The best way to ease your pet's travel anxiety is by taking several short trips before embarking on a long haul. Car rides in a carrier can also be good practice for traveling in an aircraft. Here are additional tips to make your pet's travel more enjoyable.
Withhold food 12 hours before travel
- An empty stomach will help reduce nausea and the need for frequent potty breaks that are often unwelcome, especially during airplane or train travel. Be sure to provide access to fresh water whenever possible. Water bottles that hang on the carrier's door are a good option for many pets.
Sweet smell of home
- Add a t-shirt or blanket with your scent to your pet's carrier. In addition to smelling like home, nothing's cozier than mom or dad's shirt.
Lavender, dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) or feliway
- Aromatherapy and pheromones can calm a tense traveler. Add these scents to your pet's bedding to help calm their fears.
Calming herbs
- Bach fower (Rescue Remedy), kava, valerian, passionflower, and skullcap have been used for decades to naturally ease anxiety.
Cerenia, dramamine and meclizine
- These anti-nausea meds can prevent vomiting in a stressed pet. A single dose of Cerenia lasts 24 hours. Keep in mind these drugs only help with motion-sickness, not anxiety.
Prescription meds -- xanax (alprazolam)
- Given the night before travel, ancd repeated 12 hours later, Xanax can relax even the most anxious pet traveler. I recommend you give the second dose about two hours before you get to the airport.
The world just got smaller for our pet companions. So if you're adventurous and willing to do a little homework, you and your furry family members can enjoy seeing the world together. Go on; trot those paws around the globe. Besides, nothing cures jet lag better thana warm snuggle-buddy!
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