Traveling By Yourself With Your Dog

Anyone ever done it?

I have people who are like relatives to me in South Carolina. Every time I've visited, I've always flown, but always wished Jackson could have been with me. We pretty much are usually just around the house, or visiting beaches, or cities where it's dog friendly. Last time I went there were sooo many dogs around and I so wished Jackson could have been there with me.

Anyways, I am considering driving there the next time I go, which may be in March or April. I haven't asked them yet if I could bring Jackson but I really don't think they would have a problem... they're not "dog people" but like close family who know Jackson is well behaved and trained.

Well, it would be the longest drive I have ever done by myself, as it's about 8-9 hours from Maryland to SC (they are near Savannah, GA).

I think it would be kind of neat to go on a long road trip with just me and my dog, but I do wonder how safe it is? Of course we'd make pit stops, so I'd want to be sure they were in safe areas ahead of time. Or maybe stop at a dog park or two along the way as well.

My godmother (the peoples daughter I would be going to visit) has done the drive by herself once and said it wasn't too bad. It's literally just straight down I97 once I'm through Richmond.

Anyways, anyone done it? If I do it, I'll need some cool places to visit while in the Savannah/Hilton Head area with a small dog.

I've done it. As long as you stop periodically its not too bad. Bring lots of music lol.

If you wind up driving through Northern VA area let me know. I can be one of your pit stops

I did a lot of drives just me and a dog while I was in KPA. It was about a 10 hour drive each way. I really, really enjoyed the one-on-one time, but by the 4th road trip I was getting sick of it. LOL Zuma was a lot more fun to have along than Titan, he just slept the whole time.

Yup, do it all the time. Most of the time when I travel for an agility trial, it's by myself with just the dog(s.)
It's not a big deal. I think a time or two I've stopped at a rest stop and taken Auggie out to potty, but he never goes, so I just got back in the car and kept driving. These days I usually just drive straight through and don't even bother to stop. But usually we only go 3-5 hours. For 8 hours, I would probably stop at about the halfway mark (and he would MAYBE pee then. =P) Just make sure he's restrained or in a crate when you're on the highway and ta-da! Nothing to it.

I drove from Maine to Texas with 2 dogs, then back with 4 all by myself. I still have nightmares. lol

I've done it a ton of times!

Yeah I've done it too. A *lot* of 4-6 hours ones with just me and 1-3 dogs, plus a few 8-9 hours ones with just Mira. I actually enjoy the drives with the dogs better as they ensure I stop and stretch my legs periodically...if it's just me I tend to stop for gas and that's it.

Well, I don't actually travel alone (usually with my sister) but we almost always have a dog (and sometimes a cat) with us on trips. We'll stop every two to three hours to put gas in the car, change drivers and walk the dog. Haven't done your route but we drive from Missouri to the outer banks of NC every year (18 to 19 hours) non-stop. We have driven from Maryland to NC, but that was years and years ago.

Safety is relative... if you pull into a gas station with bars on the window and they don't let you inside the building, there's a good chance it's not safe. (Yes, we stopped at such a place in Ohio once - very briefly.) We usually aim for the truck stop places right off the highway - the restrooms seem cleaner than those stations that hand you the key on a big block of wood - and with more people around, well, safety in numbers and all that.

As far as dog parks, we're usually anxious to get where we're going without dawdling but even so, the few places we have stopped - the local dog parks were either for residents only or you had to have a certificate/permit. You can google dog parks along your route and at your destination. BringFido lists them, along with links if available and any rules/requirements - they also list dog events/attractions.

I know you'll have ID on Jackson but I'll also get temp tags with the address of where we're staying, along with my cell phone number. I'll put something like, 'on vacation at: address/phone', along with one that says 'En route to: address/phone'.

Hope you can make the trip with Jackson!

Kharma is the best road trip buddy EVER. And never once has she asked me, "are we there yet?"

Second best was a pair, my big blue cat, Gonzo, and Bear, my GSD/Akita mix. Gonzo used the toilet so we'd stop at rest areas for him to use the facilities. It caused quite a stir, lol. People would ask me why I was taking my cat inside (technically pets weren't allowed) and I'd tell them he needed to use the toilet. No one ever told me I couldn't after hearing that

I'll take a road trip with animals over one with people any day!

I did it many times. And currently, as I type now, i have my Snowy traveling with me. Here he is today


And here too, marking a giant tree in a snowy day today


I love traveling with the malts . It's fun

Well, I make the 21 hour drive to Illinois from Texas every Christmas with all three of my dogs. Fortunately, mine are great in the car and just sleep the whole way.



But no, it's really not that bad at all. I just stop every 4-5 hours when I need to fill up on gas, and I let the dogs out for a minute. Just look for one with a grassy area near it. You'd only need to stop once, about halfway there.

I will say you should bring plenty of music, and make sure there is someone you can call and talk to if you start getting tired. I'd rather you be talking on the phone while driving than nodding off at the wheel. And long drives can make you sleepy.

I travel with my dogs. It's not big deal to me.

We bring CDs and audio books. The guys hang out in their crate or the back seat. When we stop for gas they get a quick potty break and back on the road we go. They have stayed in a hotel and did very well

This is something I have always wanted to do.
Just jump in my car with my dog and just travel around the US.
I seriously want to do this next summer/fall, if at all possible.

I do it quite a bit. He gets a pee break when I stop for gas and I give water at the same time. We've never had an issue and he's a great travel buddy. Virgo was a great navigator too.

Booker and I did Colorado Springs to Washington State many many times. It was always a great bit of fun... except Wyoming. I hate driving through Wyoming.

I'd love to do some traveling with just me and Elsie.

Last week we drove from southern California to Phoenix AZ, and she was awesome in the car. She watched out the window for about half the drive each way, and then slept. On the way out we stopped three times and on the way home we stopped twice.

I had my boyfriend (and his dog, Zobby) with me, though, so I wasn't traveling alone.

I drove to Kentucky and back (17 hours or so) with Meg last year for the Cynosport World Games. No issues at all. I didn't plan anything out even. People kept asking what route I was going to take and I just said "Whatever way my GPS sends me that morning!". The first day I drove until I was tired, then just found a Red Roof off the interstate. Coming home, and starting to see sites that were familiar to me, I just decided to make a run for it and did the whole drive in a day (9:30 am to 2:30 am).

I'd just let her out, water and (when needed) feed her whenever I pulled over for gas or a potty break for myself.

The only time I really travel is for dog shows...sooooo yeah.

The only time I've flown was to pick up Logan :rofl1:

Sorry, really can't help in the non-dog-related travel department lol. A few years ago we did travel to my aunt 18 hours away with two ancient dogs. Neither are with us anymore, and it was before I got my dogs. It was uncomfortable because we were in a pickup and I had a 90-some-odd-pound GSD in my lap. But it was doable, and once we were there it was fine. She has dogs too, and they got along great. One dog was crated and the other was shut into the bedroom any time we left, and her dogs had free range of the rest of the house. No big deal. If I were to do that with my dogs, I'd bring portable crates most likely (the canvas type ones).

Awesome, sounds easy enough really.

Good thing is that Jackson is a very good traveler - he's in the car with me almost every day. He has done a 3 hour trip with me but we were following my dad in the RV. He also has his Snoozer carseat that he loves. So I am not too much worried about him being a bother - he usually looks out the window, or lays down for brief periods of time.

I pretty much just follow my GPS. hehe.

I guess I was most concerned with driving a long way by myself essentially as I've never done that before. But I don't really like being with another person for that long anyways in a car, LOL, so it may work out better.

Well, I'm never alone, my husband is always with me, but I travel all over the U.S. with my dogs. It's really easy, I could do it alone no problem. Basically, you just make sure you stop every few hours to let them out, give them water, etc. There's a lot of motels out there that allow pets for a small deposit.