Traveling During the Holidays With Your Pets

Traveling during the holidays with your pets

I’ve got news for you. The holidays always sneak up on you! It’s summer. You blink, and it’s Thanksgiving! For many of us, the holidays mean travel. More and more of us are traveling during the holidays with our pets. On my recent trip to Los Angeles, there were at least 3 dogs on my flight. Even if you’re not flying, if you’re taking pets with you when you travel, you need to pack necessities for them.

When the holiday season is in full swing, we’ve all got a lot on our minds. We’ve got to decorate the house, buy presents, decide what food to make for family gatherings, and more. You could use a little help. I get it!

Here’s a list of items you should take for your pets when you’re traveling. Hopefully it’ll make your holidays a bit less stressful!

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Pet food

Thanks to Ziwi Peak for providing samples for Duke and the cats to try.

This should be an obvious thing to pack when you’re traveling with your pets during the holidays, right? But we’ve all been there, right? We forget the stuff we need the most and then end up having to run to the store at the most inconvenient times. So put this at the top of your list: Ziwi Pets air-dried pet food.  Since Ziwi pet food is air-dried, it makes the perfect portable food.

There is a lot of science behind feeding your pet Ziwi, and I won’t go into all that right now. You can find tons of facts about the nutrition, but right now we’re talking convenience! I’ll just share this fact and video: your pet needs much less food per day because of the amount of nutrition and calories per scoop.

How does this help you with your holiday traveling? Your pet’s food will take up a lot less space and weigh a lot less in your suitcase! You know how important this is, especially when you’re flying. You want the best for your pets, and you want easy travel! With Ziwi Pet Food you can have both. Find a retailer near you today.

Ziwi always has great stuff on their social media channels (Facebook, Twitter), so I definitely recommend following them for great tips and videos.  Their Instagram feed is adorable. You’ve got to go check out the cute pets!

Take pet dishes & a leash when you travel with your pets

I guess depending on where you’re traveling to, you could ask your host for bowls for your pet’s food, but if they’re not pet people, it might gross them out. I found a really cool product that you need to check out for when you’re traveling with your pets during the holiday. It’s from SitStayGo and is called Pet Dinette & Leash. Yes, it comes with a leash too! It is light and easy to pack.

Photo Credit: SitStayGo

I know you can’t take water through TSA when you’re flying, but you can fill up the water portion of the bowl after you go through security. You can already have a serving sized portion of Ziwi Pet Food in the storage bowl. And if you are driving, this gives you the convenience of having everything ready for potty break time.

Then when you reach your destination, you’ll have your pet’s own dishes for their food and a leash for their walks. Convenient and small! Perfect for traveling during the holidays with your pets!

Don’t forget to pack toys

My dog Duke needs his toys to keep him occupied and to keep him from chewing things he shouldn’t chew. When you’re traveling with pets during the holidays, you need to remember their toys! It is something familiar to them in a strange place. Their toys already have their scent on them, and they’ve probably got a favorite toy.

Photo Credit: Planet Dog

I really like interactive toys because they keep your pet busy. With a puppy, they’ve got to be durable too. Duke loves his Orbee-Tuff ball because it can hold treats. I love it because it is durable, and it keeps him occupied getting the treats out. He has two plain orange ones, but these Thanksgiving ones are cute. Though the Thanksgiving balls are not available right now, there are some really cute Holiday Joy Ball toys available now!

The large and small ones can hold treats, and speaking of treats, you should pack some Ziwi Good Dog Rewards to reward your dog for good behavior while traveling with your pets during the holidays. Just be sure not to overfeed your dog. As the above video shows you, your dog will need much less of the Ziwi food, so include the treats in their daily food allowance. You could put a few pieces of their food in one of these interactive balls. Again, remember to calculate that into how much they’re eating. It wouldn’t be much fun to have a dog with tummy troubles while you travel!

A festive collar, bow or bow-tie

You know you’ll be taking lots of pictures of your pets during the holidays, so when you’re traveling with your pets during the holidays make sure to pack something cute and small, like a bow, for your pet to wear! No need to bring their entire wardrobe. You’ll already be packing enough when you’re traveling with your pets for the holidays! These cute bow-ties would look great in pictures too, and they don’t take up much room at all.

Photo Credit: Puppy Kisses

Take your host or hostess a gift when you’re traveling to their house during the holidays with your pets

If your host and/or hostess has pets and they’ve never been introduced to Ziwi pet food, I’d definitely suggest a bag Good Dog treats as a gift for their dog or a can or two of Ziwi Moist Cat food for their cat. Pet people are always looking for the best foods for their pets. I know I am! The treats only weigh 3 oz. and the cans come in 3 oz. or 6.5 oz. too. You can easily pack those even if you’re just taking a carry-on!

Another great host gift is a wax warmer and Pet House Wax Melts from One Fur All.

Even if your hosts don’t have pets of their own, I know they’ll appreciate this! After all, your pet(s) will be there! If you are flying, and you know your host has a wax warmer already (you pretty much know what your mom has, right?), then buy several of these melts instead of a warmer. If they don’t have one, order one from Amazon and have it shipped directly to them. Just tell them, do not open until Thanksgiving, Christmas, whatever.

Pet House Wax Melts are so cute, and they smell awesome! They come in the shape of a paw print! I have the Apple Cider (a refreshing and delicious blend of fresh apple juice mixed with just the right amount of cinnamon and clove) and Pumpkin Spice (a warm and spicy holiday favorite with a blend of pumpkin, cinnamon sugar, maple butter and vanilla bean). I really appreciate that these are formulated specifically for homes with pets. They’re made in the USA and contain an odor neutralizer plus essential oils, and they have no paraffin / petroleum by-products.

A good attitude

Hey, we all can use that reminder during the holidays, especially when we’re traveling to see family! Remember that your pet is going to a strange place, maybe a place to which they’ve never been. Put on a smile and enjoy the season! I hope that these tips help you while you’re traveling during the holidays with your pets!