We just got back from a 800-mile road trip from Seattle to Bend, OR and back. It is the first road trip we have taken in almost 2 years. I had to scramble around the house to gather all of our usual road trip stuff we take for the dogs. Believe it or not, packing for a road trip with two small dogs requires a lot of stuff. I guess, really, that I would pack the same stuff whether my dog was small or large.
I hope to take some more road trips in the upcoming months so I wanted to put together some travel kits that I can just grab and go without having to search around for everything. This is what I put together.
Locking Plastic Tub
(So the dogs don’t eat what is in it)
- Dog food
- Treats/snacks (including Leanlix and training treats for distracting dogs when eating out)
- Supplements – joint care and athletic performance support
- Treat toys- 2 WIGZI Pocket Bones to put treats in and 2 Kongs to stuff
- Natural, no sodium peanut butter – to stuff Kong
- Plastic knife – to put peanut butter in Kong
- 2 Jones Natural Chews Beef Rib Rollers
- Happy Traveler Bite Size Calming Soft Chews
- Water supplements – for energy and getting dogs to drink water – K9 GoDog Sports Drink for Dogs or Honest Kitchen ProBloom Instant Goat’s Milk (I usually add twice the water since they are drinking a lot)
Diaper Bag
(the idea to use a diaper bag for a kit so you can grab and go came from my friend at Dog Jaunt, as well as the idea to bring some carpet cleaner)
- Copies of vaccination records
- Alcott Pet First Aid Kit
- Poop bags
- 2 microfiber bath towels (camping kind)
- Roll of paper towels
- Pet carpet cleaner- Natures Miracle Advanced Formula Pet Stain & Odor Remover
- Glass cleaner (to wipe dog nose of your car window if it gets to be too much, the hotel window or the window of a friend’s house)
- Odor eliminator spray (to spray the dog stink of furniture, dog beds or out of the air – my favorite is Pure Ayre for Pets)
- HappyTails Dry Dog Instant Clean (Spray on bath replacement for the potty “accidents” like poop where it shouldn’t be)
- Small bottle of dog wash (currently Fresh Dog Natural Oatmeal Shampoo)
- Nature’s Miracle Ultra-Cleanse Coat Wipes
- Hartz Ultra Guard Dog Pads – To place in the hotel room hall or in front of the door….because if they are going to mark inside, that is where they are going to do it (these absorb an adult dog’s amount of pee)
- Dog Paws Lotion Bar – or rough, dry or cracked paws/noses (since we ARE going somewhere hot and dry)
- Nail clipper
- 2 Dog Toys
- 2 flashing LED lights – for hooking to their harness when walking at night
- portable radio
- Lint roller
Yes, this diaper bag is big
Other
- 2 dog beds
- Snoozer Lookout Car Seat
- 2 fleece throws
- 2 full-size bath towels – to wipe of water, dirt and mud before putting them in the car
- Leashes and harnesses (yes, multiple – we have one set for walking and one for hiking. Our hiking harness is the Ruffwear Webmaster)
- Ruffwear Highlands Dog Bed (a thin, water and dirt resistant bed for laying on the ground at restaurants or parks)
Whew! Just writing that list made me tired. Clearly I like to be prepared for anything. Surprisingly this stuff doesn’t take up much space.
The theory around putting this all together is that it will only take me a minute to pack for the dogs in the future because all I will need to do is grab these kits (plus the “Other” stuff which is usually in the car anyway).
I think I covered about anything we could possibly need but can you think of anything else you would bring?
Elizabeth says
Dont forget the dogs! 😉
Wallace and Samuel says
What a PAWSOME post! We LOVE the diaper bag idea.
Bethany says
Great list! I think grooming wipe/baby wipes are essential. I always bring a little hand-held broom for sweeping out the car, tent or entry of where we’re staying. For longer trips, I grab one of our hand-held Dyson vacuum’s for quick/extra tent/car/hotel/host house fur/dog mess clean up. I use guard pads under our water dishes in hotels or in the tent too because the boys are slobbery drinkers (Well, Brychwyn and Huxley are. Wilhelm is not.)
Jessica Rhae says
I used to carry a small whist and dustpan to clean out my car. That was before I had dogs and just gave up on my car being clean. Ha, ha. Our tent is only a two-person tent so it is easy to pick up and shake out.
You get a gold star for actually bringing a vacuum cleaner! 🙂
Small Dog Tails says
And I thought our packing list was long! You’ve given me some ideas for our next trip. In addition to some of the things on your list, we usually bring a soft crate, a long leash (30 ft), and a cooling vest for the summer. During the rest of the year, I bring rain coats and sweaters.
Jessica Rhae says
Good point on the sweaters and jackets. I guess I should have clarified that this “packing” I did was for a place where the weather was going to be in the 80s 🙂 If there was a chance of it being cool or cold I would have brought jackets for sure.
Dachshund Nola and Her Mom says
Wow, you’re way more prepared than I! What about a small doggie first aid kit (with muzzle, vet wrap, thermometer, ect) and Benadryl? And of course the camera. 😉 I also take ear cleaning stuff, toothbrush and tooth paste, small sling type carrier and 3-4 different collars, harnesses and leashes.
Jessica Rhae says
Oh, I have a first aid kit. It’s the second item listed in the diaper bag. It’s a great little kit from Alcott with some stuff added in it. It links to the post I wrote about the kit and what I added to it.
I always have an emergency “sling” with me. It goes inside my hiking backpack (I also wrote about what goes in there before). I carry the REI Flash 18 backpack (inside my regular pack). It works great in a pinch if one of the dogs gets hurt…or lazy/stubborn in the case of Chester 🙂
The camera is a must-have but not something I considered that I pack “for the dogs”. I guess I really do though because that is mostly what I take photos of. Ha, ha.
Maeve says
I’m actually working on a similar post with our “Going to Grandma’s” travel bag! We have pretty similar items except for I only packed for staying at my mom’s. If we were going somewhere that wasn’t exactly dog-friendly, I would probably need a small u-haul trailer. You just don’t realize how many things you actually use on a daily basis or may need. I was so excited to see everything that you packed because there is nothing wrong with being prepared!
Jessica Rhae says
Yeah, if you are going to a house that already has some of YOUR dog stuff there, or has stuff for another dog that you can use, packing this much probably wouldn’t be necessary. Be sure to give me a heads up on your post so I can check out what you pack. You can tweet me the link at @YDWWYW when you post it.
Beth says
I like the idea of keeping a bag packed and ready, too. The only problem I have is that in between trips I tend to “borrow” from the bag so when I get ready to travel I find that the bag is depleted! I bought a similar bag from a vendor at the last dog show I worked at ) – it really helps to be organized! I like your idea of taking along a “pee-pee pad” to put down in case they decide to mark!
Jessica Rhae says
I like the prints of the doggy baggage bags. The duffel one is a good size too. I think I have enough dog crap that I won’t have to touch what is inside the bag 🙂
Jessica says
I think you might officially pack even more than I do. I never thought I’d say that to anyone. As far as the dog is concerned, anyway. His stuff takes up way more room than mine. Traveling with bulky raw food makes it even harder.
Jessica Rhae says
An my dogs are only 20 lbs combined! Ha, ha. I think we pack just as much people stuff or a little more but, since the SUV wasn’t packed to the gills, I think we packed more efficiently this time.
Goose says
Yep, pretty much sounds like my list of goodies too (of course you have to multiply by 2)! 😉 We use a diaper bag for almost everything and it works like a peach! Everyone always makes fun of us, since my suitcase is generally larger than Domeek’s when we go out of town! Hehehe! The life of a pup!!
Jessica Rhae says
I like using the diaper bag because I probably will never get to use one with kids (not having any). It worked really great and I love having a kit I can just grab and go.
emma says
Sounds like my mom, she says that Katie and I need more stuff than she does! We used to keep a ton of it in the car but now that we don’t travel that often, she just packs fresh every time. If you travel often it is great to have most items ready to go and a short list of last minute items that need to be added.
Jessica Rhae says
Well, I envision traveling more than we actually do 🙂 One can dream. Hey, I will be all ready to go if we ever take that 6-month road trip.
Jim says
I had not thought about the diaper bag ideal. We play to take our weiner dogs for a week trip soon and the only thing i didn’t see you mention that I was thinking about taking was a crate. I am not sure i trust them alone while we are dining out. I thought we may create them during that time so stuff doesn’t get chewed up. I don’t need an extra bill at check out lol.
Jessica Rhae says
Yes, a crate might be useful. I can’t leave Chester and Gretel alone in a hotel room because they would bark so a crate was not necessary for us to keep them from chewing stuff up 🙂
Pat says
I love the idea of the diaper bag. How about a small grooming kit, although I’m not sure how you groom a Doxie. I have a mini kit for my dog as he has 2 inch fur and gets knotty arm pits if his not brushed regularly.
Jessica Rhae says
Good idea Pat.I have everything in the kit I need to groom my smooth coat Doxies though – nail trimmers and grooming wipes 🙂