12 travel essentials for dog friendly holidays
There are many things to consider when you take your dogs on holiday, however, to help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of essential travel accessories and gadgets to help make your adventure simpler and safer for you and your pets.
Below are 12 of the best travel essentials to consider when taking the dogs on holiday.
Ruffwear Portable Dog Bowl
Unless you’re travelling to quiet rural landscapes, there is almost a 100% guarantee that there will be toilet facilities wherever you go… for humans. Dogs, on the other hand, are not always catered for when it comes to this. While a number of travel-destinations are dog-friendly and provide drinking bowls for your parched pooches, you can’t really risk it and nobody wants to spend their whole holiday checking in advance whether there are suitable facilities – it’s kind of a kill-joy. This is where a portable dog bowl overtakes your dog as man’s best friend, ensuring you can go anywhere with running water and have hydration options for your barking buddy.
Narrowing it down is difficult, but the reliability of Ruffwear is largely undisputed. The Ruffwear bowl is made of fabric with a drawstring closing mechanism – essential for making sure it folds into your travel-bag, as well as for making sure that very same bag doesn’t end up drenched on its way home. After which, just pop it in the washing machine and you’re ready for your next trip. They are durable, high-quality and really pleasing to look at in three striking, classy colours – aesthetic might not be important to everyone, but is never to be completely overlooked.
Owners of the Ruffwear bowl rave about its versatility – such as if you suspect feeding-time might come knocking before you are back at your accommodation, providing a much neater experience whilst out and about.
Lightweight, quick, and easy! I LOVE that you can cinch the top and use the bowl as a carrier as well as a bowl! None of our 3 dogs are afraid to stick their face in there and get some grub! Very pretty color blue as well!
Chelsea Edwards – Amazon
Soggy Doggy Super Shammy
Dog owners are often distinguishable: they greet dogs on the street, (“why hello there little guy”), they whip out dog-accessories from their backback as if they’re a canine Mary Poppins, and they are often in a custody battle over “that spot” on the couch. One thing that should never be a tell-tail sign of dog-ownerships is smell. Be it a dog owner’s car, carpet or living room, wet dog should not be the fragrance of the month.
Many items can be prescribed as a remedy for the soggy-doggy eau de toilette, but not all of them are “essential” quite like a high-quality drying towel – with this, the others simply fall into the “nice to have, but not a necessity” category. You can trust the Soggy Doggy “shammys” to dry your dog no matter how long they’ve spent frolicking in a puddle which they managed to hunt down despite the sunny day.
Specifically, the Super Shammy is the item to take travelling. It holds up to seven times its weight in water, it is quick to dry, it has hand-pockets so that you can really rustle that fur around, and it catches the dirt, too – because let’s face it, they never pick the clean water to roll around in, do they?
Owners of Super Shammys marvel at how, despite its weight change once the water has been extracted, there’s never dripping or leaks. They also praise its softness – nothing but the best for our pampered pooches.
I love it! My dog loves it!! He proudly carries it around, offering it to visitors. All I have to do is say “your paws are wet” and he rushes off to fetch his towel!
Karia – Amazon
Dog First Aid Kit
Best case scenario, your pets don’t sustain an injury. However, dog-owners know that this isn’t always controllable. So, in this case, the next-best thing is for these injuries to occur close to home, so that you can whisk them off to your local vet.
Unfortunately, especially when travelling, this isn’t achievable either. Worse yet, if the injury is sustained far from your car, you’re going to need to get the pet-patient back (and they’re not always rucksack sized, are they?)
The Mountain Paws Dog First Aid Kit makes sure that no matter how deep on a forest walk or beach stroll you are, you are equipped with the tools necessary to get back (or, with minor scratches or grazes, to handle the issue yourself).
From paw sleeves to protect dressings or wounds, to a thermal blanket if the case requires it, the pack includes all essentials. The overarching awe of consumers is how much can fit in it, given that it’s small – a necessary travel feature, too.
A great little product that I’ve strapped on to a running belt as an extra pouch that I put on whenever I take my dog out. Better safe than sorry!
RSP – Amazon
Pogis Poop Bags
Arguably one of the most essential items to take travelling with your dog are waste bags – especially when you consider that most dog-friendly holidays are to beautiful, natural, outdoor destinations which, frankly, look a lot better when they aren’t scattered in doggie-doody.
If you want places to continue allowing the whole family (paws included) to holiday together, and for those places to remain enjoyable, then you need to pick up after your dog.
Pogis Poop Bags make this relatively painless – no leakage issues, and no environmental guilt because these are a biodegradable brand. Please remember: unless specified, biodegradable does not mean “compostable”, or that you can simply leave them in nature or a bush.
Though these remarkably only take as little as 18 months to break down, this is much more efficiently done in a landfill. Owners rave about their size and durability – the fewer bags you’re carting around, the better.
Really good bags – easy to open and states which end so you don’t spend ages trying to open the bottom of the bag (I’ve done this with other bags before!) The holders are really good and come with 2 attachments – a clip and a velcro strip. They smell nice before use too! Would definitely recommend and so glad I bought so many!
K. Bond – Amazon
Shine for Dogs Ultimate LED Dog Collar
Though a somewhat sombre thought: if your dog wanders off at home, there are locals who would recognise them, or they may even intuitively find their way back. On holiday? It’s a different story. This makes it essential to not only have a collar for your dog, but one which will keep them in view at all times.
If there’s one thing that Shine for Dogs’ collars do, it’s ensure your dog is very difficult to miss. They are especially useful for walking at night, or in foggy weather (which is certainly a possibility depending on where you’re holidaying).
Consistently, buyers of the product confirm that the light is as bright as it promises, and that it feels like they’re at a puppy lumo party (the best kind).
This collar changes everything, we can see him no matter where he wanders off to! It charges so quickly and it has an adjustable length as well which is perfect because he’s still growing into a huge dog. And even better, all the profits go to help sheltered animals.
Lydia – Amazon
GOMA Dog Lead
The points made above, pertaining to the need for extra precautions when it comes to your dog’s whereabouts whilst on holiday, are just as relevant in relation to a quality lead. When travelling, you’ll be exploring new terranes for both you and your dogs, so it’s very important to have control over them.
You don’t want to end up in a situation where, on turning a bend to find a field full of cows, you don’t have the equipment to stop your dog from leaping at the “new friends”.
Goma’s dog leads are hardy and shock-absorbent, and will last you years of trips together. These leads are revered for both their length and their strength – the golden duo!
I am very impressed by the quality of this leash! It is very strong and durable, and I cannot see it ripping or tearing any time soon. The handle is reinforced and comfortable, even when my dog is yanking on it the entire time.
Tamara Kraft – Amazon
Tractive GPS Tracker
Between the lumo-collar and led-like lead, you are probably covering most of your bases when it comes to keeping your dog with you throughout your travels. The phrase, “Better safe than sorry” rings true, though.
The Tractive GPS Tracker is one very (at)tractive option when it comes to dog security and ensuring peace of mind throughout your travels.
Owners of the tracker admit to immediate ease once their dogs were clipped up to the system, knowing that if the furry adventurers tried to swim across the world, the device would still be waterproof and effective.
LumoLeaf Travel Water Bottle
Earlier, we spoke about the need for hydrated pets – and that with a portable dog bowl, you’d be covered provided the place you are going had tap facilities.
Thankfully, this isn’t much of a guessing game and with intuition, you will likely know if where you’re going will have such facilities.
If your plan is to do a walking trail through remote Northern Wales, for instance, you could expect there to be fewer facilities than walking along a known doggy-beach in Cornwall. So, if you anticipate there being limited access to water on your travels, you need a travel water bottle.
The LumoLeaf brand has a flap which opens out from the water bottle into a little makeshift dog-bowl, meaning you can fill up at home and keep the bottle with you as you walk.
The silicon attachment is easy to maneuver on and off of the bottle for filling, a breeze to clean, and bendy to ensure no scratches or injuries are incurred by potentially overexcited and thirsty pups.
Very pleased with this water bottle. Our Cocker Spaniel puppy quickly drank from the flexible “bowl” which is attached to the bottle’s cap and which stores by folding around the bottle. Doesn’t leak and can easily be carried hooked to your belt or in a bag.
Tadian – Amazon
Joules Travel Dog Beds
Let’s face it: how often does your dog sleep where it’s told? Or rather, how many times have you practically made a doggy hotel at home, only for your dog to sleep on a crusty piece of blanket they’ve had since being a puppy instead?
The takeaway of the story here: dogs seek out comforts, and are very sensitive to smell. So, trying to make them sleep on beds or furniture away from home may be a bit of a struggle for you. Taking a bit of home along everywhere you go? That’s the key.
Joules is one of those brands that really gets the importance of combining style, comfort and practicality. So, it’s no surprise that their dog beds manage to be entirely functional while still being a floral joy to look at.
Their travel beds are soft and easy to pack, and can double up as a garden bed when you’re at home – to really make sure it smells like what they’re used to!
Furminator Dog Brush
While it isn’t always specified in the T’s and C’s of a holiday contract, “don’t leave a carpet’s worth of dog hair everywhere” is usually implied. Regularly brushing your dogs is advisable anyway, as it stops the risk of ticks and other latchers, as well as keeping them clean and bright.
However, it is even more important on holiday, because it reduces shedding and eliminates the risk of fur-ious landlords when they discover the hair that we all know gets everywhere. Not to mention – the knots from all the holiday exploring!
Chuckit. Max Glow Launcher
While the word “essential” can be associated with things like food, water and injuries (which, of course, are extremely essential), let’s not forget that a happy, active dog is also NB, which is easily achieved with a ball – however cliched that may seem.
However, for those dog-owners who wake up with a stiff arm from throwing and a dog whose speed far outshines throwing abilities, the Chuckit launcher takes the cake. It glows in the dark, too, meaning that it can be enjoyed in the mornings and evenings, even before the sun is shining.
When it comes to dog “toys”, though, you’ve got to be quite selective – it can be pretty expensive to continuously replace toys which have been chewed within an inch of their lives.
To this end, Chuckit offers a value for money alternative – cheaper balls, which will inevitably be munched into pieces, but higher quality launchers, which stays loyal to the family fun for holiday after holiday.
The launcher is robust and easy to use, great to avoid the slower situation with the ball. With little effort it manages a good distance, not too far that the dog looses interest but far enough that he can get to full speed.
Sim256 – Amazon
Eco Fly-n-Tug
You’re going on holiday – it’s essential that’s fun for everyone, right? No matter how many legs. Well, the Eco Fly-n-Tug is great fun for your furry friends and everyone you ask will tell you that.
Importantly, it is toxin free, which is of course something you should always consider – especially if you’ve got a chewer on your hands! It also tackles that pesky, “I can no longer feel my arm” conundrum, naturally propelling further based on its manufacturing and saving you a few throws between fetches.
