure that he doesn't have
to go to the bathroom and he's all set
to keep going and isn't uncomfortable
because we want our dog to feel happy
going on road trips because the reason
you're bringing them is probably cuz you
love your dog you want to go everywhere
with you so you want to make sure that
they've got their bathroom habits under
control and also a little bit exercise
every time you stop so that's it those
are my top five tips for road tripping
with your dog so now get out there and
have an adventure with your pup if you
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