Travelling With Pets: Things To Keep In Mind

New Delhi: While travelling with your pet, keep dog wipes, water bow, food treats and essentials handy to make the trip memorable for you and your furry friends as well, say experts.

Rashi Narang, Creative Director at Heads Up For Tails, and Amol Sharma, Founder at PetSutra, have listed essential tips:

* Avoid feeding your pet food or water right before you set out. The moving vehicle may induce vomit if your pet has just eaten. Give your pet water frequently but in less quantity. This will keep them hydrated.

* If it's a road trip, make a pit stop every few hours to let your pet step out of the car and attend to nature's call, if required. It will also help them get some air and relieve nausea.

* Do not overfeed your pet and keep food restricted to only basics. Keep a few treats handy to satiate your pet's urge to eat/out of turn hunger pangs.

* Carry portable or foldable food and water bowl for your pet as they do not occupy any space and have negligible weight. They are also easy to clean up after meals and can easily fit into your hand bag.

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* Carry plenty of dog wipes to wipe off your pet's face and paws that may have caught on dust/dirt due to being in the outdoors.

* Since it's nearly impossible to carry your animal's bed with you during travel, you can carry a rolled up mat instead which works as a good substitute to bed and ensures your pet has his own space to rest.

* Carrying basic and necessary medicines is important as you may not always find suitable emergency medicines for your furry friend at your place of travel.

* Being crated is as important for pets just as seat belts are paramount for human safety. It is safest to have your pet crated to avoid a missile kind of launch in case of sudden braking. Plus, if your pet moves around too much, it could be a big distraction for the driver.

But in case you are too adverse to the idea of crating, please ensure that the pet is in the rear section of the vehicle with someone along with it.

* In case you are flying, there are certain norms of transportation followed by airlines which need to be adhered to, but try to ensure you too are boarded on the same flight. Most cabin crews are aware if there are pets on board and they can be of help.

* While choosing an accommodation, ensure it is pet-friendly. It's always good to take your animal for a quick walk when you reach the destination. This would help reduce anxiety. But yes, do yourself and others a favour by carrying a potty scooper and some disposal bags. It reflects very poorly if you litter the entire place.

* Carry some accessories such as a collar and leash, your pet's favourite toy and a wearable tracker.

IANS