How to Travel Full Time with Pets

First, I would recommend limiting the number of furballs you bring with you. Space is at a premium and you might not want the extra four legs taking up precious couch space. However, in our case, that wasn’t an option.

Traveling full time with pets can be a bit overwhelming and frustrating at times. We have four ill mannered dogs. When we first set out on this new way of living, many folks asked what we were going to do with the dogs. Well, they’re coming with us, duh! Mr. TCP wasn’t thrilled about this, he already isn’t thrilled that we have FOUR dogs but he married a crazy person. So, we have four of them in a small space. It’s a recipe for good times!

Step 1. Get em’ all vetted up. Before we left Austin, we headed to our vet to make sure they all had their vaccinations because we knew some states might check this and when we head into Canada we will most certainly need it when crossing this border. This could me a myth, but it’s what I believed at the time. I can say that some of our kids haven’t received vaccinations in, um, years. I know, I know. Terrible dog parent. We took all four, at the time same time, and vaccinated them all. Well, little did we know, we would be using one of their rabies certification more than we would like in the coming months.

Step 2. Determine your nearest emergency vet. When we arrive in a new location we (Mr. TCP) checks the weather radar to make sure we aren’t going to get washed away in a flash flood or burn up in a forest fire. So naturally we recommend pinpointing the nearest emergency vet. You see, when you are in the woods there is a variety of things that could effect your pup. You don’t want to be in the dark.

Step 3. Pick up after your pets. This is a huge one. You don’t want to be the jerk that lets your dog (or four) potty all over a campground and not pick it up. It sucks, but there are worst things in life. Such as dumping your black tank. Most campgrounds have bags to use, but if not, pick some up at the grocery store or repurpose your plastic grocery bags. Easy peasy.

Step 4. This is something we don’t do, but should. Secure your pets in the truck as you roam from neighborhood to neighborhood. They make dog seat belts, which is hilarious, kind of practical and ridiculous all at the same time. It could save their life if you crash, or at least keep them from escaping when you open the door.

Step 5. Some places you visit will be scorching hot in the summer time so it’s important to make sure your rig stays cool while you are out exploring. The last thing you want is to come home to some hot dogs. HA! You can do this by monitoring the internal temperature with an app on our phone. You leave the thermometer in the Airstream and connect to it via the app.

Step 6. You’ll want to be aware of what campgrounds allow dogs and which have a limit on the amount. This is usually only an issue with the private RV resorts. Many state campgrounds allow dogs and don’t put a limit on the number you can bring.

All in all, I love our little rugrats and couldn’t imagine leaving them behind. We are courteous to our neighbors by not leaving ours tied up outside the Airstream and by picking up after them. While we have had to take George to a vet in each state we have visited so far, he loves the adventure and you can see it in his crazy eyes!

I guess I really just wrote this post to publish a bunch of irrelevant pictures of our cute dogs.