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Traveling With Pets

Taking your pet with you on vacation or even just on short trips can be a great experience. Some pets, however, don’t enjoy traveling so make sure to plan your trip with your pet in mind!

  • First and foremost, make sure your pet is healthy enough to travel. This includes being up to date on vaccinations, as well as heartworm and flea/tick prevention (apply approximately 3 days or more before travel for best protection). Research if certain vaccinations are recommended where you will be traveling. Keep in mind that International travelers may need their pet to get a rabies titer check at least 6-12 months before their departure date, not to mention any other paperwork that may take months to complete.
  • Bring along the name, telephone number, and fax number for your veterinary clinic, and find the name and telephone number of a veterinary clinic where you will be traveling in case of an emergency.
  • Be sure your pet has a form of identification (collar with tags, microchip, rabies tag, and/or license). It’s not a bad idea to take a photo and description of your pet in case he/she gets lost.
  • Don’t wait to find out if the hotel/motel/bed and breakfast you will be staying at allows pets, and make sure to follow airline instructions for rules and guidelines. The same applies to trains, buses, and ships; each form of transportation may have a different procedure.
  • If driving to a destination, check with state laws about the required paperwork to cross borders (i.e. health certificate, rabies certificate, etc).
  • Make sure to pack everything your pet may need: food, medication, toys, bedding, bottled water (to ensure fresh/clean water), bowls for food and water, leash, crate, etc.
  • If your pet gets anxious or car sick during travel, there are many options to assist with comfort. Supplements such as Anxiety Travel drops, Stress Away Tablets, Feliway, and Dog Appeasing Pheromones (DAP) are a few products we have available. Sedatives and motion sickness medications are prescribed on a case-by-case basis, so please be sure to consult with one of our veterinarians. It may also be a good idea to condition your pet to take car rides before going on a long trip to get your pet used to car rides.

Any questions or concerns can also be discussed with one of our veterinarians or veterinary technicians.