Crates to Travel With Dogs

Learn at Pug that when you travel with dogs it’s important to take certain things into consideration beforehand. Definitely one of the first things you should do before you start planning any trips with you loving, furry companion is choosing proper travel dog crates.

There is a great variety of travel dog crates available in the market nowadays: soft crates, wired crates, wooden crates, plastic crates, aluminum crates… With so many options to choose from, it might not seem easy to choose one. However, it’s important to consider how you will travel with dogs before you buy a crate. If you’re traveling by air, try to avoid buying a soft-sided crate or tent, as they are not approved by airlines for transporting dogs. If you want to stay on the safe side, go for a hard plastic or an aluminum crate. While these are the most common options for air travel with dogs, it’s always important to double check with your airline to make sure it’s actually approved. When you buy the crate for your dog, make sure that he’s able to stand up, move around, lie down and is comfortable enough for him to spend a few hours in it.

Now that you have your crate, Pug informs that it’s important that your dog get used to it and this is best achieve by crate training. Training is important before you travel with dogs, since you want your dog to feel “at home” in his crate. For a successful training to take place, dogs must view their crates as a relaxing area, so never punish your dog and put him in the cage, as this is only going to give your dog a negative idea of his crate. To start crate training your dog, just put the crate in a place where your dog is definitely going to see it and leave it open. Let him sniff around, and even get in and out: this is his way of exploring it and seeing if it can harm him. After some time, make him get in by putting some treats inside and close the door. Leave him inside for a few minutes and then let him out. Do this constantly, slowly increasing the time he is left inside.

Pug recommends once or twice, to feed him inside the crate. However, you need to do a puppy potty training and always remember to take him to his designated bathroom area after being in the crate. This will show him that the crate is supposed to be a safe place, a home and shouldn’t be soiled. Once he has gotten used to being in the crate, take him in car ride, first for only a few minutes, then start increasing the time. Even plan on taking him on a weekend trip to a nearby friend or relative. This way he’ll start realizing that no matter where he goes, his crate will always be a safe place for him to be.

Plastic and aluminum crates are to travel with dogs, always providing a secure place for your dog to come along while you travel.