Make Traveling with Pets Simple and Easy

Author: Maggie Williams

Traveling with pets is quite often something of a hassle as they are difficult to control and can get very excited when separated from their owner, even for short periods of time. This difficulty can be an extremely trying experience for you and your family to try to go anywhere, especially flying, with your favorite animal. While there are certainly difficulties involved in the trip, there are certain steps that you can take to minimize the effect on your pet. If you have a dog, you might very well wish to muzzle your k9 friend, as even friendly pets can become defensive and lash out at strangers when in certain volatile situations. Along with keeping them in a kennel, there are all manner of methods of calming your pet so that they can travel safely. Since they will quite often be kept in a luggage area, it is a good idea to lavish them with affection and make sure that they are well fed ahead of time, before boarding and before putting them into the cargo area. For those flying on an airline, it is a lesson in separation anxiety to attempt to put a pet through cargo at checkout. The pet does not like it, quite often the pet owner is not wild about the idea and all manner of bizarre circumstances can arise from this type of behavior. It is certainly not normal to put a pet on an aircraft, and the pet is well aware of this fact. By allowing them to experience as much of a calm and serene atmosphere as possible before boarding, you can ensure that they are at least somewhat calm and have every reason to believe that they will be relaxed during the flight. In many cases, owners prefer to let their pets run and play as much as possible just before boarding so that they will be exhausted and hopefully sleep through much of the flight. Besides the direct handling of the pet itself, it is important to make sure that the cargo plane ticket that is affixed to the kennel is firmly attached and clearly labeled as to the location destination. Getting your baggage sent to the wrong airport is bad enough when it is only inanimate objects such as clothing, but having your pet sent to the wrong airport can be quite an ordeal. Even though they might be well fed and well rested before the separation, it can occasionally take quite some time to recover your cargo, meaning that your pet will be alone in a strange place for an extended period of time. Until you can reclaim him, he will very likely be upset and nervous, causing all manner of odd behavior. For this reason, you should take every possible precaution in making sure that your pet arrives safely at his destination. While it isn't always possible, many pet lovers will take the time to actually follow the cargo onto the tarmac and ensure that their pets are loaded onto the same plane that they are getting onto. In this way, you can ensure that there is no doubt as to what plane that they are flying on and what their destination is. By eliminating this one particular doubt, you can soothe the greatest anxiety that most pet lovers have; that of separation. By making sure that you are both on the same plane, you have eliminated one of the biggest hurdles to traveling with a pet that exists in the modern world. While packing extra food, water (ice cubes work wonders), and favorite toys, it's wise to take a minute to locate the closest veterinarian to where you'll be staying. Finally, if you travel frequently with your pet, you may want to invest in rubberized floor liners and waterproof seat covers, available at auto product retailers.

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