If you have a small dog or a cat as a pet and consider it part of your family, then you will definitely want to take it along with you when you travel. And if you have children, then definitely the request to travel together will come from the young ones, no doubt! Traveling with your pet can be a totally enjoyable experience if you plan it properly. Here is a guide for traveling with your pet.

First, make sure your pet is healthy to travel with you. Take it to the veterinarian, ask for travel tips to make it safe and comfortable and update all its medications and vaccinations. Keep its medical records and the veterinarian’s emergency contact details handy at all times during your travel. Pack up adequate pet food, clean drinking water, travel-friendly collapsible bowls, favorite toys, some new toys, appropriate bedding and crate, grooming brush, cleaning essentials to clean the potty, and a spare collar and leash. Make sure your pet wears a sturdy collar with one, or even two, identification tags. The tags must contain its name, your phone number, and details of its latest vaccinations, especially the rabies shot. If you think embedding a microchip tag in your pet is good for its safety, then consider doing it well ahead of your travel.

If you are planning to travel by car, make sure there is enough and more space for family members, including your pet and its crate. If it is not used to traveling, make a couple of practice trips with your pet locally to prepare and train it, and also observe how well it does during travel. Make sure your pet is fed just enough to not be hungry and is not too full either during the journey. Enough pit stops to empty its bladder and to allow it to stretch and play must be taken, so plan your travel schedule and route accordingly. Most importantly, when you decide to take your pet along with you in the car, it must be never left alone. An adult family member known to it must always stay with it in the car at all times.

If you are planning to travel by air, read and follow the numerous regulations and instructions that each airline has. Obtain and provide the necessary medical certificates from the veterinarian to the airline beforehand. Decide whether your pet needs to be sedated for the duration of the journey. Find out if it will travel with you in its crate in the passenger cabin, or whether it will travel separately. Reserve your flight tickets well in advance because many airlines usually have a restriction on the number of pets they would take along on a flight. Inform as many travel attendants as you can that your pet is traveling with you on the flight.

Traveling with your small pet can be an enjoyable experience for both you and the pet if you prepare and organize everything well ahead of time. Remain calm and do not rush or stress during any part of the journey. Your pet can sense your moods, so how comfortable and happy it feels depends on you. These are the few guidelines for traveling with your pet.