Amanda Teixeira
So that your dog can also enjoy the holiday together, you should prepare him for a few things. These training tips will help you to travel relaxed with your dog.
If you want to travel with your dog, you should teach it a few important things before you leave. In this way, you not only make your holiday as relaxed as possible for yourself, but above all for your dog. Our eight training tips will tell you how to get your dog used to the means of transport, the muzzle and the unfamiliar environment.
Ride in the car
If you want to travel by car, your dog should definitely learn to get used to this means of transport. Your dog shouldn’t mind a longer drive before you leave.
Get your dog used to the car by making the ride as comfortable as possible. Only when you have parked and opened the door is he allowed to get up. It’s also important to properly secure your dog. The ADAC safety test reveals the safest way for dogs to travel in the car.
Dog in the mobile home
If you want to start your journey with the mobile home, you should get your dog used to it before you leave. A dog blanket or a transport box offers the dog a comfortable place to stay in the mobile home. Get used to it step by step.
Make sure that you secure your dog properly in the motorhome so that it cannot injure itself. Before you embark on the long journey, it is advisable to practice spending the night at a campsite with your dog before you leave.
Blanket and box training
Dogs are usually not allowed to sleep in beds or on the couch in hotels or holiday apartments. In order to offer your dog a comfortable bed for the holidays, you should teach it to spend the night on a dog blanket or in a carrier.
Get your dog used to their travel cot by sitting on the floor next to it and enticing them with toys or dog treats. Don’t force him, just wait for him to take a closer look at the blanket or box. Be sure to praise him now and pet him reassuringly until he relaxes. Let him rest on his travel cot for about fifteen minutes before you get up and lure him back to you.
Practice this until the dog goes to its berth on its own when you sit next to it. Introduce the “ceiling” or “box” signal. You should continue training with this signal once or twice a day. Your dog will quickly get used to its new travel cot.
Extra tip: If your dog is used to sleeping in the bed at home, bring your own sheets and blankets with you. This way, your dog can sleep in bed on holiday without getting dirty.
Alone in the hotel room
If the dog is to stay alone in the hotel room, for example when you have breakfast, you can train this. Before you travel, practice by taking your dog to friends’ houses and bringing a blanket or carrier with you. He should now lie down on the ceiling or in the box at your signal.
Then leave the room with everyone else. However, come back shortly afterwards and give your dog lots of praise when it has been quiet. Extend the times he is left alone in someone else’s room. If that also works, you can provide noises (whispers, footsteps, music) from outside.
Knowing that your dog can be left alone for a while will make the trip more comfortable for you too.
Drive the elevator
If the hotel room is on the top floor, your dog will be happy to use the elevator. Therefore, your dog should be accustomed to the elevator before the trip. For example, you can ask an office building if you can practice using the elevator.
Anxious dogs should first be allowed to observe the elevator and see the opening and closing of the doors from the outside. Then, after a while, enter the cabin, but then leave again straight away – relaxed, of course, without getting hectic. Only if he remains relaxed can you go a step further. You push the button to the next floor. Most dogs will instinctively crouch when the elevator moves – cover the moment of shock with a treat.
Then exit the elevator, reward them, and keep practicing until your dog can climb several floors with ease. But be careful: If your dog doesn’t want to eat treats in the elevator, it’s still too scared. Better take a step back.
Extra tip: If the elevator is already full, you should wait for the next one. Too many people in a small space could stress your dog.
The muzzle is important
A muzzle is compulsory in many countries, which is why you should definitely get your dog used to this aid before you travel. Take it easy: Convince your dog to put his snout in his muzzle with food rewards. Keep feeding him to keep him indoors. With the right muzzle training, your dog will quickly get used to it.
Important: The muzzle should be big enough for the dog to still be able to drink and pant. It should not be too heavy and ideally made of soft material. So your dog can wear the muzzle for a longer period of time while on vacation.
Extra tip: Even after the holiday, you should always put the muzzle on your dog. That way he will remember him until the next trip and the training was worth it.
Release on signal
In order to avoid the dog doing its business in the hotel entrance in the morning, you should practice letting your dog go away on signal. So you also have a safe feeling during your vacation.
Watch your dog closely and use signal words like “puddle” or “poop”. You have to set these precisely so that your dog links them correctly. Praise your dog after the deed is done. Your dog should understand the connection after just a few days.
Then you can politely demand and reward the solving. This can be useful not only on vacation, but also in everyday life at home.
Extra tip: It should also be a matter of course to collect and dispose of the dog waste while travelling.
Wait patiently in the car
A dog should never be left in the car when it’s sunny! The temperature in the car rises rapidly, so that dogs quickly overheat and risk fatal heat stroke.
The dog can only be left in the car for a while early in the morning, late in the evening, at night or in rainy weather, provided the outside temperature is not too high. Once the dog is used to the car, it can stay there while you explore the resort. He is often better off in the car than alone in a hotel room.
But of course you are on vacation with your dog – leaving it in the car several times for a long time cannot be the purpose of the trip. Try to find a vacation spot that is as dog-friendly as possible, where you can both discover new things together.