Pete the Vet: Seven tips for a pet staycation

Forget boarding kennels this year and treat your furry friend to a summer holiday

It's easier now than ever to take our pets on holidays

This summer, more than in any previous year, Irish people will be holidaying in Ireland. The COVID restrictions have been relaxed enough to allow us to travel within our own country, while vacationing abroad still has strings attached: it’s definitely easier and safer to staycation in 2021.

Apart from the obvious drawback of lack of predictable sunshine, there are many advantages to holidaying at home. One of the key positives is that you can take your pet with you. You won’t be crossing national borders, so rabies vaccinations and pet passports aren’t needed, and there’s no need for the cost or stress of boarding kennels. If you haven’t holidayed with your pet before, it can be a steep learning curve. So this week, here are seven tips to make it easier for you to have an enjoyable and safe staycation with Fido the dog (or even Fifi the cat).

1. Plan ahead. In the past decade, it’s become easier than ever before for your pet to accompany you to hotels, guest houses, and even to restaurants and pubs. In 2017, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) changed their regulations, so that dogs are now allowed into food premises such as restaurants and cafés if the business owner so wishes, provided that proper procedures are in place to prevent dogs from having access to areas where food is prepared, stored or handled. This means that many establishments positively welcome your animal companions. However, you cannot take this for granted, so when you are planning your itinerary, you should phone or email ahead, double-checking that animals will be welcomed. You don’t want to arrive at your chosen destination to be told that the furry members of your family have to stay in the car.

2. Travel comfortably with your pet. Many dogs and cats enjoy travelling in cars, or at least they tolerate it with ease. However some animals develop car sickness, drooling and even vomiting. Other pets become agitated, vocalising and showing signs of distress. To avoid these complications, practice travelling in the car with your pets in the weeks and months leading up to your holiday. Frequent short journeys will get your pet used to car travel, and this can sometimes be enough to cure travel sickness and anxiety. If you discover that your pet still has a problem, you should talk to your vet about anti-nausea and/or sedative type medication that you may wish to give before the longer trip needed to get to your holiday destination. Make sure that your pet’s travelling environment is comfortable and cool, with air conditioning or plenty of ventilation. Remember to stop every hour or so to give your dog a short comfort stop, and to offer fresh water: dogs can easily dehydrate if they are panting continuously in the back of a car.

3. Travel safely with your pet. Pets need to be securely restrained in a car: a loose pet can interfere with the driver, and in a car crash, they can become small furry missiles, suffering injuries themselves as well as causing high impact injuries to any humans who they collide with. Visit a pet shop in person or online (e.g. petfixshop.ie) and choose the type of restraint that suits your pet and your car. Options include wire mesh cages that fit in the rear of an estate car, barriers that fit between the passenger and the luggage sections of the car, harnesses that clip onto safety points designed for baby car seats, and even special dog car seats, to allow your pet a safe elevated position while travelling. Many dogs like to watch the scenery just as much as we do!

4. Bring your pet’s food with you. You may enjoy the novelty of Atlantic salmon and Donegal beef when on holiday, but animals often don’t adjust well to sudden changes in their diet. Take a supply of their usual staple diet with you: it’s safe to spoil them with up to 10% of the total daily food ration in treats, but to avoid upset digestive systems, don’t overdo the novelty.

5. Make sure that your pet is easily identifiable. When animals are away from their home area, there’s a risk that they may escape and get lost. Ideally, they should be microchipped: double check that your contact details are up to date on the microchip database. As well as this, it’s safest to have an identity disc on your pet’s collar, with your mobile phone number.

6. Make your pet’s holiday home a home-from-home. Bring their usual bedding, the crate that they sleep in at home (if they have one), their food and water bowls, and some familiar toys. Consider plugging in a special diffuser beside their bed to infuse the room with calming pheromones. Or simply tuck a worn sweatshirt in beside them: your body scent will reassure them of your close-by presence.

7. Maintain good “pet-iquette” when visiting other areas. Most pets are welcomed by all: animals are wonderful social enablers. However, it’s important not to annoy local people: you and your pet are ambassadors for other pet owners who’ll visit in the future. Keep your dog under control at all times, pick up their poops, and remember that some people feel anxious around animals, whilst others can have severe allergic reactions. Animals themselves cannot be aware of other people’s nervousness, so you need to be continually alert to this type of social discomfort.

Enjoy your summer holidays at home this year: with beach walks, hillside rambles and coastal strolls, there’s plenty in Ireland to keep you and your pets very happy.