A few years ago, I left my hometown and moved to California from New York for my husband’s new job. My small Shih Tzu, Teddy, made the move with us.Â
We were excited by the plethora of day and weekend trips we could take, but we didn’t have any family or friends to leave our pup with in our new city.
I considered boarding my dog, but reputable kennels could be quite pricey and I would be worried about him, this was when I discovered Airbnb. Did you know they have a pet friendly filter? Once I find a listing that accepts pets, I’ll e-mail the owner/host on the website to inquire about the pet fee. I occasionally find a place that will let me bring the dog for free, but a reasonable daily pet fee is anything around $20 or less. I recommend reading a good number of the reviews on any Airbnb listing before booking.
Before arriving at my rental home, I like to try to wear my pup out so he isn’t too anxious. I’ll bring a crate along for him, so if we do a non-pet friendly activity he has a place he feels safe. Remember to pack dog food, treats, dog poop bags, and a pet bed too!
If you don’t want to go the Air BnB route, I would consider searching Kayak.com for pet friendly accommodations. Once on the website, go under amenities and check off “pet friendly.” I encourage you to call the hotel to verify the pet policy and if there are any fees to avoid any misunderstanding.
Once you have your place booked, it’s time for the fun part, finding pet friendly activities. I recommend the website BringFido.com, this a great resource for finding things to do at your destination with your furry pal. When we want to go to a museum, we will crate the dogs for a few hours.
Due to subsequent job relocations, we have had the opportunity to travel a lot in the USA, often with Teddy and our five pound dog Cujo. Via Bring Fido, we have found some AMAZING places to bring the dogs!
We have brought our little dogs on a tour of Magnolia Plantation in SC, Myrtle Beach Boardwalk (in the off season), the Santa Monica pier, the Beaches of the Outer Banks in NC, wineries in Sonoma, breweries in just about any city, on the Subway in Manhattan, the Blowing Rock in NC, the Blue Mountain Parkway for a scenic drive, checking out graffiti art at Miami’s Wynwood District, the shopping mall in Boca Raton, FL, Fountain of Youth in St Augustine, FL, Forsyth Park in Savannah, various beach cities and boardwalks along the coast of California, Palm Springs, Pioneertown in CA, boat rides and more.
Our dogs are quite small, so we often use a dog stroller to transport them.
Another travel option is a shoulder bag dog carrier. The dog stroller makes it easy to transport them around when we go to smaller cities When we go someplace new I enjoy soaking in the atmosphere while we stroll around a new downtown. I’ve found that a lot of shop owners are welcoming to small dogs that are carried into (non-food) shops.
Eating out with pets on a vacation can be tricky. We always look for a restaurant with an outdoor patio, of course, this will be tricky in colder parts of the USA. Again, turn to BringFido.com for a list of pet friendly restaurants with seating outdoors.
Researching pet restrictions ahead of time will help make your canine friendly vacation go quite smoothly.
Author Bio: Follow Kara and her dogs on Instagram at @northcarolinadogs!
I always have The Who is gonna watch the dogs dilemma .Mine are large so it’s harder but thanks for the great Info
I was on a plane next to someone with their dog in a carrier at their feet. I had no idea the dog was there until we got up to get off the plane. My dog would never cooperate like that.
The pictures of you dogs are ADORABLE! I’ve never heard of bringfido.com but what a GREAT idea for a company. If only we had a dog. When we did, we didn’t have a great way to figure out if he could come with us (and he was HUGE) so we did have him in a doggy day care. Your dogs are super blessed to be living the life!
We don’t have pets that we travel with, but this post is wonderful for people that do! I think the little dogs you have pictured here are SO cute in the stroller!
It looks like so much fun to travel with a dog! I only have a cat right now – she’s super adventurous so I’ve definitely considered bringing her along on short trips. When the day comes that I finally get a dog, I’ll definitely be bring them on my travels with me!
That’s so cute that you use dog strollers! Thanks so much for the awesome tips on traveling with animals. If we ever get animals, I’ll keep these in mind.
I love these pictures it looks like it was a fun vacation for everyone.
I love that there are so many places that are dog friendly. It’s so fun to see travelers and their companions.
While I don’t have any pets, these are great tips for people traveling with pets or are considering doing so.
oh gosh , this is such a great post. WE are just contemplating getting one … Interesting the amount of thought it takes.
This is such a cute post with your adorable little furry kids. I wish I thought of doing this when I had my little pups. We often left them to be watched by a dog sitter which was fine, but I often missed them and wished they were with us. I love how they’re strollered and carried in bags. So so cute! Love these suggestions. Will def remember for when we get our next dog!
Your babies are so cute. I have too many to take on vacation. Wink.
Awww there so precious. I’ve never toke my animals on a trip before. Thanks for the tips.
Your dogs are so adorable! We can’t go anywhere without ours either. We don’t have anyone that they are comfortable with. They are anxious and territorial. I hadn’t ever thought of Airbnb’s though such a great idea!
What sweet puppies!! Great tips!! I’ll definitely remember this for next time
I never leave my pets at home when we travel. These are fantastic tips to keep your fur babes with you when you travel.
I like the stroller for your fur babies! In my place, there are not very many pet friendly hotels/accommodations. When we travel, we leave our fur baby in the care of my sister. She makes sure our dog gets lots of playtime to reduce his anxiety.
I’m a dog mom and I always try to travel with my two maltese’s when I travel. I have been thinking about getting a dog stroller for when we are in little towns and I want to do some shopping. I think it would make things easier!
OMG! Teddy and Cujo are so freakin cute!!! What a great idea to bring along a dog stroller! Especially for little Teddy!
I love this blog post. I have four dogs, with one of them being a new puppy. A toy dog chihuahua, a French Bulldog, a labor-doodle, and a mixed dog/wolf pup (the puppy) so traveling can be hectic. My dogs tend to fly with me a lot even though I can depend on relatives who live an hour away to take care of them when they cannot. They are angels and this blog sheds light on the importance of pets and traveling.
Thanks for sharing some amazing pet friendly travel tips. I am looking for something like this only. And I know few of friends who always looking for something like this I am sharing with them without wasting single minute
These are all great tips to keep in mind. And your dogs look so cute and adorable x
I honestly just had to stop and admire the little guy behind that captain’s wheel! Oh my gosh that was so adorable! Be right back, going to go hang out with my Cat!
Travelling is my passion, but I want a pet (a small dog) so so bad… when this dog-robot got announced at CES recently, I was definitely hooked. Your tips, however, have quite convinced me that a real dog might be even better and so easy to handle when abroad 🙂
Great tips, im sure that not only you guys are having fun but the pets as well
These are helpful tips! I dont have a pet but my friends have them so i will fwd this post to them! 🙂
Cujo looks really cute.
Pets should be taken extra care while travelling. Truely said.
Oh they are so cute..! I absolutely love smaller pets, they are prettier and easy to stroll around.
Sharing this with my best friend who is a recent pet parent and is very sceptical about travelling with her! 🙂
I’ve always wanted to travel with my dogs. These tips are very helpful and Bring Fido sounds like a great site to find places I can take my pets!
Such a nice guide! But what surprised me the most is how your dogs know to pose this way!
I’ve never had a pet but this article makes me need one and of course, travel with it. Very insightful.
These are awesome tips! I don’t currently have a dog, just acts, but I do want to have one sometime in the future. These will be great to refer to when that time comes. Thanks for sharing!