Duncan here,
Now that I've modeled our car seats for you, I hope you don't tell any of your Cavaliers, especially your males. Sydney and Ruby promised me the previous post will never see the light of day on "Human Talk" so other Cavaliers could see me. I would appreciate it if you didn't let your "boys" know. I'd never live it down if you do. Anyway, back to traveling.
So now you can see how we travel long distances. But what about short trips around town. With a simple modification we are ready to go. First we remove the car seats and spread a nice soft warm blanket on the seats. We leave the seat belts connected and the car seat web belt connected.
Now we are ready to go. We clamber in to our spots and Mom and Dad connect our harnesses to the web belt connected to the car seat belt. Here is Sydney in her spot all buckled in and ready to travel:
Here I am in my spot to illustrate again how we are strapped in. I like to travel with at least one toy whenever I go somewhere in the car. This photo taken by Sydney gives you a better view of my harness and how it connects to the seatbelt:
As you can see, using either of these methods (car seats or not) keeps your Cavaliers or other pets safely separated and keeps them from playing, fighting, etc.
But where do we stay when we travel? We use several online travel sites and pre-plan all our trips before we leave the house. Some of the sites Mom and Dad use include:
www.petswelcome.com
www.dogfriendly.com
www.letsgopets.com
www.bringfido.com
Finally, although not a complete list by any means, we've also included just a few useful tips we find beneficial whenever you're traveling with your Cavalier:
If your Cavalier is not used to being in the car or if you are planning on driving long distances, acclimate your pet by taking short trips and gradually lengthening them until he/she is comfortable in the car.
Never allow us to ride with our heads out the window. Although we really, really enjoy it, we could get hurt by flying debris, or develop lung infections or inner ear damage.
Never, ever leave us alone in a parked car. Even on seemingly cool days, temperatures can rise quickly posing a serious threat to us even if the window is left slightly open. Of course, there is also the danger of tempting a pet thief.
Use a harness, rather than a collar if you are belting us in and not using a crate and always remove the lead when we are in the car. You don't want to leave it attached and accidentally have it catch on something as you are driving. When you stop, always re-attach the lead before releasing our restraint. That way if we see something interesting and make a dash for it, you have us under control at all times.
Make sure we are microchipped and also have our permanent ID tag attached to our harness or some other way to identify who we belong to and where we live. Also use a temporary tag attached with your cell phone number when you travel. Include the hotel name/residence address and telephone number where you are staying each night and any other pertinent information. Bring a photograph of us to help identify us.
Make a list of several veterinary hospitals that are easily accessible from your route, preferably within one hour’s drive from any given point. Check that they will be open during your travel. This tip saved Ruby's life on one of our trips. We'll have to tell you about that one day. It scared us all.
Be sensitive to where the sun is in relation to our location in the car and high temperatures. When driving for long times in one direction, shifting us to the shady side of the seat can make a big difference.
Do allow your Cavalier "pit" stops frequently, and a little exercise is good for all of us. Personally, Mom and Dad avoid using highway rest stops and designated pet areas because of all the unknown pets that have used the area and we can't be sure pesticides or other toxins may be present. We leave the highway to find our rest stops.
Do not feed us in a moving car. Plan on stopping to eat. Remember to give us plenty of water during your travels.
Don't forget our health certificate and other required documentation as well as any medicine, vitamins or specific food or treats we may need. It's best not to change diet too abruptly so maybe bringing along enough food and water for part of your trip is a good idea.
Bring food and water bowls (portable bowls are very convenient), a scoop or plastic bags, baby wipes and a first aid kit with tweezers. Flashlights are helpful for late night strolls around the grounds. Bring grooming utensils, a favorite toy and bedding material or favorite pillow for a sense of security.
As you can see, traveling with us takes a lot of pre-planning and a lot of work. However, sad to say, sometimes Mom and Dad can't always take us everywhere they go. In those cases, we certainly aren't left alone; we have a puppy sitter. Mom and Dad use a local pet sitting service - Doodlebug Dog Walkers. They have a service where a person comes and stays the night with us here in our own home. The young lady who is our regular sitter is named Amanda. Amanda arrives at 7:00 PM and leaves at 7:00 AM. We get at least two walks while she is here and we get our dinner and even some treats. She always leaves detailed notes each morning on how we did and behaved so we are always on our best behavior. We like her a lot and when she's in the house we get a lot of internet time to update you with our adventures. During the day when Amanda isn't here, we have a family member come and stay with us until Amanda gets back so we are never alone.
So, I've rambled on enough on a serious topic and now its time to get back to our regular zany stories. Look for our next story where we share with you one of our postings from "Human Talk". We don't often give you a view into the conversations that occur between Cavaliers on our web site but we will give you an ever so slight peek behind the curtain just this one time. Check back to see.
Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia