Seeking Advice for Vacation with Pug

[SquishiePugs]

My husband and I are planning a trip to Toronto this spring, and we would love to bring Russell along with us. We typically travel to foreign destinations where he cannot come, but this trip would be a 7 hour drive for us and would be manageable.

Russell loves going on long car rides, and he loves visiting new places and people. I feel strongly that he'll view this as an exciting time vs. being nervous, but I am concerned about how he'll do in a hotel room. We'd be staying a pet friendly hotel for a week, and he would need to stay in our room when we visit some sites that are not dog friendly. I think he'd much rather this option vs. being left home alone for the week & checked on a few times per day by the dog walker. Has anyone taken their pug on vacation? If so, how did it go?

We're lucky in that Russell is crate trained and loves his "nook". We'd certainly bring his doggie bed and toys, a doggie first aid kit, food and baggies (and cleaner incase he has an accident), proof vaccinations, etc, etc. Any other tips or suggestions? Anyone think this idea is nuts?

We're really excited about the idea of him coming on vacation with us! Oh, and for those in Canada, how pet friendly is the country? Not sure if they're similar to the United States where dogs in public places is frowned upon.

[Pat's Crew]

there are a number of pet friendly hotels here in Canada. I am in Ontario and it is pet friendly at lots of places.
we stayed at a few and took along a pug in the past and went in and out ..and left the pug in her crate. Tammy did good and slept more of the time. also went to a cottage and left her in the crate at times too when we went and came as well.

make sure all your vaccinations are up to date if you are travelling up this way
a 7 hour car trip for your pug is a long time in the car...take plenty of potty breaks along the way.

I personally do not like leaving an animal in a place where someone else has the key to enter the room even the cleaning staff so we very seldom went far from her at all. I do not trust too many people around with the pugs.

I think they are safer in a kennel for the time that you are away.........unless you are with the pug the whole time. a pet sitter is another option at your house too that works.
I often left her at the vets on some vacations or let the kids take care of her for a couple of days.......

still feel the same way..........and if I do go........mine will get kenneled here for sure or one of the kids can take care of them.

[Tinker's mom]

I say go for it! We traveled back and forth many times to Richmond and to W.Va to visit family. Tinker does fine in hotels as long as we stick to her schedule of food and walks. Since he's used to his crate, I think leaving him in the hotel will be similar to when you're home. It's way easier to travel with them than it is to worry about them at home being checked on.When you check in I'd probably check to see where the nearest vet/ER is just in case.Sounds like you've thought of everything else.Is there any restrictions about taking him to Canada or what papers will you need to do that?

[Pugpillow]

He just needs to be UTD on rabies. Proof of ownership would be nice and could avoid ugly customs discussions but is not often a problem. Let us know when you are coming and we'll let you know if there is a "pugalug" (pug get-together) planned.

[Wally 'n' Leto]

Definitely! Most restaurants with patios will let you eat outside with your dog, and a lot of hotel chains are pet friendly -- I know for sure that Holiday Inn and Hilton are. If Russell likes his nook, that's the best place to leave him when you have to be out of the room; we usually baby-gate our guys in the bathroom and put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door to keep the staff out when we can't be there and can't take the boys with us.

We've taken the boys to New Brunswick -- about a 12 hour drive, and they were just fine. We stopped for potty breaks about every 90 - 120 minutes, just to be sure there would be no accidents (they say that people should stop that often and stretch anyhow). We were shocked that Leto pooped at every stop, but at least he was comfortable!!! They mostly just slept in the car.

Going across the border, we take vet certificates for vaccination as well as their rabies tags and make sure they have 2 sets of ID on them (one on the collar, one on the harness in case they get out of the collar). Better safe than sorry!

Have a fantastic trip!!!

[CountryPug]

I've done some traveling with my pugs...make sure you know what the hotels pet policies are beforehand. Some don't allow dogs to be left alone in the room, while others allow them to be left in a crate. If he's never stayed in a hotel before, you might do a test run with a shorter trip (overnite), just to see how he does. I love taking my dogs with me and I hope it works out for you too:)

[MuShu Mom]

Pugs seem to be natural born travelers! At least I have been lucky with the two pugs I have owned. Was really blessed traveling with the first pug because we owned an RV. What a fabulous way to travel! MuShu got to travel with us across country as well for her first couple of years. Then when gas prices started to go out of sight, our RV was getting older and my husband and I are both now retired and on a pretty fixed income, we sold the RV. (boo hoo hoo) But anyway, we have taken our Miss MuShu with us in our van. She has done really well. We just stop at a lot of reststops, but mostly for me! lol! We take her crate with us, of course. The biggest issue for us was that I couldn't feed MuShu her BARF diet. At the time we were doing cross country trips, there weren't any freezed dried foods. There was a company that was trying to get a product out. But now I see several products out there that I could use if we ever venture out again! (Tried the dry ice thing, but that didn't work out and I had to throw out a ton of food. )

[Pugpillow]

Just be aware that if you're feeding raw, you can't enter Canada with food such as meat. The good news is that we do have supermarkets up here ;).

[HoneysHumans]

If you are staying at a chain hotel, make sure the specific location allows pets! We were checking into a hotel two years ago (can't remember which one now, but a national chain) and the person ahead of us had a small dog and had checked on the chain's website to see if dogs were allowed (and they were) but that particular location did not allow any pets.