Thinking of hitting the road or your next music festival with your pet? You’re not alone. Tripadvisor says more than half of pet owners travel with their pets and most stay only at pet-friendly properties. When the sign says, “No Pets Allowed,” one in five pet owners will smuggle them in anyway. A website called pet-friendly travel “complicated.”
One property that’s generally not pet-friendly is the music festival. Lockn Festival warns that pets found in a vehicle or camping area will be turned away. Peach Festival welcomes only service dogs. And miniature horses (that’d be a hoot to see roaming the festival grounds). Peach says it vets (so to speak) all pets first, to avoid “large-scale animal service fraud.”
Rules are rules and they’re as much for the pet as the person. “We have learned from experience that pets, especially dogs, have been trapped in overheated vehicles, bitten people, roamed in packs and been lost, much to the anguish of their owners,” Lockn writes on its site. “These events are not designed for pets.”
So whether you’re RVing or roadtripping with your dog or cat, how can you ensure a safe getaway for all. GoRving offered some standard tips, and Pawculture offered some festival-focused tips. We won’t parrot their suggestions here. But keeps these ideas in mind.
- Stash the supplies. Food, bowls, toys, rawhides, crates, litter box, cat climbing tree, bedding… Whatever your pet needs or enjoys at home, bring it along. Familiarity breeds comfort. We permanently stash all Stella’s stuff, including grooming supplies – like her comb, brush, and scissors – in Mr. Charlie (our trailer). We just bring fresh food.
- Restrain that critter. Your dog may be adorable, just not at someone else’s campsite. Use a leash, a stake and tether, or a pet fence or run around your site to limit their travels (RV Repair Club discussed some of the lethal perils that can await your wandering pet). Pet fences also work with infants and toddlers and modular models can grow with your needs. If left outside, make sure barking and whining are kept to a minimum; don’t let your pet become a nuisance to fellow campers.
- Harness your animal. Vets and auto warn that pets – like people – become projectiles in accidents, possibly harming themselves and their humans. Unconvinced? See the results in Wired magazine’s report on the Center for Pet Safety / Subaru’s study on harness safety a few years back (we’re told no stuffed dogs were harmed in this study). Remember to secure the cat carrier. Harnesses and buckles will run run about $25 or so – and Stella’s still free to roam a bit of the back seat.
- Are your papers in order? Keep pet vaccinations (including flea and tick treatment), tags, and chip info up to date. Stash the docs in your vehicle, on your smartphone, or in the cloud. Many parks will demand vaccination records. Call first to see that they allow pets – especially your breed (bull terrier mixes, shepherds, and dalmatians are among those most often declined). A total buzzkill if you arrive and your pet is persona non grata.
- Obey local rules. Some campgrounds, parks, even national parks, allow pets, but only on leashes, or in certain areas, or not on trails, the waterfront, or backcountry. Don’t be that guy who ruins it for others.
- Think ahead when leaving your pet behind. If you’re heading out on a walkabout and can’t bring your pet along, put out plenty of water, chew toys, shade (if outside), and ensure ventilation. Keep in mind your pet’s need to do its business and how long he can go between potty breaks. Don’t make ‘em suffer.
Dogs and cats are great travel companions, just to the right destinations. Know before you go so you don’t face No Way at the music festival or campground entrance. That would be a buzz kill…