Traveling Together

Do you travel with your dog?

Take vacations together?

Here is one dog and human team that has been traveling together for nearly five years. Talk about bonding!

Ara Gureghian and his dog, Spirit have been traveling across America on a motorbike equipped with a special side car for his canine buddy. For this man and his best friend it is about the spiritual journey for there is no destination.

They like to travel slowing to take in all the sights. Ara has been posting stories and photographs about their travels on the Internet. His photography is awesome! Be sure to visit his website. You can also experience "the ride" as you watch the videos. The SPOT satellite tracker enables you to track their journey.

They seem to favor the big open spaces, the type of spectacular terrain found in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. The last post was from Texas.

It sounds as if Ara and Spirit have developed a special relationship traveling the highways of America.

Dogs ready to travel:



See Spirit on the website.

Dogs and Motion Sickness

Did you know that motion sickness could also affect your dog?

Motion sickness is an illness associated with motion – as in a car, a boat or an airplane. Since vacations typically involve traveling, dogs prone to motion sickness do not always enjoy the trek to the final destination.

The cause of motion sickness is stimulation of the vestibular apparatus located within the inner ear. When this apparatus is stimulated, your dog feels dizzy and nausea may develop. Usually, the signs of motion sickness stop when the vehicle stops moving. Pets afflicted with motion sickness begin drooling, feel nauseated and may even develop vomiting or diarrhea. If your pet is known to experience motion sickness that is not easily treated, you may want to reconsider bringing him/her along on vacation.

Treatment

There are various ways to treat and even overcome motion sickness.

Frequently, the signs of motion sickness can be overcome by conditioning the pet to travel. Slow, short and frequent trips in the vehicle, gradually increasing length of the ride, can help condition your dog.

Some dogs cannot be conditioned and medication is necessary. Commonly used medications to help reduce the nausea associated with motion sickness include diphenhydramine (Benadryl®), meclizine (Bonine®) and dimenhydrinate (Dramamine®). These medications are available without a prescription but should never be used unless specifically recommended by a veterinarian. Proper dosage and use are crucial to treating and diminishing the signs of motion sickness.

For some pets, the motion sickness and anxiety associated with travel is so severe that sedatives are necessary. Commonly used sedatives include acepromazine and phenobarbital. These are available by prescription and should be used with caution in animals traveling by airplane because of the possibility of side effects. In a cargo hold, there is little direct supervision of animals, so side effects may go unnoticed. In addition, there is little chance that a pet can receive medical help while the airplane is in the air.

Previous blogs discussed both traveling on an airplane with your dog and whether or not to sedate your dog.

Traveling with Dogs

Dogs love to go for car rides. For many dogs, their favorite words are "bye-bye". I have seen dogs jump, prance, smile and bark with delight at the thought of a car ride. How many times have you seen dogs hanging out the car window? Or on the owner's lap looking as happy as can be?

Yes, going for a ride in the car can be fun, but driving with dogs can also be very dangerous to both you and your dog.

There are some very common dangers and causes of injuries that can be prevented – and if you understand them, it will help keep you and your dog safe.

1. Jumpers – Many dogs love to hang out windows and watch what goes by, enjoying the feel of the air in their hair. Some dogs will jump out of an open car window, even though their owners would have sworn they would never do that. One day – for some reason – something extra excites them and out they go. Ebony did this after a rabbit!

2. Air and eye injuries – Some dogs that hang their head out of an open car window can obtain injures when things that are flying in the air hit their head or eyes. When these objects hit the dog's eyes it can cause corneal ulcers and injuries.

3.Airbags – Dogs can be severely (even fatally) injured by airbag deployment. For this reason, many dog seats and harnesses are created for use in the back seat.

4.Distraction – Dogs distract drivers. I have seen excited dogs on their owner's lap moving back and forth from the passenger window to the drivers' window.

5.Slowed reaction time – With a dog on your lap, your ability to drive and react quickly is impaired. Drivers are often unable to make a quick turn with their dog on their lap.

6.Injury in crashes – Pets can be severely injured in crashes and, when they are unrestrained, they can run out of the car and suffer even more injuries. Some have even run away.

7.Foot petal problems – Some dogs (and cats) love to get down by the floor, under the seat or near the foot petals.

Less than 20% of dog owners use some sort of harness or seat belt to restrain their dog while in a car. Seat belts and car seats are especially made to keep dogs safe.