Summer Travel with Your Pets - Dr. Greer of CheckOut Veterinary

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thirteen ten wib A and ask the experts brought you
by Checkout Veterinary. The website for Checkout Veterinary, it's checkout
vet dot com. That's all one word, checkout vet dot com.
I hope you've had a chance to visit the website
if you haven't been there before. It's a really good
resource to learn more about checkout Veterinary. What makes them
so special and unique? That drive through service which is

(00:20):
great for you, great for your pets. Speaking of things
that are great for you and great for your pet,
that first visit at checkout Veterinary, it is free. That
exam is free. You can learn more online checkout vet
dot com. Great data, start the relationship at checkout Veterinary.
Of course, you can get the information at the website
checkout vet dot com or give the call six oh
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six oh

(00:40):
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. And we, of
course get to hang out with doctor Marty Greer from
Checkout Veterinary each and every week right here on thirteen
ten WIBA. Doctor Greer, of course recognized as Veterinarian of
the Year from Westminster Kennel Club and doctor Greer, it's
great to talk with you. It's a fun time of
year for people and it's a real fun time of
year for pets as well, well, isn't it it is?

Speaker 2 (01:02):
This is the best. It's not quite too hot, but
it's warm enough to be out there and really enjoy it.
So yes, then there's so many cool things you can
do with your dog.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hey, we're going to talk about some some of those
great adventures. I know some dogs, a lot of dogs,
most dogs really enjoy road trips and those type of things.
We'll talk about all these things, but real quick too.
Last week, you know, we we got a chance to
talk of course, with with summer and that just just
getting underways, talk a little bit about about you know,
summer precautions and hydration and the importance and we we

(01:33):
focused a bit more on cats than usual, and I
think too is we're going to talk this week about
some of the fun things you can do, you know,
with your with your pupper and you know, getting out
and doing those type of things. Also want to don't
want to forget that that are as sometimes they may
be a bit aloof about it, but cats genuinely love
spending time with you around the house.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Don't they Oh yeah, oh yeah, for sure. But there's
some fun things you can do for the cats too,
even if they don't go out. Some people will build
them a cadio. They have access to the breeze and
the you know, the smells, and all the sites of
the outdoors, but with protection or sometimes just putting up
a bird feeder outside the window where the cat can
sit on the back of the couch or a cat

(02:12):
ledge on the window can be really fun. They love
watching the birds, and so there's some really nice things
that you can do for cats, even if they don't
tend to venture outside. If they do venture out, all
of our pets should be microchips, dogs and cats, so
make sure you're doing that. We are running a special
on microchipping at the check in and checkout Veterinary right
now because this is the time of year that pets

(02:33):
tend to disappear, so make sure their microchips and make
sure your microchip is registered. And then the Buddy bags
ID also comes with a little ID tag that has
a QR code on it. And if you take your
phone so you don't have to have a microchip scander
to use that device. You can take your phone, take
a photo of it, and then it'll take you to
a website. Well you know how you do that. You

(02:55):
go to the website with the QR code and it'll
have the name of the owners to your name, your
phone number, where you are, are, all the information. So
say you go to the lake for the weekend and
your neighbors aren't the people who are usually there. They
don't know your dogs. But the next person that finds
your dogs and stand the QR code, find your phone
number and figure out, oh, you are at the lake,
and so you aren't really from Madison, You're really, you know,

(03:18):
just down the road a little ways. So they'll call
you and you can get your pet back immediately. It's
a much faster system than going through the microchip system itself.
So take a look into those technologies.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
I had to laugh when you said they don't know
your dog, but I thought, but your dog knows them
the best friends, right, Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
You know they're like, oh, yeah, you're the one who
always gives me the cookies, or you're you're the one
who throws the scraps out for the My neighbor used
to throw scraps out for the squirrels. It wasn't for
the squirld My dog would go over there and ETO like,
please don't do that.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yees all that is Yeah, dogs are dogs, are they
They love they love smells, they love food, and they
love getting to know people as well. Yeah doctor, let's yeah,
let's talk about you know, we think about you know,
summer vacation plans and of course a lot of us
because of you know, our pets, especially are you know,
with when it comes to going places. And I know

(04:08):
more hotels are accepting dogs, and I know it used
to be hard to do. I think just most it's
probably in the majority now that accept which has really
opened up the opportunity to bring our pets along. There
are some precautions and obviously there's some fun things do,
but real quick, so I would I would think it
would probably be important to talk about some of the
some of the things just to be cautious of. And

(04:29):
I think of like hotel rooms and I know they
do a really good job of cleaning them, and they
do really good work, but other people have been there,
I know for me and I've just got a little dog,
I always when we check into a hotel, I kind
of do a little ocular search of the room just
to make sure that there's nothing at Homer's level. Probably
good advice, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, under the bed. You know there have been times
where dogs I've gotten into things like marijuana under the
bed and you weren't aware of it, or cigarette butts
or you know kinds of stuff. Just be really careful
when you take your pet into a hotel room. And
I typically when we travel with our dogs and we
do a lot, I will take along an extra sheet
that is our sheet, and I put it over the
bed so that if the dog just sleep on the

(05:09):
blanket or the bedspread, that they're not shedding on it.
And then when we clean up we leave, we take
the sheet with us. We take it, wash it of
course at home, and take it on the next trip
so that we aren't leaving extra work for the housekeeping service.
And I also have a tendency to you know those
table claws that have the flannel backing on them, that
are these and all like they have Christmas ones and
Easter ones and summer ones. They're a couple bucks a piece.

(05:32):
I'll put those on the floor of the hotel room
so that if we do have an accident that it
is going to soak into the carpet. A lot of
hotel rooms now are coming with the vinyl flooring instead
of with carpeting because so many people are traveling with
pets and so many people have allergies, so there are
some things that they're changing in hotels. But you're absolutely right.
You need to be careful and you need to be thoughtful.

(05:55):
And if you're outside with your dog and they have
a stool, make sure you pick it up because you
want those hotels else to continue to take dogs. And
one bad person can ruin it for the next people
that come along by leaving the area soiled. So you know,
be thoughtful, be nice. We go to dog shows a lot,
and some of the hotels have simply stopped taking dogs
because people were they were They destroyed hotel rooms, they

(06:18):
didn't pick up after their dogs, they lifted their leg
on the elevator shaft. You know, there's just things that
are really tacky. So be really thoughtful so that the
next people behind you can continue to travel with their dogs.
You can ruin it for everybody if you're not nice.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
It's it's such a great gift that they have that opportunity,
and that's the really really important stuff to make sure
that that you're being respectful and of course making keeping
those options available for everybody, including you and your pet.
And doctor has some really good tips there for kind
of getting settled in some adventures, and I know, I
know there are obviously here in Wisconsin there are some
great things. There's also some great things regionally for pets

(06:54):
to do. First off, I think for a lot of us,
kind of going up to the if we get a chance,
whether we have our own or a friends, you know, cabin,
maybe they've got some water, maybe they've got some you know,
some nice trails, those type of things dogs love, and
I wish I had the same drive. Most dogs love
like just exercise. They love being out, They love walking,
they love running, they love swimming. And getting your pet

(07:17):
accustom and out into the nature and the smells and
those type of things is fun for them. But there
there are some things you want to make sure as
far as you know, shots and other things that they're
that they're in their in their heartworm those type of
things are heartworm medication, that they're up to date on
that stuff, don't you right right.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Make sure you're using your fla and tick preventives, your
heartworm preventives, so be careful with that. Make sure they're
current on their vaccines. If they come across the skunk,
you don't want it to be something that turned into quarantine.
They make some really interesting things for dogs. You can
buy a life preserver for your dog so that if
your dog isn't good at swimming, they can wander out
slowly into the water and then if they get in
a little deep there's a life preserver. They typically have

(07:54):
a handle on them so that if you do need
to grab them with your hand or your ore of
your canoe, you can lift them back out of the water.
So that's one tip if you have a dog that
tends to pick up things and eat what they shouldn't
when you're out on your walk. There's something called out fox.
It's a hood for dogs. It's a mesh hood, and
so it keeps the bugs off of them. It keeps
them from having chalktails and other things go up their

(08:15):
noses and into their ears, but it also keeps them
from picking up, oh, you know, deer droppings or icky
mushrooms or things that could be dangerous or toxic to them.
Because they don't really have great judgment when it comes
to those things. So getting an out fox food you
can buy them on Amazon. You measure the length of
the dog's head. They have them different sizes for different dogs.
They look a little weird, but just like when we

(08:35):
wear one of those mesh hats, you know, it can
be really safe and help cut down on the number
of bug bites and all that stuff. I actually we
went to Africa last year and I bought those hoods,
the hats with the mesh cover for ourselves. They never
came out of my suitcase when we were in Africa,
but we were in Marshfield at my kid's house a

(08:55):
couple of weeks ago. I got them out and my
grandkids wrestled them away from me because the flies were
so bad that they were putting them on and running
around in the yard with those on them, like, you
guys look ridiculous, But they were having a blast because
they could be out in that and not do it.
So the outshocks foods are well tolerated by dogs. If
you have a dog that has an eye problem, if
they're a pug and it tends to you know, get

(09:17):
injuries to the eye things like that. They make goggles
and they make a couple of other versions of that
for dogs. For their goggles, I've seen them with a
variety of different kinds of styles so that they can
really fit the dogs well, and you know it'll protect
their eyes. If you have a dog with jen you
know typically ends up with corneal ulcers or weed seeds

(09:38):
or something in the eye, and you need to protect
them so that their vision remains good. There's some amazing
equipment out there. You can buy a little boots to
the dogs. If you're going to be on the stand
too much, that would wear through their feet. So there's
a lot of stuff you can get. But you do
need to plan ahead a little bit because if you're
at the cabin and you need it on Saturday night,
you're not going to get it from Amazon where you're

(09:58):
out in the boonies. So plan ahead, you know where
you're going, know what your options are, and get those
things ordered ahead of time so you've got them.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
Talk this morning with doctor Marty Greer of Checkout Veterinary
online checkout vet dot com. That's all one word checkout
vet dot com. You can learn more about Checkout Veterinary
and of course, great data. Make that appointment to start
that relationship. Don't forget that first visit that exam that
is free to you and your pet. Again, all you
got to do is head on over to checkout vet
dot com. You can learn more. DELF what number six
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six o'

(10:26):
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. Speaking of planning
ahead as an adult, I have to remember this to
pack my medications. Same is true for your pet, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah, yeah, if you run out of DS while you're
someplace else, it's hard for another veterinary to fill those prescriptions.
It can be done on an emergency basis, but again
it's always going to be the weekend and most of
the time those aren't going to be places that are open.
And then again, take your bug spray. They make dog
bug sprays, they make flea and tick preventives that are
topicals that do a great job. And they do make

(10:56):
sunscreen for pets too, So if you have a dog
with a lot of fight on it to get some burned,
I mean seriously, that stuff really exists. So yes, hat
plan ahead, pack all this stuff. If you're taking sunscreen
for the kids and bugs pray for you. Make sure
you're taking it through your pets too, because they're in
the same environment. You want them to be out there
and enjoy it and not have to fret about, oh,
you know, something's going to happen. You should enjoy your vacation.

(11:19):
For water, it's a good idea to take some water
from home if you have a couple of extra gallon
jugs so that your dog doesn't have a water change.
And then they make these really interesting water bottles that
you can carry with you if you go out hiking
or walking with a dog that has a little tray
attached to it that flips down so you don't have
to try and get the dog to drink out of
your water bottle because it never goes well. So you

(11:40):
can get those with a little tray. There's a lot
of different things that you can take along for your
pet that can make the trip a lot more enjoyable.
If you take your hydration pack for you, take one
for your dog. You know, plan aheads. Cats are probably
not going hiking with you. We don't want to leave
cats out of the conversation, but I don't know a
lot of cats that hike.

Speaker 1 (11:58):
No. I once said cat that didn't mind, and I
stressed that part didn't mind a leash, But generally it
was just used to get him outside and then end
up carrying him. He went around with us. But but yeah,
as we talked this morning with doctor Greer of Checkout
Veterinary Clinic online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. Don't forget checkout Vet open seven days a week,

(12:20):
convenient for you, great, great availability, convenient to get in,
very very convenient to get out and through the drive
through service. It's a really great setup at checkout Vet.
Revolutionary set up at Checkout Veterinary, and you can learn
all about it online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout
vet dot com. Don't forget that first visit at Checkout Veterinary.
That exam that is free. Again. All you gotta do

(12:41):
is make that appointment. You can do it online or
of course give them call six oh eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. That's six oh eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. Looks into our conversation with doctor Greer,
will talk a little bit more about summertime travel with
your pets. We'll do that next as ask the experts,
which Checkout Veterinary continues right here on thirteen ten WIBA

(13:01):
thirteen ten WIBA and Checkout Veterinary hanging out with doctor
Mardy Greer of Checkout Veterinary here on thirteen ten wib A.
That's what I wanted to say there. Of course, it's
a great data to start that relationship at checkout vet.
You can learn more online checkout vet dot com. Even
better easier give them a call. Six oh eight three
one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. Also, if you've been curious, been

(13:23):
listening to the show, he said, I'd curious about the clinic.
I'd love to see you right at twenty seven to
ten Prairie Lakes Drive. That's twenty seven to ten Prairie
Lakes Drive and Sun Prairie. Very convenient. They'd love to
see you, really love to see your pet as well.
You can learn more online checkout vet dot com. That's
checkout vet dot com. Talking about summer travel, summer vacation
and doing some stuff in the outdoors with your pet

(13:43):
and getting them from point A to point B doctor
can be something that you do not want to take
lightly as you want to make sure your pet is comfortable,
but also you want to make sure your pet is
very safe. And there are some really nice options out
there for transporting your pet, aren't there?

Speaker 2 (14:01):
There are? And typically the seat belts and the little
raised seats are not very safe, especially in the front seat,
because if your air bag deploys, it will cause serious
damage to your dog. But crates are really the way
to go. I will not drive anywhere without my dog
in the crates. I have some custom mad crates for
the back of my Subaru that my husband bought for me.
They're dog transit crates that fit directly into the car

(14:24):
and their customs. They're made in Scotland but the Rough
Tough Kennel company. Now they call them a slightly different name,
but Rough Tough Kennels are these very high impact plastic crates.
They have doors, some of them will have two or
three doors on them. They survive rollovers. I've seen pictures

(14:44):
of pickup trucks that have had them in the back
and the truck is rolled and crashed and crushed and
the crates are just sitting happily in the back of
the truck. So they're very impact resistant, and god knows
you don't want to end up in a car accident,
especially rear ended with your dogs in the But your
dogs are only going to be safe in a crate.
The little seat belts are not safe enough. There's just

(15:06):
not a good enough restraint. Pets can become projectiles. I've
actually had one client who her dog got really agitated
and wouldn't let the EMC's into her car because he
was being very aggressive towards them. So there's definitely some
reasons to use crates instead. I rolled a car a
number of years ago, and if my cat hadn't been
in a crate. My kids are in seatbelts, my cat

(15:26):
was in a crate, and if they all hadn't been
as securely buckled in and locked up as they were,
I would have lost more than just the hat. It
might have been my kids too, So you want to
be really careful. You don't want your pet to be
a projectile. You don't want your pet to be a
distraction when you're driving. I see people with their windows
down and their dogs sticking their head at the window,
and yes, it's really fun for the dogs, but we

(15:49):
have to use some grown up common sense and it's
not safe. They're going to end up with something in
their eye, They're going to end up with a problem
with their ears. Just really, it doesn't matter how fun
it is. And loose in the back of a pickup truck,
absolutely not so think about I mean, when I was
a kid, we didn't even have car seats for children.
My mother used to lay us on the front seat
of the car and you know, hold on to you

(16:10):
if you had to hit the brake. Spath. We've come
a long way for our kids, and we have for
our pets too. So I really like the rough Land kennels.
I really like some of these other options, and the
pets are very comfortable in there that they just have
to get used to it. If they have a little
anxiety or a little car sickness, you can start off
with some ginger snaps and if that doesn't do it,
talk to your veterinary. There's really good anti anxiety medications.

(16:31):
There's really good anti nausea medications on the market that
can make a huge difference in how your pet feels
about travel. Because, like you said, most of the time
you go out in the garage, open the door. The
pets are happy to jump in, even to jump into
their crates, because that's how they know you get transported.
They're very happy to do it. But there are a
few a few dogs that aren't crazy about the car

(16:52):
cats them. Most of them don't like the car, but
most dogs do. And what's really funny is if the
dog is loose when you go into the store, you've
let them out of the crate so that they don't
have to be in the crate when you're in the
store shopping. They're always sitting in the driver's seat when
you come back out. The dogs know that that is
the position of power. I don't know how they know that,
but they apparently have assimilated the information that you don't

(17:15):
go anywhere until so there was someone sitting in that seat,
and so if you're there, you are now in charge. Actually,
very funny. So for traveling with your dogs, we always
put a little note on the window that says your
phone number on it. So if you feel my pet
is in any kind of danger that they can call
your cell phone. If you're in Target or Woodmand's or whatever,

(17:38):
they can, they can give you a call instead of
breaking your window if they think your petits in distressed there.
I saw on su the other day this little velcro
device that you can put on your steering wheel that
says dog and crates, so that you don't forget when
you're getting out of the car and that your dog
is there. So put down the windows or you know,
make sure that they're somehow not overheating in the car.
Because everybody knows that cars get really hot. Kids get injured,

(18:01):
dogs get injured by leaving pets in the car that
you forget about. So use that as a little reminder.
Drop your lisha around your neck if you're just running
into the grocery store for one thing. I always drape
the leisha around my neck so I don't forget that
the dog is in the car, because invariably I go
into the store, somebody sees me, they start talking to me.
I'm like, oh no, I got to go, Like, my
dog is out there, and I can't leave them for
more than a minute and a half in the car,

(18:23):
even with the windows down. They make little screens that
you can put across the top of the windows, so
you can leave it down part of the way and
let the ventilation come in. My crates that were custom
made for my subar roof the crates will lock, so
I can leave the dog in the car with the
crate the back of the hatch open, but the crates
are locked, so nobody can come along and take the

(18:43):
dogs out and you know, either walk them or steal
them or whatever. So there's so many things that are available.
We should take advantage of what all those things are.
But the simplest thing is put a note on your window.
It has your phone number on it. I mean, how
easy is that. It doesn't cost you any money, and
it's a really good way to make sure your pets
stay safe in the vehicle.

Speaker 1 (19:02):
Really great information, really great ideas as well. As we
talked this morning with doctor Martin Greer of Checkout Veterinary
online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com.
Another thing too, I was thinking about with travel is
you want to make sure that it just like for people,
but with your pets as well, that you're making frequently
if you're doing a road trip, for example, every couple hours,
you're stopping, getting them some water and of course letting them,

(19:23):
letting them stretch and do their do their business. You
don't want them cooped up or uncomfortable or in a
bad situation because they've got to go potty or they
need a drink right right.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
So, and if your pet does have a tendency to
have issues, if it gets too warm in the back,
you may want to put aluminum foil on the window,
or you may want to drape something so that the
pet can't see out the sides of the creative that
makes them nauseous. So there's a lot of little things
that you can do. You know, aluminum toil on the
back window of your hatch is it's not going to
interfere if it's on the passenger or the side not

(19:55):
the back of course, not the hatchback, but the side windows,
so that you can block their view or keep the
sun from beating in on them. There's there's simple things
that you can do that can really make your pets
travel a lot more comfortable. So don't hesitate to do
those things. If the back isn't well heated, put them
in a little jacket if it's winter, if it's too hot,
you know, just put the windows down and make sure
that they have plenty of ventilation. They make little fans

(20:17):
that are battery operated, I know, Milwaukee Tool makes them.
Another of other companies do that are better operated fans
that you can actually attach to the crate door that
will move air through the crate. It'll ventilate for them.
I see a lot of those. Of the dog shows,
people use shammies that they've wet down and then they
put over the dog to keep them cool and wet.
They make cooling pads that you can put underneath the dog.
You wet them down in the dog lads on them

(20:38):
in the crate so it keeps them cool. There's there's
a million different things that you can do to make
the travel with your pet more comfortable for you and
for them. We want them happy, we want them having
a good time. Don't forget to take their food because
you don't want to have a diet change and end
up with a problems, you know, changing food at the
last minute when you're somewhere else. And if your pet
does have a tendency to have a tender, tell me

(20:59):
take along those medications that can help to cut down
on issues with things like diarrhea. So there's a lot
of things that we can do to make our travel
and our trips a lot more fun. And then national
parks and state parks almost all of them will allow dogs.
You do have to look at the rules. You have
to check out the park's website before you go, or
the national park website, but most of them allow dogs

(21:20):
as long as they're on leash and as long as
they're not a fensive to anybody and you pick up
after them. So there's so many places you can take dogs.
A lot of beer gardens now outdoor restaurants and beer
gardens will allow you to have the dog there. So
I do advise that people do not let them drink
out of a communal water bowl. There's a lot of
grossness that happens with that, and that is the technical

(21:40):
term grossness. So take along your own bottle of water
and your own bowls. Don't let them go swaps fit
with other dogs because there's some things that they can
pick up from that, and those goals aren't necessarily really clean.
But there's so many fun things you can do. There's
no reason to leave the dog home. Man plan your
trips so that the dog can go along. It's a blast.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Include the words pet friendly and all your searches for
vacation and you're going to be greatly rewarded. Doctor so
much great great information this week. Thank you so much
for joining us, and you have a fantastic day. Bert
doctor gar comes to us from checkout Veterinaria online. Checkout
vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Great data,
start that relationship at checkout vet. More information online, checkout

(22:20):
vet dot com. They're twelve number six oh eight three
one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six so eight three
one eight sixty seven hundred. Vicky mccinna comes you way
next right here on thirteen ten w U I B
A