Until last month, I had always hired a dog sitter to stay at my house while we went on family vacations. One of my dogs gets car sick, while the other is rather sickly in general. Plus, neither of them is well behaved. They are oh-so cute, but are very bad dogs. Last month, we visited Isle of Palms near Charleston, South Carolina for a few days and took the dogs with us to have some fun at the beach. I learned that vacationing with dogs can be a little tricky, but it’s something I now highly recommend.
Ample preparation is key when traveling with pets. I first had to locate a beach in Georgia or South Carolina that allowed dogs. I did a lot of web searches and visited many pet blogs. Since my dogs Winston and Lilly were a part of this trip, I did most of our vacation planning on the couch using my Acer C720P Chromebook. That way they could snuggle up and weigh on on the decisions.
(Planning our trip.)
The Acer C720P Chromebook, powered by Intel technology, is the perfect device for doing your vacation planning – from anywhere to anywhere. It’s small, it’s fast, and it’s light. It also has the same very cool touch screen feature that I have on my larger Intel AIO device. Many thanks to our sponsor Intel AIO for providing us with the Acer C720P Chromebook to review.
Once we narrowed down our location to a couple of dog friendly beaches, the hunt began for a dog friendly hotel. When searching for a dog friendly hotel, it’s a good idea to read the hotel’s pet policy in full. I thought I had found the perfect beachfront resort, only to learn they had an 8 pound weight limit for pets which wasn’t going to work for my 25 pound pups. Also, expect to pay a non-refundable pet fee. The typical range for this fee is $100-$200.
(An evening walk with the dogs on the beach.)
Traveling with dogs requires a lot of extra gear. Once the car was loaded up, I realized that dogs had at least as much gear as the people going on our vacation. Being in new surroundings with different smells and sounds can be scary for dogs, so it’s important to bring things like your dog’s favorite toys and blankets – even their bed if trunk space permits. It’s difficult for my dog, Lilly, to walk some days so we even had to pack her fancy pink dog stroller.
(A walk around the Charleston Battery.)
Hotels use the same rooms over and over for families traveling with pets, so it’s a good idea to bring a can of disinfectant spray and a couple blankets or sheets to cover furniture, if necessary. Pack plenty of food and treats for our dog. If you’re visiting the beach or a park where your dog is sure to get dirty, bring your dog’s shampoo along as well.
(A fun day at the beach with the dogs.)
Expect to get little or no sleep your first night in the hotel. Most hotels have their pet friendly rooms located in the same area of the hotel, so expect to see and hear lots of other dogs. My dogs were alert to every sound that first night, but by the second night they slept well from sheer exhaustion.
It’s important to have a well fitting harness or collar for your dog, while on vacation. You never know what might set your dog off. Since this was a dog friendly beach, there were many other four legged friends on the beach. Winston and Lilly quickly claimed the beach as their own and wanted to chase all the other dogs away.
My Acer C720P Chromebook came in very handy while on vacation. One of my dogs had a chronic illness flare up while we were at the beach, and I had to find a place for my Vet to call in a prescription. By the time we got home, she was starting to feel better.
(My Acer Chromebook came in very handy while on vacation.)
It’s true that vacationing with dogs is a lot more work, but it’s something I would do again in a heartbeat. I know my dogs are miserable when left with a pet sitter, and it was so fun seeing them play at the beach. They had a blast and so did I.
Have you ever taken your pets on vacation?
#spon: I am in a partnership with Intel. Through this partnership I gain access to content, product, or other forms of value.
What a great way to vacation with your pets and that is a fine looking acer!
My sister always took her dogs with her on vacation. Fortunately we don’t have to worry about it
How cute! Your dogs look like my Coton de Tulear! I think we’ve talked about this before! =)
This is adorable! Looks like everyone had a great time – including the dogs. I love these photos.
I was at a hotel a few years ago when I was switching through the channels and seen a screen with the guest’s pets. It hadn’t realized that hotels allowed pets. Now that I have two little dogs I have been wanting to take them on a vacation.
We’ve taken dogs with us on vacation, but only road trips. It was great to not have to worry about them being taken care of. It did change the dynamic of the drive, and I’m not sure I would do it again until my kids are a little older.
What fun!! My Roxy girl LOVES the beach so much. She is in dire need of another visit so she can run 🙂
I think our Harvey would love the beach and he’s so good in the car too. Perhaps we will look into taking him along on a California trip someday.
Your dogs are just adorable!!! They looked like they had fun, I bet they loved the water and splashing around.
Both our dogs are elderly and they do not travel well. We usually have a family member come to the house a couple of times a day during our vacations to walk, feed and give them some love.