Why wouldn’t we want to take our furry friends with us, everywhere we go? Pets are a part of the family, same like everyone else, meaning that they often join families on trips to the beach, cottages, or for walks in the park.
While it's so exciting to get the whole family out together, you’re likely to find yourself cleaning up your car a little more than usual, due to the nature of it all. Cars, unfortunately, are not made for pets, often getting scratched up or dirty with surprising ease.
To make your car more pet-friendly and keep it safe to boot, we would recommend the following.
Safety Restraints
Try as you might, your pets aren’t going to understand why they can’t sit on your lap while you’re driving. It’s cute, but ultimately dangerous. To combat this, you may want to get a harness with a seat buckle attachment or get a net that separates the front and back halves of the vehicle.
Protect Your Seats
The worst thing you can do for leather seats is let your dog scrape them up while traveling. A blanket from your house will do just fine, or you can get car-specific waterproof seats that were designed for this exact situation.
Make Them Comfortable
Pets have a tendency to get nervous in cars, especially if they’re not used to being in them all the time. There are many ways to keep your pet from getting too much car anxiety, such as bringing their pet bed for them to sleep on, their favorite toy, or a blanket that smells like their home. You should also make sure they’re not too hot or too cold.
A Breath Of Fresh Air
If you’re planning on being in the car with a pet for a long time, things might start to smell a little funky. For the sake of your own nose, and for the car’s interior, a pet-safe diffuser or scent spray may be in order. Just really double-check that it will, in fact, be pet safe, as harsh chemicals in close quarters could cause some health issues for your pet.
Stop Frequently
While this doesn’t seem like a car-related tip at first glance, the very last thing you want to worry about is cleaning an accident off your car mats. So, it really is a sort of car tip.
Make sure to let your pet go to the bathroom before hitting the road, just to avoid any sort of accidents right off the bat. Furthermore, stopping frequently to let your pets relieve themselves, as well as to stretch their legs, will benefit both of you in the long run.
Other Tips
- Try to reduce your pet's energy before getting into the car.
- If you’re worried about their anxiety, try getting some calming or motion-sickness medication.
- Practice positive reinforcement if you have a pet that doesn’t do well in a vehicle.
- Make sure your pet is getting enough food and water throughout the trip.
