We will drive from Toronto to Montreal.....

[bluesunshine]

Of course, our 7-month-old golden retriever Niuniu comes with us! But this will be her first long road trip. She's been in car before, from nervous at the beginning till now confident and curious. My question to you all is: is there anything we should know? We haven't travelled with an animal before, so any idea or suggestion will be welcome!

[Elizabeth Ann]

Don't let your dog rome free. That's the best advise I can give you.

Stats show that dogs don't die from car crashes they die from getting loose after the crash and getting hit by a car.

I ALWAYS put our dogs in the crate (we have an SUV though so there is lots of room for all three of them).

When I first got Gizmo I got him a seat belt harnest and felt pretty save with that, but he wined a lot more then he does when he is in the crate. I put a couple toys with him and a water bottle

A small pet water bottle (for rabits and hamsters). If you can train your dog to drink from one you can just mount it to the crate. It's a little more work to get the water out so they wont over drink (less stops during the drive). Gizmo loves his. I take it where ever we go. I ask him "Do you want your bottle?". People look at me like I am crazy but so be it.

[diandpat]

We have driven several times from Montreal to Toronto with both dogs. Ours do wear harnesses and seat belt straps but are able to either sit up or lie down very comfortably.

Pit stop in Kingston at Division Street is a must. Hubby gets gas and orders from Wendy's while I walk the dogs around the big block to stretch their legs and mine and do any business. We eat outside at Wendy's and they get a "snack" and some water there.

They have a dog bed in the back seat and some toys to chew on. If your dog is very hyper you could always give him some Gravol.

Make sure you have a collar with tags when walking him. I actually put the leash on the harness and not the collar just in case. Would hate for them to get spooked and slip the collar and take off.

You just have to do the drive here and that will let you know what you need to do differently on the way home

Drive safely!

[clm]

We used to do that drive often when my in-laws lived in Montreal. Our dog used to sleep the whole trip pretty much. We used to stop a few times to grab a coffee and give the dog some water and a pee break.

Cindy

[bluesunshine]

Thank you all for your advise! Kingston at Division Street, I shall remember that!

So, one stop is enough?

[kalola]

Aw the Division Strret stop! Hubby and I always stopped there on our trips from Ottawa to Oshawa to visit my folks. Don't forget to get yourself a Frosty ay Wendy's, It's a must!

We always traveled with our 2 Shelties we had a few years ago. They went everywhere with us. Including the Montreal trips to visit hubby's family. They slept most of the time.
I always took some water wih me.
I also carried a roll of paper towels on trips because one of my dogs would get car sick.
Finally cured this problem though by taking her on small trips or even driving up and down the driveway so she got used to the movement of the car.

Have a safe trip!

[luckypenny]

A second tag on her collar with your cell phone # and/or the address and phone # of where you'll be staying is something I'd strongly recommend. You can have them made within minutes at some PetSmarts or PetCeteras. If you don't have one nearby you, most pharmacies sell these waterproof pill holders/keychains. You can put any additional info in this and attach it to her collar as well. The ones we use when we go out of town look like this: