Road Trip with a Dog–Broadmoor Bound!
Traveling With Your Dogs!
Traveling with dogs is like traveling with kids. You have to plan ahead and do a little research on where you are going and pack for them as well. We travel with our littlest dog everywhere. When my mom and sister come along we have 3 little dogs to tend to. Traveling with dogs is fun and changes up the trip and even the destination. We always try to find a dog friendly place to go. We are at the Broadmoor right now (the pictures above are of Cyrus and Hope on a morning walk around the resort). The Broadmoor is in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is a very dog friendly resort. This was the first place we brought Hope after adopting her. The resort brings a dog bed, dog bowls, and a bag of treats to your room. They also give them a little Broadmoor tag to wear so if they get lost they are tagged and hopefully someone will return them. There is a great walking or running path around the resort that you usually run into a couple of deer and a pretty swan in the lake. The other thing I love is that they give you a tag to put on the door that says there is a dog in the room so the staff won’t come in if it’s on the door. You just schedule housekeeping when you have the dog with you. It gives me peace of mind to know that if she is in the room no one will come in and accidentally let her out.
If you are thinking about traveling with your dog you have to plan ahead:
- Make sure your hotel is dog friendly. Most of the hotels we stay in will just charge you extra each day. We don’t leave the dogs in the rooms much since there are shared walls and Hope likes to bark at first when she is left alone
- Recently we have started renting houses from vrbo or airnb that are dog friendly and they work awesome. You don’t have to worry about your dogs barking since you are in a house vs a room.
- Check different restaurants in your area. I use bringfido.com to check on hotels, restaurants, and activities that allow dogs (they are usually just on the patio but we all love sitting on a patio!)
This trip to Colorado Springs is a road trip for us. There are different things you have to plan for a road trip vs. a plane trip. For a road trip you have to treat your dog like you would a child. Remember you are in a car and heading to a hotel.
- Keep them safe in a car. If you have kids do you ever let them sit on your lap in the front seat? Probably not so why do we do it with our dogs. Yes I do too–but shouldn’t. We just got the sleepypod (pictured below) and it is crash tested. Hope loves it. It buckles in the seat and hooks her to the pod. We just bring it in the hotel and it becomes her bed (not many hotels supply a dog bed like the Broadmoor). This bed also plugs in with a little heater as Hope is always cold so she loves it!
- A kennel. We always travel with a kennel no matter where we go. The Broadmoor is the only hotel that we have traveled to that puts the tag on the door so housekeeping doesn’t come in. The last thing I want is to accidentally let my dog out . So if we have to leave the dog in the room (sometimes we do to go to the pool or to eat) we all rest a little easier knowing they are safe.
- Get local vet information and emergency vet information. Hopefully you never need it but it is important to have it just in case.
- Make sure your dog has a tag and if possible microchipped (and the info on it is correct). Hopefully you NEVER need it but in case they get loose someone will return them.
- Vaccinations. Make sure your dog is up to date on all vaccinations. Bring a copy from your vet just in case. Every state is different on pet laws but if you have a copy of your vaccinations it will help in most situations.
- Travel bowls and bottled water. I usually use bottled water when we travel. Every city and state has different water so I don’t want to upset their system. Make sure you bring extra food in case you get delayed somewhere. (my travel bowl is pictured below)
- A favorite blanket. I always bring Hopes favorite blanket so there is something from home to keep her comfortable.
- Chew toys or bones. I never leave these in her kennel or alone with them but when we are in the room or even at a restaurant it gives her something to do and chew on.
The nice thing about a road trip is there is no limit on bags and there are no weight restrictions. I pack the bags heavy and probably look like I am moving in but we are comfortable!
