Pet Friendly Hotels

Looking for pet friendly hotels for your Christmas vacation plans? There are a lot of sites out there that can help you in finding good pet friendly hotels that you can stay at, such as:

Official Pet Hotels

Choice Hotels

Pets Welcome

Some good travel tips for traveling safely this holiday season with your pets:

Keep your pet on a leash to avoid having something catch its attention or frighten it and send it running off into a strange neighborhood or city. It is a good idea, in case this happens, to have a recent photograph of your pet that you can use to help in locating it.

Put ice cubes in a dish for your pet to lick when in the car, this will prevent the mess of spilled water and still give your pet the water it needs and something to do while laying bored in the car for long drives. Also be careful on when and what you feed your pet, since pets are as susceptible to motion sickness as people are. Feed your pet far enough in advance that its stomach will have ample time to settle and will be less likely to be upset by travel.

Make sure that your pet has your current phone number on their collar. When I traveled around the states with my parents years back and we took our dogs, I even went so far as to get permission from my sister to put her 800 number for her magazine on the collar tags for my dogs, just to make sure the long distance call to Alaska did not prevent my dogs getting back to me. You probably do not have this option, but you should at least be certain that your current phone number is on their collars, preferably your current cell phone number so that you can be contacted while still on the road and able to get back to where your pet was lost at.

Consider getting an under the skin RFID tag for your dog. Those are simple electronic devices that are implanted under the skin and allow any veterinarian to use a hand held reader to reunite you and your pet.

Look into the veterinarians in the area you are going to be and find one that will accept walk-ins. I know there are some vets that I have been to over the years that would not take walk-ins. Also finding out if there is a 24 hour vet office in the area that will be open over the holidays might be a good idea if you have a pet that has health problems or will be taking your pet to somewhere that they might get loose and possibly injured.

Do not leave your pet in the car while shopping or visiting. It can quickly get cold and it is not fair to the pet to make them stay in a cold car while you are in where it is warm. If they can not stay at the hotel or go in where you will be, consider looking into if there is a boarding facility in the area or maybe look into area pet sitters that can take your pet in while you shop or visit relatives that your pet can not visit because of allergies or other concerns. You might consider leaving your pet in a crate or kennel in the hotel room if you have to be gone for a while. Make sure that your pet is comfortable being in one before you do, or they might bark constantly and annoy other travelers and the hotel staff.

Traveling can be an enjoyable experience for you and your pet, just make sure that you take some care and be sure to call ahead to find out any restrictions or rules directly from the pet friendly hotel that you choose for your stay.