December 3, 2024 • 10 mins
More and more people are travelling with their pets, but do you know the best and safest way to do that? The Dog Professor does and he's here to help. Robb Lust, a Certified Professional Trainer from the Edgefield Animal Care Center offers the best practices for travelling with pets.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to The Dog Professor podcast featuring Rob Lu's The
Dog Professor from the Edgefield to Animal Care Center and
today the Dog Professor talking about things that you need
to think about when you're traveling with your pet. Now,
as we're recording this, we're into the holiday season. Folks
are out visiting folks friends and family and whatnot, or
(00:22):
maybe traveling for vacation. And you said it earlier that
you think more people are traveling with their pets than
ever before. So it's good to talk a little bit
about things that people need to realize and think about
before they go.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, you think about you know, as we're recording this today,
we've got snow falling out there, and the roads or
slippery and everything else. A lot of times in the
car we think about a lot of people I think
are traveling more by car and traveling more with their pets.
So it's important to pay attention to your pets safety
(00:54):
within the car as much as it is to pay
attention to our safety. A lot of times we get in,
we strap in, or we open the back door, pet
jumps in the car, we jump in, we strap in,
but the pets in the back seat with their head
sticking out the window or things like that. So it's
important as much as we know our dog loves to travel,
(01:16):
or cats in some cases and love to have their
head out the window and everything else. When we're going
on longer trips, it's important to think about safety for
obvious reasons.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
You don't.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Forget about your seat belt or your own safety when
you're just going to the store or anything like that,
so it's important to pay attention to your pets safety
also now. Growing up, you know, as kids, we were
just like the dogs, you know, we were running around
the back seat. We weren't doing any things. But we've
changed over time and we've focused on children's safety, so
it's a time to start thinking about your pet safety also.
(01:53):
Save Obviously, the safest thing in the car for your
dog or your cat is to have them in some
type of canament, especially if you're going on a long trip,
some type of containment that's comfortable for your pet, some
type of containment that is usually strapped in all right,
whether that be a crate, carrier or even harness. Most
(02:16):
of those things can be attached to the seat belts
within your car, and therefore, when you do have to
hit the brakes. Not everybody is flying forward. A lot
of people just do whatever's convenient. You know, dogs, a
lot of dogs get in plastic carriers and stuff, but
a lot of times with cats, people go People prefer
(02:38):
the soft sided carriers, you know, like the suitcases or
the bags, and those as long as those are strapped
to the seat belt within the back seat, those are
pretty comfortable and safe. But it doesn't do any good
if your dog's in that carrier. Even if the carriers
in the back of the pickup. And I've learned this
first hand. When you take a turn in the carrier
(03:00):
tips over, it's important to have it strapped in. So
carrier is your first level of defense. Strapping in the
carrier so that is secure within your car is your
second layer of defense to keep your pets safe in
cases like that. So it starts off with containment. Then
we now that we know our pet's going to be safe,
(03:20):
now we try to focus on comfort, okay, the comfort
of letting them know, look, let's calm down, we're going
to go for a ride. Some dogs and cats have real,
real issues with being in a vehicle that they feel
moving okay, whether it be motion sickness issues or just
anxiety issues. A lot of animals, probably the majority of
(03:43):
animals have problems with traveling, more so than the ones
that don't have problems, So it's important to start early.
If we're traveling to Grandma's for Christmas, and I got
a couple of weeks, well, I'm going to start to
get my pet used to traveling, whether it be little
trips around the block, you know, to the store, whatever,
Then we're going to start to socialize that aspect of things,
(04:05):
so I can see what their response is to it.
Are they sitting in the back seat shaking, drooling, whining,
you know, having a bowel movement in the car, you know,
all because of anxiety. If that's the case, then I
have to address that right away. A lot of times
socialization by small trips more often helps with that immediately.
(04:27):
So the more a pet realizes they're not going to
die and they survive the situation, the more comfortable and
confident they get in dealing with it. But there are
certain pets where medication is the only cure. In medication
not to knock them down, but anti anxiety medication in
cases like that. But what we found is by having
(04:49):
that containment of a crate or something where your pet
feels secure in it. That starts to chip away at
the anxiety immediately. If your pet is baasically free, they
don't feel as secure and as safe, and that adds
to the anxiety. Car sickness is something that we deal
with with pets as much as people deal with with
(05:11):
it with humans, and there are some ways to help
with that. Obviously, having a small bit to eat before
we travel ninety percent of the time helps with dogs
the same way it helps with people. If you're travel
the dog's traveling on an empty stomach, they're more likely
to get car sick and have an issue from there.
We found over the years that ginger is a is
(05:34):
a great stomach calmer. I guess, so a couple Ginger
Snap cookies for your pet, making sure there's no artificial sweeteners,
which we talked about a couple episodes ago ten to
number one calm. And the way I would do that
is if my dog has a problem getting in the car,
(05:55):
then when they got in the car, that's when they
would get the Ginger Snap cookies. So suddenly getting in
the car means I get a cookie. Not getting in
the car means I'm going to be anxious and nervous
and everything else. I've had to help as a trainer.
I've had to help a lot of people over the
years just actually get the dogs in the car. You know,
(06:16):
a lot of dogs just won't jump in the car.
They don't want to be in the car. They have
to be forced to go in the car. And a
lot of owners, as soon as the dog hits the
brakes or starts to pull on the leash to go away,
they just let the dog go. There comes always that
moment when we're getting in the car where we say, look,
(06:36):
we have to get in here. This is what we
have to do, and it might mean that you have
to crawl in the car, try the treats, and if
the treats don't work, we have the leash and the
collar on and we pull the dog in the car. Okay,
But once they cross that threshold of that car door
a lot of times then everything starts to calm down.
But if you don't work through that tantrum in the beginning,
(06:59):
it will occur every time you want to travel, and
then we have an issue. You know, big dogs, I've
found over the years getting them in the car. You
know a lot of them will you know a lot
of people open the back of their suv and unless
the dog jumps in, they're lifting this one hundred and
twenty pound dog in the car. You know, the front
feet first and then the back feet. There are ramps,
(07:20):
there are steps out there that you can get that
fold up that help your dog to get in the
car in cases like that, But that becomes a training
issue also because you're teaching them to walk up that
ramp or walk up those steps. So getting into the
car is as big a training issue as actually worrying
about the containment and the comfort in the car. So
(07:43):
that's that's something that people have to think. If we
do travel a lot, If I want to travel with
my pet, then the moment they get that pet, the
moment they get that puppy, or the moment they adopt
that dog, it's about a training protocol as far as
the steps it takes to make sure that when we travel,
everybody's comfortable, everybody's confident, we're not cleaning up messes in
(08:06):
the back seat, nobody's bleeding anything like that. Cats nine
times out of ten want nothing to do with cars, okay,
and it still kills me when people come in and
bring their cat to the vet and they're not in
a carrier. They just let the cat be free in
the car. Please take it from me, the guy who
has had to take dashboards off of cars because their
(08:29):
owners let the cat loosen the car and the cat
finds the quietest, most obscure spot or under the seat
or whatever. Your cat does not like traveling in the car, Okay,
there are a few I've seen that like to get
up in the backseat, but that's very few. Please put
them in something a secure carrier. While they're in that car,
(08:51):
You'll be happier, Your cat will be happier, and it
becomes a lot less of an issue. Try dragging a
cat that doesn't want to come out from behind the dashboard.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
That's a big deal. And cat carriers aren't very expensive. Heck,
you can probably find them on marketplace when folks are
done with them or moving on.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
There are so many possibilities out there. Yeah, I mean,
it's not that expensive thing, and they're going to have
to travel, that's just how it's going to be.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
The story of you taking a dashboard apart to get
a cat sounds like an interesting conversation.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It would have been a whole episode of a TV show,
that's for sure. You know, I've gotten cats out of
a lot of different places before in my ten years
of doing this.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, if you decide that you don't want to do
the traveling with your pet, Edgefield can board them and
they can train them why they're there, or you can
just get training to have a better relationship with your
pet getting in the car and traveling around.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
You guys do all that.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
The Edgefield Animal.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Care Centerah Edgefield Animal Care Center. We're full service pet
care facility, veterinary hospital, boarding, grooming, training, all of that. Yeah,
we have different boarding packages that are great, especially this
time of year. We have training in boarding packages where
we have new treadmill that we're using. If you want
to aboarding, an exercise package, anything like that, you can
(10:10):
get hold of us and get find out all about
our information, make reservations, whatever you need to do. Edgefield
Animal Care Center is at Edgefieldanimalcare dot com.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
There you go, great stuff, and make sure that you
check out all the episodes of the Dog Professor podcast.
If you're just finding this, click back in there. There's
about one hundred and fifty episodes that all have great
information about the pets in your health.
Welcome to The Dog Professor podcast featuring Rob Lu's The
Dog Professor from the Edgefield to Animal Care Center and
today the Dog Professor talking about things that you need
to think about when you're traveling with your pet. Now,
as we're recording this, we're into the holiday season. Folks
are out visiting folks friends and family and whatnot, or
(00:22):
maybe traveling for vacation. And you said it earlier that
you think more people are traveling with their pets than
ever before. So it's good to talk a little bit
about things that people need to realize and think about
before they go.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, you think about you know, as we're recording this today,
we've got snow falling out there, and the roads or
slippery and everything else. A lot of times in the
car we think about a lot of people I think
are traveling more by car and traveling more with their pets.
So it's important to pay attention to your pets safety
(00:54):
within the car as much as it is to pay
attention to our safety. A lot of times we get in,
we strap in, or we open the back door, pet
jumps in the car, we jump in, we strap in,
but the pets in the back seat with their head
sticking out the window or things like that. So it's
important as much as we know our dog loves to travel,
(01:16):
or cats in some cases and love to have their
head out the window and everything else. When we're going
on longer trips, it's important to think about safety for
obvious reasons.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
You don't.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Forget about your seat belt or your own safety when
you're just going to the store or anything like that,
so it's important to pay attention to your pets safety
also now. Growing up, you know, as kids, we were
just like the dogs, you know, we were running around
the back seat. We weren't doing any things. But we've
changed over time and we've focused on children's safety, so
it's a time to start thinking about your pet safety also.
(01:53):
Save Obviously, the safest thing in the car for your
dog or your cat is to have them in some
type of canament, especially if you're going on a long trip,
some type of containment that's comfortable for your pet, some
type of containment that is usually strapped in all right,
whether that be a crate, carrier or even harness. Most
(02:16):
of those things can be attached to the seat belts
within your car, and therefore, when you do have to
hit the brakes. Not everybody is flying forward. A lot
of people just do whatever's convenient. You know, dogs, a
lot of dogs get in plastic carriers and stuff, but
a lot of times with cats, people go People prefer
(02:38):
the soft sided carriers, you know, like the suitcases or
the bags, and those as long as those are strapped
to the seat belt within the back seat, those are
pretty comfortable and safe. But it doesn't do any good
if your dog's in that carrier. Even if the carriers
in the back of the pickup. And I've learned this
first hand. When you take a turn in the carrier
(03:00):
tips over, it's important to have it strapped in. So
carrier is your first level of defense. Strapping in the
carrier so that is secure within your car is your
second layer of defense to keep your pets safe in
cases like that. So it starts off with containment. Then
we now that we know our pet's going to be safe,
(03:20):
now we try to focus on comfort, okay, the comfort
of letting them know, look, let's calm down, we're going
to go for a ride. Some dogs and cats have real,
real issues with being in a vehicle that they feel
moving okay, whether it be motion sickness issues or just
anxiety issues. A lot of animals, probably the majority of
(03:43):
animals have problems with traveling, more so than the ones
that don't have problems, So it's important to start early.
If we're traveling to Grandma's for Christmas, and I got
a couple of weeks, well, I'm going to start to
get my pet used to traveling, whether it be little
trips around the block, you know, to the store, whatever,
Then we're going to start to socialize that aspect of things,
(04:05):
so I can see what their response is to it.
Are they sitting in the back seat shaking, drooling, whining,
you know, having a bowel movement in the car, you know,
all because of anxiety. If that's the case, then I
have to address that right away. A lot of times
socialization by small trips more often helps with that immediately.
(04:27):
So the more a pet realizes they're not going to
die and they survive the situation, the more comfortable and
confident they get in dealing with it. But there are
certain pets where medication is the only cure. In medication
not to knock them down, but anti anxiety medication in
cases like that. But what we found is by having
(04:49):
that containment of a crate or something where your pet
feels secure in it. That starts to chip away at
the anxiety immediately. If your pet is baasically free, they
don't feel as secure and as safe, and that adds
to the anxiety. Car sickness is something that we deal
with with pets as much as people deal with with
(05:11):
it with humans, and there are some ways to help
with that. Obviously, having a small bit to eat before
we travel ninety percent of the time helps with dogs
the same way it helps with people. If you're travel
the dog's traveling on an empty stomach, they're more likely
to get car sick and have an issue from there.
We found over the years that ginger is a is
(05:34):
a great stomach calmer. I guess, so a couple Ginger
Snap cookies for your pet, making sure there's no artificial sweeteners,
which we talked about a couple episodes ago ten to
number one calm. And the way I would do that
is if my dog has a problem getting in the car,
(05:55):
then when they got in the car, that's when they
would get the Ginger Snap cookies. So suddenly getting in
the car means I get a cookie. Not getting in
the car means I'm going to be anxious and nervous
and everything else. I've had to help as a trainer.
I've had to help a lot of people over the
years just actually get the dogs in the car. You know,
(06:16):
a lot of dogs just won't jump in the car.
They don't want to be in the car. They have
to be forced to go in the car. And a
lot of owners, as soon as the dog hits the
brakes or starts to pull on the leash to go away,
they just let the dog go. There comes always that
moment when we're getting in the car where we say, look,
(06:36):
we have to get in here. This is what we
have to do, and it might mean that you have
to crawl in the car, try the treats, and if
the treats don't work, we have the leash and the
collar on and we pull the dog in the car. Okay,
But once they cross that threshold of that car door
a lot of times then everything starts to calm down.
But if you don't work through that tantrum in the beginning,
(06:59):
it will occur every time you want to travel, and
then we have an issue. You know, big dogs, I've
found over the years getting them in the car. You
know a lot of them will you know a lot
of people open the back of their suv and unless
the dog jumps in, they're lifting this one hundred and
twenty pound dog in the car. You know, the front
feet first and then the back feet. There are ramps,
(07:20):
there are steps out there that you can get that
fold up that help your dog to get in the
car in cases like that, But that becomes a training
issue also because you're teaching them to walk up that
ramp or walk up those steps. So getting into the
car is as big a training issue as actually worrying
about the containment and the comfort in the car. So
(07:43):
that's that's something that people have to think. If we
do travel a lot, If I want to travel with
my pet, then the moment they get that pet, the
moment they get that puppy, or the moment they adopt
that dog, it's about a training protocol as far as
the steps it takes to make sure that when we travel,
everybody's comfortable, everybody's confident, we're not cleaning up messes in
(08:06):
the back seat, nobody's bleeding anything like that. Cats nine
times out of ten want nothing to do with cars, okay,
and it still kills me when people come in and
bring their cat to the vet and they're not in
a carrier. They just let the cat be free in
the car. Please take it from me, the guy who
has had to take dashboards off of cars because their
(08:29):
owners let the cat loosen the car and the cat
finds the quietest, most obscure spot or under the seat
or whatever. Your cat does not like traveling in the car, Okay,
there are a few I've seen that like to get
up in the backseat, but that's very few. Please put
them in something a secure carrier. While they're in that car,
(08:51):
You'll be happier, Your cat will be happier, and it
becomes a lot less of an issue. Try dragging a
cat that doesn't want to come out from behind the dashboard.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
That's a big deal. And cat carriers aren't very expensive. Heck,
you can probably find them on marketplace when folks are
done with them or moving on.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
There are so many possibilities out there. Yeah, I mean,
it's not that expensive thing, and they're going to have
to travel, that's just how it's going to be.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
The story of you taking a dashboard apart to get
a cat sounds like an interesting conversation.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It would have been a whole episode of a TV show,
that's for sure. You know, I've gotten cats out of
a lot of different places before in my ten years
of doing this.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, if you decide that you don't want to do
the traveling with your pet, Edgefield can board them and
they can train them why they're there, or you can
just get training to have a better relationship with your
pet getting in the car and traveling around.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
You guys do all that.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
The Edgefield Animal.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Care Centerah Edgefield Animal Care Center. We're full service pet
care facility, veterinary hospital, boarding, grooming, training, all of that. Yeah,
we have different boarding packages that are great, especially this
time of year. We have training in boarding packages where
we have new treadmill that we're using. If you want
to aboarding, an exercise package, anything like that, you can
(10:10):
get hold of us and get find out all about
our information, make reservations, whatever you need to do. Edgefield
Animal Care Center is at Edgefieldanimalcare dot com.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
There you go, great stuff, and make sure that you
check out all the episodes of the Dog Professor podcast.
If you're just finding this, click back in there. There's
about one hundred and fifty episodes that all have great
information about the pets in your health.
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