Cue an epic road trip! Today, Brad, Keaton, and I embark on an exciting six-week road trip in our vintage VW Vanagon. Picture us cruising along scenic highways, the open road stretching before us, on an epic journey to Colorado and back.
Our top priority is keeping everyone safe and comfortable, especially ensuring Keaton feels happy and secure while on the road.
Are you interested in road-tripping with your dog? Ensuring your dog’s safety and physical and emotional comfort will help him enjoy time on the road, which means you enjoy your time, too. Keaton loves to take short rides in our bus, so in preparation for this long road trip, we did a two-week shakedown trip to Florida and back over the winter. It went well because we anticipated his needs and purchased items that would keep him safe and comfortable and make our lives easy while on the road. We’d already taken him on short overnight trips.
On this trip, we’re taking most of the same safety and comfort items we took on our shake-down road trip.
We invested in a Mt. Bachelor Pad Dog Bed, Knot-a-Hitch Camping Dog Hitching System, and a Lunen High-vis Water Repellant Dog Jacket, all from Ruffwear. These products are not inexpensive, but they are a worthwhile investment if you plan to engage in outdoor activities with your dog.
We used the dog bed during camping, dined at dog-friendly restaurants, and in our rental homes. The rain jacket proved its worth during a day of rain, and even though we didn’t use the dog hitching system, Keaton was perfectly comfortable with a 15-foot Biothane leash that was attached to a Kurgo Direct to Seat Belt Tether. during our camping days.
We also took along a few of his favorite toys, plenty of his food, his bowls, towels for wiping paws, a grooming brush, a first aid kit, and lots of training treats to reinforce him during opportunistic training for all the new situations we knew he’d encounter. We’ll be doing the same on this trip.
Travels with your dog may not require some of the same gear, but when you put forethought into your dog’s physical needs and training needs, it’ll help your trip end in fun memories for humans and canines alike.
You can follow our epic journey on Instagram @buellerthebus.
Happy Traveling!