So you plan to travel in California by car, and you want to take your dog along? Well, you’re in good company—lots of dogs travel with their owners. Ginger, my German Shepherd/Norwegian Elkhound, certainly does. After all, she’s part of the family, and a vacation just wouldn’t be the same without her.

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—7 in this book are packed with common-sense information you can use to transform your dog into a well-behaved traveler—making your trips more fun for both of you. There’s even a common-sense first aid guide, with a list of 24-hour emergency veterinary clinics in each state, for your pet’s safety and your own peace of mind.

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 7

The numbers of hotels, motels, cabins and B & Bs that accept pets have dwindled in recent years. This unfortunate trend is due largely to a few irresponsible dog owners who allow their dogs to damage furnishings and landscaping, or 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 not only ensures more enjoyable trips for ourselves and our dogs—it also provides positive examples of well-behaved traveling dogs, to help 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

But consider traveling without your dog when:

	Adverse weather conditions would make him miserably hot or cold
	You’d be traveling by plane or train—these are more of an ordeal for your pet than a vacation
	Most of your time would be spent in activities that your dog could not share—after all, would you want to spend your entire vacation locked in an empty car or motel room while your companion attended meetings all day long?

And now, a word from Spike

The feline member of our family (“He Who Must Be Obeyed”) wants to point out that he definitely prefers to stay home while Ginger goes traveling. Call him a homebody if you like, but Spike insists that most cats would much rather stay behind in their own familiar surroundings. On Spike’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 Spike 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!”

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