Traveling with a young service dog

These questions were posed by one of our DAD families. Their puppy is 12 weeks old and will soon be traveling with the family.

When we make a hotel reservation, do we mention we are traveling with a service dog?

Yes. Always give the hotel a heads up that you will be checking in with your service dog. The same rule applies if you are flying with your service dog. Call the airline when making your reservation and ask their guidance about the best seat, based on the kind of aircraft, for you and your dog.

What if we stay in a downtown hotel and there are no grassy areas for potty breaks?

Ask hotel staff for suggestions about where to take her. Service dogs need to be comfortable going potty on any surface, since there may not always be grass available. To practice, take your puppy out on your street or sidewalk for her first potty of the morning (do this a few times before your trip to make sure she okay with it). Praise and reward for going potty on pavement. And, of course, always bag and properly dispose of puppy poo.

What if we're on the 33rd floor and it's 2:00 in the morning and the puppy needs to potty? 

When you make your reservation, tell them you are traveling with a service dog and ask for a room on a low floor near an exit. A dog past 4 months old, if pottied before bedtime, will not need a potty break in the middle of the night unless there is a tummy ache involved.

How many hours can we drive before we need to stop for our puppy to get out and stretch and stuff? 

Depends on the age of the dog. Under six months, maybe every four hours or when the dog indicates she needs a break. Over six months, whenever the humans need a break or the dog indicates the need for one.

Where do you recommend we stop for these breaks, i.e., gas station or rest area or something else? 

After a dog has all of her shots, rest areas are fine. They are usually kept pretty clean. Be careful of areas around fast food restaurants, gas stations, and such. There can be a lot of litter, even broken glass - things you don't want your dog to be around. Parks with hiking trails are a wonderful place to take a break, too.

When you start traveling with your service dog, remind yourself that she IS a service dog and can go anywhere you go. Sounds silly ... but we all have those "family dog" rules so ingrained in us (mostly where they cannot go) and it takes some adjustment in thinking to plan our lives around our service dogs' rights to full public access.

http://diabetesalertdogs.com/

http://www.deethedogtrainer.com/

Traveling With Your Service Dog

Dee Bogetti: "I recently had the pleasure of meeting Abi and her diabetic alert dog, Mr. Darcy, at the airport in Denver, CO. They had flown in from Atlanta on Frontier. Her immediate concern was to find a place for her dog to relieve himself. After a bit of misdirection by airport employees, Abi found an appropriate area. Later, as we made our way outdoors to find the shuttle for the rental car agency, we realized there was a place that was much easier to access for future canine "potty" breaks, as long as going back through security was not an issue.

"The above scenario prompted this post. If you have traveled with your dog - by any means including plane, train or automobile - please share your experiences and advice for others."
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Abi Thornton:

Traveling with your service dog is always interesting! There is a lot of things we have to consider that people traveling without service dogs do not have to think about. We have to remember our dogs safety, what they will need for the trip, etc.

Mrs Dee pointed out an interesting question about "potty".

• Going Potty

Mr Darcy and I flew from Atlanta, Georgia, to Denver Colorado. The flight was a little over 3 hours long. When you take into account being at the airport 2 hours early and making your way through the airport to find somewhere to potty your dog after the plane lands, Mr Darcy had to "hold it" for over 6 hours.

I have found that the quickest way to get out of the airport is going out through baggage claim (i just wouldn't ask the security guards/airport employees because they will give you directions to somewhere that PETS are authorized to potty). Your service dog needs the quickest spot possible - so don't take your time, potty your dog immediately!

There is another problem when you have a connecting flight. In this situation it is not possible to go out through baggage claim because you would have to go through security all over again. I believe that the best solution is to teach your dog to "go potty" on cue (you can use any command..... "hurry up", "get 'er done", "go potty" etc.). If your dog has been trained to "go potty" on any surface you will be able to take your dog to the restroom, tell it to potty and be prepared to clean up :D

Another option would be to train your dog to "go potty" on a "potty pad". In this situation you could bring your dog to the restroom, lay out the Potty Pad, tell your dog to go potty, pick up the pad and throw it away. This option sounds more appealing than having to clean up your dogs potty! I have no experience with Potty Pads, but they sound like a good solution for an airport situation.

• Going Through Security

Usually, with Mr Darcy, I take his vest and leash off. I tell him to "wait" on one side of the security check point as i walk through. When i get through, I then call Mr Darcy to come to me. He comes to me, and i put his vest and leash back on him. The farthest that i have ever had to be away from him is 3 feet while he "waits" on the other side of the security check point.

However, on the way home from our latest trip, his collar made the security alarm go off. I was alone and i did not feel comfortable taking his collar off of him. I then requested that an airport security guard pat Mr Darcy down. They had no problem with that and Mr Darcy thought it was the best day of his life because someone got to rub his belly for a few minutes!!! :)

• Consider Your Dog's Safety

1. Escalators: My advice is, "don't use them." They are potentially dangerous for your dog and can be very bad for the pads of their paws. I suggest finding an elevator or stairs.
   
2. Elevators: Elevators can also be dangerous. When getting on to an elevator it is extremely important to get them in the back corner, away from the door. Make sure their tail is tucked away in a safe spot so that it is less likely for someone on those crowded elevators to step on it.
3. Airport Trains: The trains in airports move very fast and are usually full of people who are in a hurry. I suggest having your dog in a "down" because of the speed of the train. I also think that it would be best to have them against the wall away from the crowds so that your dog will not get tripped on or stepped on.
4. On The Airplane: Ask for bulk head seating so that there is plenty of room for your dog. Make sure the dog is as out of the way as possible so that your dogs tail/other body parts do not get stepped on/tripped over. I usually request a window seat so that Mr Darcy is not close to the isle.
   

• Packing For a Service Dog

1. Portable Water Bowl - keep your portable water bowl handy (maybe in the pocket of your dogs vest) so that you can easily reach it to get your dog water.
2. Food - sometimes it is hard to pack enough food for an entire trip. I usually pack enough for a few meals and then plan to buy a small bag when I arrive at my destination.
3. Law Card - I have a book that includes the service dog laws for each state. I remember to bring that on trips so that if i come across a public access issue I have (in writing) the law for the state that I am in.
4. Treats/ Toys - What is your dogs reward for alerting? Mr Darcy gets a toy reward for alerting - I always bring his "low toy" with me. If your dog's reward for alerting is a treat, make sure to bring plenty.
5. Poopy Bags - ALWAYS clean up after your dog :)
6. Vest/ Leash/ Collar/ Harness etc.

I hope that this post can be of some help to fellow service dog handlers!

Thanks,

Abi & Mr Darcy