Tips for Holiday Dog Visitors
With the holidays right around the corner, you may be thinking about bringing your dog along for the trip. It can be hard to leave our best pal at home for the holidays! You’ve figured out all your travel plans, so what’s next? You need to decide where you’re staying and how your dog will react to this location. If you’re staying in a dog friendly hotel, you’re good to go. But what if you’re going to be staying with friends or family? This can be a little bit more complicated. Whether you’re bringing your dog with you to someone’s house or having a pup staying with you, here’s some tips on having a successful stay!
Always Check Ahead
First thing you should always do is make sure your host is okay with your bringing your pup. Someone in the home may have an allergy or there may be some other issue. Decide if where you’re staying is a good place for your dog. They may have young children that could be a problem for your dog or maybe they don’t enough room/space for your dog to be comfortable and get exercise. It’s best to always check ahead of time and get all the details.
What To Do If Your Host Has A Dog
So odds are if your host is happy to have your dog stay with them, they may already have a dog. There are many aspects that need to be addressed to insure every dog is happy and comfortable!
Introductions
Step 1 is to introduce the dogs to each other! This is key to make sure the dogs have a healthy relationship the entire stay. The best way to do this is to take the dogs to a neutral area, like a dog park or a few streets away. Start from a distance and have the dogs slowly come closer. Keep them on a leash at first and observe body language. Praise them if they are being calm and appropriate. Let them play and sniff to interact. Eventually, walk them to the home you’re staying at together. Then once you’re home, keep them on the leash for a little to be sure they are still behaving well.
If at some point, you feel like the dogs are not behaving, leave the leashes on and supervise the interactions. If one of the dogs doesn’t seem to be reacting well, try introducing them with a barrier between them, like a gate.
Feeding
Another issue that can arise with multiple dogs is food. To avoid conflicts, feed the dogs in separate rooms or at opposite ends of the same room. Do not leave the food bowl out since this could also cause issues on whose it is.
Other Pets
If the home you’re staying at has other pets (cats, small animals) and your dog has never been introduced to them before, they should probably stay in another room. Depending how long the visit is, it’s probably not worth trying to introduce them and go to the trouble of that.
Bathroom
If there is a dog at the house you’re staying at, they will probably show your dog where everything is. One thing you should point out to your dog is where to go to the bathroom outside. You also should take them out more often since stress or excitement can cause dogs to need to go more frequently or forget to go.
Take Breaks
It is good to give your dog a rest and time away from all the excitement. Put them in a separate room or crate away from everyone to give them some time to relax and destress. With all these new people and new environments, your pup could be overwhelmed and need some time to chill out by themselves. Give them a toy or treat to enjoy for 30 minutes or even up to an hour.
Throughout the trip, be aware of your dog’s body language. See how they are feeling, and react properly. If you follow these tips, you should have a successful stay with friends or family! Happy travels!