Tips for Travelling with Your Dog

Tips on keeping your four-legged travelling companion safe and happy.

We are setting off around Europe for our year-long road trip of chasing the sun and happiness with our four-legged best friend, Winnie! Here’s our top tips for travelling with your dog, too, including tips from our vet.

ROUTINE

Routine provides a backbone of stability in an ever-changing environment. We ensure meal, bed and grooming times are kept consistent and if we can, walkies schedules too. If we are having a travelling day, Winnie will have a quick morning walk and a lovely long evening walk or the other way round to make sure she has enough exercise and mental enrichment.

We also make sure that Winnie has a safe space to retreat to, always. This is the bottom of the bed, usually the right-hand side where she sleeps. She’ll jump onto her blanket there if someone outside makes a loud bang or if we’re cleaning, though she’ll run onto the window-side bench to shout at anyone that comes too close to the van. So we try to keep that clear as well.

Image description: a close-up of Winnie, our black and white rescue dog. She is wearing a black buff to keep the wind off her neck and a hi-vis harness. Behind her is a beautiful waterfall pool at the Fairy Pools of Isle of Skye.

EQUIPMENT

We try to have doubles of most things, as Winnie is an expert in getting as muddy or as wet as possible, so there is time for one set to dry out. That includes collars (both with information tags on), leads, harnesses and coats. We have tonnes of blankets and towels that cover her front seat, the benches and the bed to keep the muddy patches to a minimum and so we can swap them out if they get soggy. I would 100% recommend doing the same.

For meals, we use a puzzle bowl for food and a collapsible bowl for water. Collapsible bowls are great, as long as they don’t tip over too easily (read: get something sturdy because you will put your foot in it when you’re half asleep). As she is a bit of an odd-one (though it makes sense), Winnie prefers natural running water outside and rarely drinks inside, but she always has the option.

In terms of travel friendly dog toys, we like the classic Kong toy, which we’ll put cheese or a treat in (don’t waste your money on those expensive, special brand shaped treats). Small treat-dispensing balls and chews are also great as they don’t need a lot of space when being used or stored. Snuffle mats are a great choice if your dog is into them for the same reasons! We don’t bring much else, just a couple of squeaky balls for days when she asks for them.

Image description: Winnie is sat in her red coat with her lead on in front of Prince Albert's memorial pyramid in the Scottish Highlands. Winnie has her lead on because there are sharp drops and most likely hibernating snakes nearby.

SAFETY

If you are travelling in the summer or warmer climates, I thoroughly suggest a reliable cool mat (preferably two); as well as a couple of flannels that you can put in a stream or in the fridge after wetting to keep your dog cool. We also carry cool water in an insulated bottle just for Winnie on walks.

We left Winnie in the van on her own twice ever, once to have a shower and once to have a quick shop where we were both needed. Otherwise, we don’t like taking the chance. If you are comfortable with leaving your dog in your campervan or motorhome, some like to use a petcam with a live feed. The one time we went shopping, I left my phone behind on Facetime to Jack (facing the dog) and we took his phone to keep an eye on her. Go with your gut instinct. We don’t have aircon and would never leave her in the van if it was hot, we take her everywhere with us and is one of the reasons we prefer to go on nature-escapes rather than city-based adventures.

Image description: Winnie is laid down on the van bed which is bare apart from a sky-blue cover. Her floral lead is next to her and she is staring out of the back doors, at the grass verge and trees next to the path. It is a beautiful beginning-of-summer's day. The back doors are bare apart from some wood which is taped to the panels, and there are parts of the interior which is not painted just yet. A little throwback to building the van outside our rental in Cornwall while I studied my master's degree.

LEGAL & HEALTH STUFF

If you’re from the UK, travelling around Europe (and staying in EU countries) isn’t too complicated in terms of paperwork for your dog. They will need to be up to date with their jabs, including rabies, and perhaps some others like Leishmaniasis if you are going to the south Mediterranean. Then you get an Animal Health Certificate within 10 days of leaving, which is valid for up to 4 months. As Winnie came to us from Greece, she will have both her Greek passport (to show proof of ownership etc) and her Animal Health Certificate with her during our travels. The latter should be around £120 and from an Official Veterinarian (OV).

Our vet has also recommended that we are really on top of it tick-wise, as Lyme disease is more prevalent in Europe, especially in France. We’ll be using an internal tick prevention, as topical ones can permanently damage aquatic life and is washed off after a swim, so it’s a lose-lose in our view. We have also been advised to stay away from beaches during dusk and dawn as this is when sand-flies are more active (crossing the 15oC threshold) and carry diseases like Leishmaniasis- there are vaccines for this but they don’t provide 100% full protection, so better safe than sorry and do both.

[Disclaimer: This is correct at the time of writing and is as comprehensive as I can make it without having a whole feature on it, but the Government and Eurotunnel websites have some useful information on there.]

And that’s it! Remember to have fun, soak in the adventure and stay safe. Join us over on Instagram @rewilding_our_lives to keep up with our travels and come and say hi, we’d love to hear from you!