Table of
Contents

 

Sample
Chapter

So you plan to travel in Oregon or Washington by car, and you want to take your dog along? Well, you’re in good company—lots of dogs travel with their owners. Rocky, our 90-lb Hound/German Shepherd mix, sure does. After all, he’s part of our family, and a vacation just wouldn’t be the same without him.

Traveling with a well-behaved dog can be great fun and a minimum of fuss. But it does involve some advance planning and effort on your part. It also requires extra consideration for your fellow travelers and for the friendly people who provide your accommodations.

Chapters 1–6 in this book are packed with common-sense information you can use to make sure your dog is a well-behaved traveler—making your trips more fun for both of you. There’s even a common-sense first aid guide, for your pet’s safety and your own peace of mind.

Chapter 7 contains maps of each state, showing the location of every town that has at least one dog-friendly hotel, motel, B-&-B, cabin or vacation home.

In Chapter 8 you’ll find detailed listings for more than 2,200 hotels, motels, and bed & breakfast inns throughout California where you and your well-behaved dog are welcome guests.

At the back of the book you’ll find two separate indexes:

	A: Business Name Index—alphabetical list of all the business names, cross-referenced to their detailed listings in Chapter 8
	B: Topics Index—alphabetical list of the pet travel topics that are discussed in Chapters 1 through 6

How to have fun and get invited back

Sad to say, it appears that the numbers of hotels, motels, cabins and B-&-Bs that allow dogs have dwindled in recent years. This unfortunate trend is due largely to a few irresponsible dog owners who permit their dogs to damage furnishings and landscaping, or to behave aggressively toward other guests and their pets. Or, they fail to make sure their pet, his travel bed, and his cleanup towels are freshly washed in preparation for their trip.

As responsible dog owners, we can all help to reverse this trend. Preparing in advance and taking appropriate equipment along with us not only ensures more enjoyable trips for ourselves and our dogs; it also provides positive examples of well-behaved traveling dogs. Good examples help to encourage more establishments to accept pets.

This book will help you prepare for a great trip with your dog, by following these easy but important steps:

	Attend obedience training classes with your dog before you travel. When you are both familiar with the basic commands for good behavior, you’ll be ready when the unexpected happens. (And believe me, it does eventually happen!)
	Prepare a canine first aid kit and learn (in advance) how to handle a medical emergency
	Pack the appropriate pet travel supplies
	Call ahead to reserve a dog-friendly room—be aware that most of the hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfast inns included in this book allow dogs in some, but not all, of their rooms
	Always pay attention to your dog’s impact on other guests and on the facilities, both indoor and outdoor, where you’re staying—in short, be well-behaved travelers!

When to bring your dog —and when NOT to

Obviously you want your dog to travel with you, or you wouldn’t be reading this book. But also ask yourself whether or not he wants to come along.

Your dog will probably enjoy the trip if:

	You’re traveling by car
	Driving time will be fairly short, so he won’t be in the car for hours
	You’ve planned lots of activities that your dog can share, like hiking or walking on the beach

And now, a word from Mooshka

The feline member of our family (“She Who Must Be Obeyed”) wants to point out that she prefers to stay home while Rocky goes traveling. Call her a homebody if you like, but Mooshka insists that most cats would much rather stay behind in their own familiar surroundings.

On Mooshka’s advice, then, this book focuses on traveling with dogs only. Obviously you’ll be making arrangements for your cats to be properly cared for in your absence. So, you can rest assured that they will be just fine while you’re gone. Though it may hurt to admit it, they probably won’t even miss you.

As Mooshka puts it, “I’m staying here. And as long as I’m properly fed and admired, my servants [that’s us mere humans] can go wherever they like!”