Nothing is quite as fun as packing up and heading out of town for a weekend or a longer trip. A change of scenery from time to time is important to recharge your battery. This is true for your dog as well. Most dogs love to travel and to be exposed to new places just like you do. But there are a few things that you need to do to make the trip a positive experience for everyone.

TIP ONE
Make sure that you take with you items that your dog is fond of on the trip. Being ripped away from their routine and surroundings can be traumatic for your dog. If your pet has a favorite toy or blanket, be sure to take it along with you in the car. For more comforts of home, you can also bring their food and water dishes from home to use when you arrive at your destination. Also pack a good supply of paper towels and blankets for cleaning up dog hair, dirty paws and the like.

TIP TWO
Keep small plastic bags of food and treats with you as you travel with your dog. The main supply of their food for vacation can be kept in the main luggage. Even if you do not think that your dog will need to eat while traveling because it will be a short amount of time before you reach your destination, you still need to have some food on hand in case something happens and your are detained longer on the road then planned. Keep these baggies of food in a couple of different bags that are being carried on the trip. This will help you from misplacing the dog food when you really need it.

TIP THREE
If your dog does not currently travel often, keep in mind that it could be a traumatic experience him to travel with you. To lessen this possibility, take some time well before your trip to take your dog in the car for short trips to acclimate him to the experience. My poodle Buffy, who wasn’t accustomed to riding in the car except to the vet, without fail would throw up as soon as she rode in the car. That is until I began taking her with me to the park when I walked. She soon associated riding in the car with something she enjoyed instead of something unpleasant. Buffy’s nausea when riding in the car was soon replaced with excitement.

TIP FOUR
Keep a clean water supply with you as you travel with your pet. You can keep a couple of bottles of water with you just for this. There are pop up bowls that you can use as a drink container for your pet when you are on the road.

TIP FIVE
Make frequent stops during the drive – at least once per hour to hour and a half, especially if you are motorhome towing. Dogs can get car sick just like humans and if you dog gets nervous out of his routine, he may need more potty breaks than normal. From my experience, my dogs have been so excited to travel, that they wanted to get out of the car and explore often.

TIP SIX
One of the most important things to do when traveling with a dog is to make sure they have identification on them. The identification should clearly state their name, your name, address and phone number. This will be a lifesaver if you should become separated from your pet. This happened to a friend of mine who was traveling from Florida to Texas in a convertible with a friend and her Golden Retriever, Goldie. At some point while driving down the freeway Goldie fell out of the convertible onto the road. It was a miracle that she was reunited with Goldie about five hours later when she received a call on her mobile phone from the person who found Goldie limping along the highway. If my friend had not had a current identification tag on Goldie, she would have lost her best friend forever.

Traveling with your dog can be a fun experience for you both. Once you have taken one trip with your dog, hopefully you will want to take him on every trip. Your dog will love exploring new places and spending time with you. By following the tips above you can make sure that your trip with your dog is fun and free for you both.

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It is so easy to get distracted when working in your own home environment and as I work full-time from home running my own business, it was important that I settle my puppy into a daily routine from an early age.

I got my latest dog Zoe as a 7 week old puppy and to ensure that she got the attention and exercise that she needed and I was able to carry on with my own work with minimal disruption, I felt it was important to start the puppy training and get her into a routine at an early age.

I am an early riser and like to put in 2 – 3 hours work online before breakfast, Zoe on the other hand likes to sleep in, so it suited me fine that she preferred to stay in her bed until breakfast time.

Being a Jack Russell Terrier, Zoe has boundless energy and I planned on walking her twice a day. So, immediately after breakfast we got into the routine of going for our first walk of the day. This gives my eyes a break from the computer and keeps my blood circulating as well as gives Zoe a good start to the day.

I use a 15 foot retractable lead which gives Zoe quite a lot of freedom on her walks and in the area I live there are places where I can safely take her off the lead so she can have a good run around. She does not wander far and will immediately stand still when I say the word “wait”.

When we get back home she is happy and content and as she has the run of the front garden and the house she is in and out for the rest of the morning doing her own thing, such as chasing lizards in the garden, guarding the house or just basking in the sun. She will pop into my study every now and again just to say hello and to let me know she is still around.

From the day I got Zoe, I have always set aside about 30 minutes after my lunch and supper for what I term quality play time. I played more frequently with Zoe when she was a puppy but for shorter periods of time. She really looks forward to this and as I am finishing up in the kitchen she will bring her favorite toy for a game of tug-of-war! Once I say “back to work now” she is quite happy to stop playing and let me return to my study.

She will come into the study to remind me that it is time for our second walk of the day just before 4pm every day. This is usually a long walk and on the way home we stop in to see my mother where Zoe gets a biscuit!  Her inner clock is extremely accurate and at exactly 5pm she will come to me and lick her lips as if to say “can we please go home now so I can have my supper”.

Once again she is content to do her own thing until I have had my supper and she will remind me that it is time for another game of tug-of- war by bringing her favorite toy to the kitchen, and jumping on to the counter next to the Grohe faucet.

Whilst I spend a couple of hours on the computer in the evening she usually sleeps under my desk until I tell her it is bed time. This is when she gets her two biscuits and she will race down the passage to the bedroom with another toy and wait patiently until I arrive with her treats.

I also made a point of taking Zoe in the car from a very young age and now she loves to go for a ride and I just have to say the words “shall we go in the car” and she will run off and sit beside the car door ready for me to put her harness on so she can sit on her specially covered part of the seat in the back, with a short leash attached to her harness and secured so she cannot fall off the seat or be thrown around the car in the event of sharp braking.

The daily routine works well for us both in that it keeps us both exercised, Zoe rarely gets bored, it allows me to run my home business without unnecessary interruptions, and she is content and knows what the day holds for her.

Persevere with developing the routine as puppies soon adapt to those parts of the day when they get your full attention and become resigned to the fact that that is not going to happen throughout the day.

When she was four months old I enrolled her for puppy school classes at a dog training center close by and carried on with the training at home once the course was completed. I stuck to the daily routine as rigidly as possible so now she knows exactly what the day holds for her and she is happy and such a pleasure to have around as well as being a great companion.

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You’ll find lots more puppy and dog training tips at the Puppy Dog Training Tips website. Subscribe to the free Puppy Dog Training Tips Newsletter for free training tips and more. Click here: http://www.puppy-dog-training-tips.com

With the summer months upon us, it’s time for a reminder about the dangers of leaving your pet in a parked car. Whether you’re parking in the shade, just running into the store, or leaving the windows cracked, it is still not ok to leave your pet in a parked car.

The temperature inside a car can skyrocket after just a few minutes. Parking in the shade or leaving the windows cracked does very little to alleviate this pressure cooker.

On a warm, sunny day try turning your car off, cracking your windows and sitting there. It will only be a few short minutes before it becomes unbearable. Imagine how your helpless pet will feel. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows cracked can reach 102 degrees within only ten minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. At 110 degrees, pets are in danger of heatstroke. On hot and humid days, the temperature in a car parked in direct sunlight can rise more than 30 degrees per minute, and quickly become lethal.

Stanford University School of Medicine conducted a study to measure the temperature rise inside a parked car on sunny days with highs ranging from 72 to 96 degrees F. Their results showed that a car’s interior can heat up by an average of 40 degrees F within an hour, regardless of ambient temperature. Ambient temperature doesn’t matter – it’s whether it’s sunny out. Eighty percent of the temperature rise occurred within the first half hour. Even on a relatively cool day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels if the sun is out.

Further, the researchers noted that much like the sun warms a greenhouse in winter; it also warms a parked car on cool days. In both cases, the sun heats up a mass of air trapped under glass. Precautions such as cracking a window or running the air conditioner prior to parking the car were found to be inadequate.

Pets are very susceptible to overheating as they are much less efficient at cooling themselves than people are. The solution is simple – leave your pets at home if the place you are going does not allow pets.

Dogs are designed to conserve heat. Their sweat glands, which exist on their nose and the pads of their feet, are inadequate for cooling during hot days. Panting and drinking water helps cool them, but if they only have hot air to breathe, dogs can suffer brain and organ damage after just 15 minutes. Short-nosed breeds, young pets, seniors or pets with weight, respiratory, cardiovascular or other health problems are especially susceptible to heat-related stress.

Signs of heat stress include: heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid pulse, unsteadiness, a staggering gait, vomiting or a deep red or purple tongue. If a pet becomes overheated, immediately lowering their body temperature is a must.

- Move the pet into the shade and apply cool (not cold) water all over their body to gradually lower their temperature.

- Apply ice packs or cool towels to the pet’s head, neck and chest only.

- Allow the pet to drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes.

- Then take the pet to the nearest vet.

Animal Services Officers or other law enforcement officers are authorized to remove any animal left in an unattended vehicle that is exhibiting signs of heat stress by using the amount of force necessary to remove the animal, and shall not be liable for any damages reasonably related to the removal. The pet owner may be charged with animal cruelty.

Creating greater awareness is the key to preventing pets from this unnecessary suffering. Below are some tips to help spread the word:

- A good start is to let friends know about the dangers of leaving their pets in a parked car and remind them to keep their pets at home on warm sunny days if they’ll be going anywhere pets are not allowed.

- The Humane Society of the United States has posters available for a nominal fee that store managers can post inside their windows to remind shoppers that “Leaving Your Pet in a Parked Car Can Be a Deadly Mistake.” They also have similar hot car flyers.

- Get involved. If you see a pet in a parked car during a warm sunny day, go to the nearest store and have the owner paged. Enlist the help of a local police officer or security guard or call the local police or animal control office.

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Kim Salerno is the President & Founder of TRIPSwithPETS.com. She founded the pet travel site in 2003 and is an expert in the field of pet travel and weight loss pills. Her mission is to ensure that pets are welcome, happy,and safe in their travels.
Visit her company website at http://www.tripswithpets.com