Hound Therapy Discusses Travel & Grooming: How To Prep For Trips Or Boarding

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How Can I Prepare For Travel And Grooming?

Headed out of town with a dog who hates surprises? We share a practical roadmap for stress-free travel and boarding, blending pro grooming strategy with real-world safety tips so your pet arrives calm, clean, and comfortable. From airline fine print to harness choices that prevent escape, this conversation focuses on preparation that actually works when plans change and nerves spike.

We start by decoding air travel: how carrier dimensions vary by airline, why some carriers ban noticeable scents, and how to coordinate fasting windows and anxiety options with your vet. Then we pivot to the car, where hydration, movement, and secure leads matter most. Along the way, we cover the unglamorous but essential gear—wet wipes, trash bags, digital vaccine records—and map out smart pit stops so high-energy or nervous dogs can reset without risk.

Grooming can make or break a trip, so we get specific. Book a bath, brush, and blowout five to seven days before departure to reduce odor and shedding without stressing your dog the day before you leave. If you’re boarding, consider a short kennel cut to prevent matting when daily brushing is uncertain; or ask about brush-out services if you want to keep length. We also break down how to vet a boarding facility: insist on a clean walkthrough, clarify play policies, confirm exit baths, and leave written notes about behavior and meds. Elderly or vaccine-limited dogs may do better with vet-run boarding and less social contact.

Health prep is nonnegotiable. Beyond core vaccines, talk to your vet about regional risks like Lyme and ensure your records are accessible on the road. Pack a familiar item—pillow or toy—for comfort, and designate an emergency contact who can make decisions fast if you’re unreachable. Whether you choose a plane cabin, a cross-country drive, or a quiet kennel stay, choosing comfort over vanity and planning over guesswork will protect your dog and your trip. If this helped, subscribe, share with a fellow pet traveler, and leave a review so more pet parents can find expert guidance when it counts.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Welcome to Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with Health
Therapy, the podcast where wetalk all things pet grooming,
daycare, academy, and more.
Hosted by Shannon and Tanya ofHouse Therapy, serving pet
owners across North Texas.
We're here to share expert tips,hilarious pet stories, and the
inside scoop on keeping yourfurry friends happy and healthy.

(00:26):
Our motto, humanity over vanity.
And don't worry, we don't fight.
Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 (00:46):
Welcome back, everyone.
I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host andproducer, back in the studio
with Shannon and Tanya,professional groomers at Hound
Therapy.
Hi, ladies.
How's it going today?
It's good.

SPEAKER_02 (00:58):
Happy belated Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
Yes, happy belated Thanksgiving to you both too.
Now, Shannon and Tanya, today'stopic is travel and grooming.
How to prep for trips orboarding.
What do pet owners need to know?

SPEAKER_02 (01:13):
Oh gosh, there's so many things.
So one, if you're you've got todecide whether you're traveling
in your car or if you're gonnabe traveling, you know, via
plane with your pets.
I I think most people now travelvia via via vehicle.
Um that said, if you aretraveling airplane, um, those
are it's a pretty short list, sowe'll go through it pretty

(01:35):
quickly.
Definitely call the airline thatyou're flying.
See, the specific airline you'reflying, because they're
different, all of them.
Yeah, every single one of themhas a different regulation.
Um, make sure you've got theappropriate size and style of
cage that they'll allow you toship.
Contact your vet, make sure thatyou do not feed or water your
dog before you go, because youdon't if whether it's two hours

(01:56):
or three hours up, you're it'syou've got delays, you've got
you never know what's gonnahappen.
So you don't want your animal tohave um any kind of an accident
inside of its crate if if it'sbeing shipped.
If it's riding with you in theplane, um, again, make sure of
the size and the and and you youdon't want you know a pee
problem or a poo problem.

(02:17):
So uh make sure that you've gotall the things you want.
Don't don't feed and water, makeuh make a call to your vet and
see, hey, look, can I havesomething for diarrhea if you
know you have a nervous dog?
Uh and or possibly anxiety.
You see if they give you a pillfor anxiety so that that dog can
kind of sleep through most ofhis uh like what we wish we wish

(02:37):
we could do for our childrenwhen we travel with them.
So if you are traveling on aplane, um, it's kind of that
same scenario.
Bring some wet wipes, uh, youknow, things you need to do
clean.
You can't remember you can'ttake them out of that carrier.
They have to stay in there.
Um getting them cleaned andgroomed before you go so that no
scents, colognes, you don't wantpeople complaining um that are

(03:00):
around you.
There are people that are reallysensitive to life.
A few airlines that I didresearch, they said that um your
dog can't have a smell to themat all.
Yeah.
So uh yeah, it's you kind oflike anything else.
You you want to make it politeand and good for everybody
that's traveling.
So if you're if you're takingyour dog on a on a flight with
you somewhere, then those arejust a few quick tips.

(03:23):
Now, traveling in a carobviously is a lot easier.
You can feed and water all youwant.
Stop go patties, stretch yourlegs.
Um, you know, I I would plan alittle um dog park tour if
you're going somewhere so youcan stop and make sure that
you've got a good spot for yourdog to run if if you've got a
runner or high anxiety dog umthat just needs to stretch his

(03:44):
legs.
If you are going to be going tostrange places, make sure your
vaccinations are up to date.
Yeah, you don't want to getsomeplace, and that that goes, I
mean, the airlines make you doit, but it goes for anywhere
that you're running with yourdog.
If if you've uh you need anemergency groom or you have to
run into uh a vet for whateverreason, something happens,

(04:04):
somebody uh is gonna want to seeyour vet records.
Uh, they're gonna need proof ofthat.
So most of them it's digitalnow.
So you know, just make sure thatyou've gotten them uh up to date
and current before you go.
Uh and two, you want to makesure that if you're going
someplace where you don't have anormal vaccine for, like a Lyme
disease or a tick disease, uh,there are certain certain things

(04:28):
in certain places that your yourdog can get very, very sick.
And uh if you're not there's aarea, it's a quick, easy
vaccine.
So uh I would say, you know,don't forget to do that as well.
Um Grimming, nobody wants totravel with a nasty, stinky

(04:48):
kick.
It's your dog groom before.
Um see what, you know, the theeasiest, it's just a bath brush
and a blowout kind of thing.
Um, and just another quick pointis if if you're gonna be
boarding your dog when you getthere, make sure you've got a
place for it to stay.
Make sure you've got enough foodand water.
Um again, some more wet wipes toclean.

(05:11):
Make sure you've got some um allof their medicines if you've got
it.
Know where the emergency betsare where you're traveling.
Um, make sure that you've got anappropriate place for them to
plotty, uh long enough leashes,leads, and the appropriate type
of a lead.
Um, you want more of a harnessstyle or a slip lead so that
your dog can't slip out ofsomething because you're gonna

(05:33):
be in.
Scared in an unfamiliar place,they're gonna run.
Yeah.
You don't want to be in themiddle of nowhere chasing your
dog.
Yeah.
So those are some good quicktips for the road.
I I I mean, I think uh keep yourpet.
It you you wanna it don't wearyou don't need a lot of jackets
or blankets or pillows, but youdo need some things that are

(05:54):
normal for them.
So maybe their their pillow ortheir favorite toy or something
like that, a smell that they'vegot.
Um, are there any questions thatyou have specifically?
Are you I know you don't have adog, so if you're looking for
one, but uh if you did, whatwould you want to know if you
were traveling with your dog?

SPEAKER_01 (06:13):
What I would want to know is how far in advance
should owners schedule groomingor bathing before a trip?

SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
Good question.
I would say five to seven daysbefore.
You don't want to be so stressedout right after grooming.
So, you know, give them somedogs get stressed out coming to
the groomers, some dogs love it,but yeah it it's a day in
itself, right?
So give yourself some time andgive the dog some time.
Drop them off, you know, threeto five days before, you know, a

(06:42):
week or so.
And they're all they're nice andclean and they're easy to
maintain that way.
And you can get a good lengththat, you know, for the amount
of time that you're gonna begone, um, and to see what you're
doing.
Now, some people will will beboarding dogs, so there's a
whole different venue for forboarding.
Uh for boarding, you're gonnawant to either go as short as

(07:04):
possible.
Uh, you've got if you do wantyour I would ask them, um, we
were actually talking about itthis morning.
Um, I would ask them if theyhave like a brush-out fee or
something like that where theycould actually brush your dog if
you want your dog long andfluffy, but you're gonna be out
of town and you don't want toshave them when you get back.
See if they'll brush your dogfor you.

(07:25):
So, and it's you know, it it isif they don't, they should.
I think it's a great servicethat somebody should offer.
Uh, and we were talking about itbecause we do recommend that if
you're gonna be boarding adoodle to take them down as low
as possible.
It's called a kennel cut for areason.
They're going to be in a kennel,whether it's at a vet or
someplace else.
You know, the baths that they dothere, they're not done by
groomers.

(07:45):
They're done by a boarding techor a vet tech.
And they're that's not theirprimary job.
So they're they're sending yourdog home so it's clean, but
they're not really, you know,making sure that it's dematted
and tangled and uh, you know,it's been well brushed while it
was there.
If you left it with your, your,your brother and this happens

(08:05):
all the time.
Oh, my my son watched it.
I left it with my aunt.
And they're like matted just tothe bone because nobody brushed
these dogs.
So it's just better to go shortbefore that way you don't have
to see it.
And when you get back, he's longagain.
So just take it down first.
Otherwise, you've got this cutefluffy dog he just had groomed

(08:28):
that you hand it off to somebodyand they didn't take care of it
for you.
Uh, and then you get it back,and now you've got to look at it
shaped and and you just paid,you know, upwards of a thousand
dollars for your week vacationjust to have your dog boarded
and not brushed.
So uh yeah, I would check andsee.
After a hundred dollar groom.

(08:48):
Yeah.
Make sure they're current ontheir board of tells and make
sure they're uh uh on their ontheir flu vaccines too.
There are two very separate umviruses that act very, very,
very much the same.
Um, but I would I would anddefinitely make sure that they
have them for both.
And if you have a dog that's tooold uh or you can't do that,
make sure that those dogs aren'tin social play with other dogs.

(09:11):
Uh keep them separate.
Don't don't put them uh withsomebody else.
Uh you want to ask uh if ifyou're boarding your animal, um,
again, you're gonna want tobring something that's you know
unique to them that they canhave.
You're gonna want to find ifit's in in in general population
or they could be playing withother dogs.
You want some clear specificrules of you know how your dog
plays or doesn't play orinteract with other dogs.

(09:34):
Um, are they walking them in afenced-in area?
Uh are they just walking themwilly-nilly on the fence?
If that's the case, then youknow, you're gonna want to make
sure that they use a slip leador make sure that they
understand your dog's needs.
Uh and you you have toarticulate that.
It's good to write it downbecause a lot of times that gets
lost in translations forcheck-in and check out.

(09:54):
Um, there's a whole lot thatpeople don't think about.
Write down your information,where you're gonna be, somebody
they can contact if you're outof town that can make case of an
emergency, that can makedecisions, not somebody that
they can call that can call you.
Because if we call you or if aboarding facility calls you and
you're out of town, I need theinformation within a 10-minute

(10:14):
time.
Yeah.
I don't need it in two days.
I need it now.
Um, so check out the staff, walkin.
Any grooming facility orboarding facility is not any
different.
If it doesn't smell good, if itdoesn't smell clean, um, if the
staff, you know, if they don'tlet you visualize, walk through

(10:35):
it, see where everything is,then don't leave your dog there.
Um, make sure they have an exitbath for you so that you're not
getting a dog.
Make sure your dog is staying inits own pen or is it going to be
housed with other dogs?
Um, so there's there's a lot ofboarding uh red flags out there.
Yeah.
For me, more so than than thereare good.

(10:57):
And doing your due diligence umis is the best way to go.
Vets do boarding as well, butthey don't have the playtime.
So there's a little something tobe said for both.
You know, you can if you have adog that's anxious and likes to
play, then you know, a boardingfacility might be your best
choice.
If you have an elderly dog thatneeds, you know, minimal to less

(11:17):
vaccines, but not as much play.
Well, that might be the way togo.
A vet might be the way to go.
So um there's a lot, there's alot that you there's different
options for age groups.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
Thank you again for those great insights, and we'll
see you next time.
Thank you so much.
Have a great day.

SPEAKER_00 (11:41):
That's a wrap for this episode of Tale Talk with
Hound Therapy.
Ready to book your pet's nextgroom daycare stay or grooming
academy tour?
Call us at 469-367-0009.
That's 469-367-0009.
To schedule an appointment orvisit us online at

(12:02):
www.houndtherapy.com, servingNorth Texas with expert pet
care.
Until next time, keep thosetails wagged.