Further to my recent grumblings of having to travel a lot and due to my vast experience of clocking up those miles, someone mentioned that I should do a top tip blog for travelling, so here goes, please bear in mind this is just my personal opinion and what works best for me!
Get your Dad to stop as many times as you need on the journey, to stretch your paws and have your comfort breaks.
Drink plenty of water
Make sure you can stretch out on the back seat or in your travel cage. If you are sitting on the back seat with a Car Travel Harness for Dogs make sure the Seat Belt Tether gives you enough room to move around but it mustn't have too much length as in the event of an emergency stop, you don't want to be thrown through the air, hitting all and sundry as you go. It's best to stay in one place, securely fastened.
You mustn't wander into the front seats or distract your Dad (or Mum) while driving.
Have plenty of blankets to hand, in case you have to travel through the night.
Make sure your Mum takes plenty of food and spare water, in case your journey gets delayed.
In the event of an accident, try not to panic, stay in your seat, do not attempt to get out of the car unless your Mum or Dad tells you and only with a lead on, help will arrive and you do not want to be running around on the road, panicking, this can cause further accidents.
If you are travelling overseas, please make sure your passport is up to date, you must have a current rabies vaccination. In the UK, I think, this vaccination will be valid for 3 years but this varies depending on the country you are visiting, I know in Spain the law says you have to have this every year, so that's why I have mine more often.
If you are returning to the UK, again the Rabies vaccination must be valid and you must also be wormed by a vet (you can't do it yourself), between 1 to 5 days of your actual departure time at the ferry port. The vet must sign and stamp your passport, along with a date and time for this to be valid and just a little hint, always check that this has been done before leaving the vets or setting off on your long journey.
I can't give much advice about air travel as thankfully my Mum and Dad have never put me through this one, but I think it works along the same lines.
To help pass the time I prefer to sleep as much as possible, so I arrive refreshed and ready to go at my final destination but I know Cocoa prefers to stay alert and look at the scenery or the landmarks as we go by, she says that's how you learn about things and you can never have too much knowledge, personally I think she just likes to brag to her friends where's she been and what's she's been doing. Also, when you get to my time of life and the amount of miles I have done, one bush, river or town all starts to look the same.
Lastly, if you stop for any length of time (which is always advisable) make sure your Mum doesn't lock the car keys in the actual car while you are still in it. This can cause the odd problem and a few delays, especially when you are on ferry, getting ready to cross the Irish Sea!
Spike, the OAP Roaming reporter for Tuffdogs Stuff & The Barking Bugle.
PS - My Mum has loads of stories about me and travelling and our pop-up shop is very often at the Wells Beach Cafe or various shows across the county, so have a look at our Website or Facebook page for further details.