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Travel Pees

The Five Pees of Road Trips - Pee 1 - Planning

We are soooooo ready for the B.A.R. to be here!!!

 Mama was ready to just hop in the car and GO, but we are making sure before we go anywhere, Mama is ready and doesn't forget anything (like our cookies!).


Arty and I wanted to make sure Mama had some basic guidelines to follow for our road trip.
After we thought of the 5 Pees, we decided to share them with you,  so you could help your humans get ready too!!



 Today, we are starting with the first Pee, Planning! Since we are driving from the west coast, we knew we better start planning SOON. We sat Mama down last weekend and started our planning! 



 The first thing we did was Plan Our Route!
 You want to make sure your humans get plenty of rest stops and potty breaks, so we usually plan no more than 6 - 8 hours of driving time a day!  



The easiest way we found to do this was by looking at a map (we went to Mapquest) and asking for directions to a town we thought was between 6 and 8 hours away (Mapquest will let you know the exact drive time). This also can help you estimate how long your total trip will be! Since we are traveling from Northy North California, and staying at the B.A.R. for the weekend, this will be a 14 1/2 day road trip for us, PAWSOMESAUCE!!

 After traveling 6 - 8 hours each day we knew we would need a nice comfy place to rest our furry heads for the evening. We needed to find a hotel and made sure they allowed both furry heads and human heads! Our pawrents are big LaQuinta fans; all but one LQ they visited allowed us to stay with them, plus they were so very understanding when Mama brought us all up here to Northy North California from Texas!  We also like that it doesn't cost lots and lots of green papers to stay there (so we can stop at pet stores along the way for special treats!!)  PLUS, they have a great reward program that will earn us free nights for future road trips!



 
If you don't like LaQuinta, or if there isn't an LQ where you are stopping for the night, we hear Red Roof Inns are also very pet and human friendly!! Nowadays, there are many pet friendly hotels around for you to choose. No matter which hotel you pick, we always advise calling ahead to make sure they don't have a weight limit or a limit on the number of doggies that can stay in one room with you! At all of the LQ's we are staying, pups stay for free, but always check wherever you stay to see if there is a pet charge or deposit required!



 We all know how many times humans have to go potty, plus I do love to stretch my pawsies a lot during long car rides, so it is always important to make sure there are rest stops along your route!
We searched and found a couple of websites where you can make sure they have lots of rest areas along the route you are taking. They are noted below with other helpful travel links!




 We also know how cranky our peeps get if they don't eat! 
Nowadays there are bunches of different options for humans, so they should be able to fend for themselves (I especially prefer drive thrus which serve french fries or puppachinos for sharing!)
But here is a tip for us pups. Last year, while I was with Mama on our road trip, I was a bit hesitant eating just my kibble. I found a tablespoon or so of delicious wet food helped the kibble go down much easier! I also find that having big bottles of water from the store (or filled up at home) were great for sipping at rest stops!!





We hope this will help you a bit with your planning!
 If you have a question we didn't answer, please ask in the comments and we will be sure to get back to you!! 
We will see you on February 16th for our next Pee of Travel, 
Preparing for your trip!



 Helpful Planning Links to have for Planning your Trip!
Planning Your Route
Rest Areas

General Tips and Planning

Our Favorite Pet Friendly Hotels

Find other Pet Friendly Hotels

The Five Pees of Road Trips - Pee 2 - Preparing

We're another month closer to the BAR, which means it's time for the next installment of The Five Pees of Travel!! 
If you missed Pee #1 - Planning, click HERE or visit the Travel Pees page at the top of the page!
In this installment, Arty and I  are going to cover what you can do to start preparing for your trip to the BAR!!




The first important things you can do to start preparing is make sure you current tags!

Name/Contact Tag - Make sure sure you are wearing a name tag. You want the other pups to know your name at the BAR, right?? Along with your name, it should also have a phone number where your pawrents can be reached. You never know when your pawrents might get lost and you might not be able to find them. This way someone can call them and tell them how to find their way back.

Current Shots and Rabies Tag - None of us like to visit the V-E-T but, before you hop in the car to head to the BAR,  make sure your shots are up to date and you are wearing your current rabies tag. 

Microchip Tag - We always wear our fashionable Microchip tag! This tag has our microchip number on it for easy look up. All of us here at Dory's Backyard are micro-chipped because, you know, that whole parents getting lost thing.  It is also a good idea to have your V-E-T scan your microchip annually to make sure it is still where it is suppose to be!

License Tag - We were amazed when we found out that California makes us where a tag to prove we live here...Texas never made us!! But we digress, if your state requires a License Tag, make sure you are wearing it too...

Needless to say, we have so many jingles our pawrents ALWAYS know we are coming!!



We may have to wear all those tags...but we make sure Mama always carries the following papers in her....Information Book (What a BORING name, Mama).  Mama is a bit OCD when it comes to us, so humor her and nod your heads like this isn't crazy, ok?? BOL!

Pet Information - Mama writes a short description of all of us pups. Our likes/dislikes, what scares us, what our favorite cookies are and our descriptions. She also includes a picture of each of us. She does this just in case our parents get lost or if there is an emergency and we need to stay at a spa while we are on the road.

Emergency Numbers - Mama includes numbers where Daddy or Grandma and Grandaddy can be reached just in case! She also has the number of our V-E-T on this page.

Medical Information and Vaccine Records - None of us are allergic to anything and we aren't taking special medications, but if we were, we would make sure to have a record of what we were taking and how often we needed to take the medication. Mama DOES have copies of all of our most recent vaccinations and vet records.

Dog License Paperwork - Because we sleep hard and play hard (and may lose our license tags), Mama keeps copies of our Dog License paperwork in the book.

She leaves a copy of this book at home for Nanny Ally when she comes to visit and Mama and Daddy abandon us go on trips!
In case you didn't know,  we live in the middle of nowhere in a remote area of the country. We are prone to earthquakes and landslides, so Mama always has an emergency kit in the back of the Rogue. We aren't going to list everything we have in ours, just things you might need "just in case".

First Aid Kits -  Mama has one for her (and Daddy). She bought it prepackaged and then added extra things (like sudafed, ibuprofin, etc) that she might need. Mama also has one for us that she bought at that Amazon place that has stuff for basic pet first aid.  She also has a Pet First Aid book.

Extra Food and Water - Mama keeps LOTS of bottled water in the back of the Rogue, she also carries emergency dinner for us in case we are stuck on the road at dinnertime. If you notice, by my annoyed face in the above picture, Mama does NOT carry extra cookies (from Mama - that I tell Dory about because she would just eat them)!! Also make sure you remind your peeps to bring extra food bowls and water dishes too!!

Extra Dog Supplies - Extra harnesses, leashes, collars, you name it..Mama brings it.  She learned that you never know when a dog Jakey will chew through a harness or leash and you will need a replacement.

Towels (Bath Towels AND Paper Towels) - Mama always makes sure she carries at least one towel per pup she is traveling with, and an extra towel in the back seat because you never, ever, ever, ever, can have too many towels!! She carries at least 2 rolls of paper towels.

Cleaning solution - Mama carries windex (for dirty windows) and ummm extra strength doggy clean up spray. Cause, you never know if one of the boys is going to hurl.

Duct Tape - Mostly because Daddy is an engineer and can fix anything with a roll of duct tape! 

You can tailor your Emergency Kit to fit your specific needs.
(I would add emergency cookies FOR SURE!!)





Arty wants to make sure you remember to have your pawrents buckle you up for safety.
Whether you have a crate you ride in, or a harness and clip like we do. Make sure every one is safe and secure on the drive!

...and we end this travel"Pee" with a reminder to start stocking up on those poop bags (BOL!!).  This is another item you can never, ever have enough of!!
Thanks so much for joining us today for Pee #2 - Preparing. 
Let us know if you have any questions, and we'll try and answer them in the comments!

Make sure you join us next month for Pee #3 - Packing!!!
We can't WAIT to see everyone at the BAR!!!

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