How To Train Your Dog Before Travelling Without Driving Yourself Crazy
I never took my golden retriever pet Alzu to a trainer and yet she has been travelling with me across India since 2021 like a boss lady. But I met a couple of pet parents on my travel who shared their challenges about travelling with their dogs. While I can’t take all credit for Alzu’s charming disposition, I want to share my two cents on training your dog before travelling.
avelling with a dog, your dog will be exposed to more stressful situations than if they lived with you at home. Consider how they will react to dining with you in a crowded restaurant, being crated on flights or trains, travelling long hours in the back seat of your car, or staying in strange environments, such as noisy hotels or a camp.
Consider training your dog before travelling together as part of your preparations for your first vacation with your dog (check out my All-You-Need-To-Know guide on travelling with your pet).
By the end of reading this blog, you will be closer to planning your much-awaited travels with your best buddy.
1. Get your dog to bark less
While it might be hard to totally stop them from barking (and some dog trainers argue that this is not the ideal scenario to aim for as dogs frequently bark to guard you), you should aim to minimise how frequently they do so.
Some dogs will bark when they’re unhappy. They are hungry, want to play, or want to take a walk. Barking can also alert you to the presence of a stranger at the door. The key is to figure out what your dog needs, then change your dog’s behaviour so that they no longer need to bark.
One easy technique is to teach your dog to stop barking at your command (I used “No Barking”). Choose a word to say to your dog if they bark, or buy and use a clicker. Upon hearing the command or the clicker, your dog will be distracted and turn their attention to you, then reward them with a small treat if they stay quiet. Gradually lengthen the time before you give your dog the treat.
If this doesn’t work, find out what triggers your dog to bark and avoid those when possible. For instance, Alzu tends to bark if we stay in a noisy room, or in a room near the lift or stairs, where you can hear a lot of external noise. So I choose not to stay in a crowded street or in the main markets and choose a corner room on the top floor of the hotel.
Dogs also frequently bark when they are bored, for example, if you are sitting outside at a café and they are wondering why you are simply sitting and not paying attention to them, especially if you also start to eat! To keep them active and satisfied, a tempting chew treat or toy may be helpful.
2. Train Your Dog to Return to your Call
If there is one command you must teach your dog before travelling, it’s to return to you when called. This is particularly true if you are in a new city, with more distractions than at home, and they can’t return because they don’t know where “home” is. If your dog reliably comes when called, only then let them go off-leash.
Practice recall with your dog in a calm, known setting at first, such as inside your home. Reward them with a snack or maybe praise and cuddles when they respond when called. Increase the difficulty level gradually by practising in a noisier setting, say when going out for a stroll.
Keep your dog on a leash when you’re out with them if they don’t learn recall (some dogs are harder to train than others). You can buy a retractable leash if you want to allow your dog to roam freely on a walk, but you should always be careful when using this kind of leash.
3. Crate Train Your Dog
If your dog has already been crate trained, the process will be much easier and less stressful for everyone if you plan to fly with them, whether in the cabin or in the hold or take them on a train, where they need to travel in a carrier. Crate training is useful if you have to leave your dog in a hotel room (though I always let Alzu be free in hotel rooms) or use it to keep them safe in the car.
I recommend crate training your dog when they’re just a puppy. As a young puppy, Schnitzel spent every night in his kennel. (Even though he eventually shifted to the bed!. This also prevents your dog from having accidents at night because she learns to bark when he wants to go outside.
However, it is possible to start later in life. I suggest beginning as soon as possible before a planned flight or train journey. Buy their crate as early as you can, then introduce it to them. Let them enter it and give it a sniff. Feed them inside the crate to tempt them inside and help them form positive associations.
Your dog should ideally enter their crate and sit down when it’s time to be transported. This will significantly reduce their travel-related stress. To help them relax, you may add a favourite blanket or toy.
4. Train your dog to bathroom when asked
Having your dog trained to pee when asked is super helpful when you’re travelling with your dog in different places. This is useful in a wide variety of circumstances, such as rest stops on long road trips, soon before taking a flight and just before going to bed while staying in a 10-storey hotel.
If you used a certain word with your dog while toilet training them as a puppy (I seed “Pee time”, start to use that word again. Expect them to go to the toilet when you utter the word (perhaps repeat it a few times) and then when they do, thank them with a treat.
Some pet owners also teach their pets to relieve themselves on a puppy pee pad when instructed. It’s time to start utilising the command once more if you previously trained your dog on a pee pad when he was a puppy. For long flights, though, some people swear by using puppy pee pads.
Remember that older dogs (not puppies) frequently manage to hold on for longer than you believe.
5. Train your dog to travel in a car
Dogs, like people, can vomit in response to stressful situations. Rides are frequently connected with needle pricks at the vet. This can make your terrified puppy fearful of everything involving a car, even whether it is a vacation trip or a fun car ride around the city.
Begin by simply sitting in your car with your dog for a few minutes without driving anywhere. When your dog has learned that, consider going for a 5-minute ride and progressively increasing the length of the journey as your dog becomes accustomed to the idea of vehicle rides being safe and even enjoyable.
Turn the car into a puppy paradise with toys and treats that the dog only gets near or while inside the car to change the dog’s thinking. Teach your dog that the car has many advantages in a progressive manner. Good dog praise and appreciation, as well as treats, may go a long way.
6. Teach your dog to Wait
When it comes to keeping your dog safe when you travel, training him to “wait” could be the most valuable. For me, asking Alzu to “wait” means she needs to stay put until I say it’s okay to move. This is the command I use to keep him from jumping out of the car before I’m ready with her leash.
Practice is the key! With Alzu, I make it a point to teach her every time I feed her. I ask her to “wait” while I add the food to her bowl in another room, I turn around and say, “Eaty,” which is her invitation to join me near the bowl and eat.
I do the same in the car — she waits while I open the car door and put on her harness. She waits until I open the vehicle door and put her harness on, just like I do in the car. Getting out of the car is an especially vulnerable time, it’s simple for a pet to run off and get lost. The ability to “wait” is a life-saving skill for your dog.
The nicest part is that teaching “wait” is simple. The only reward your dog will likely need is the opportunity to join you.
7. Training for Leave It
When you travel, there are many items that you’ll want your dog to avoid. A dog lunging at a fence, a pile of food waste on the street, and someone else’s meal at a restaurant.
It’s best to begin teaching your dog to “leave it” with a mildly intriguing object. When you show your dog the object, he will probably give it a sniff. Say “leave it” when he begins to lose interest before rewarding him.
Use more intriguing objects as he learns the command. This can be a bit hard for active dogs, but she will surely learn with time,
8. Bonus command- Hello
Alzu is the most friendly dog I’ve ever met and wants everyone to stop and pet her. When she notices strangers approaching, she wiggles her whole booty (not just the tail) and even starts exhibiting her favourite toys to get their attention.
When you travel, you’ll be in areas where people are around. If your dog is anything like mine, she has no idea that some people don’t want to pet dogs or could just be too busy to notice her.
I’ve trained her to say “Hello” to people to help her understand when it’s OK to approach them. I’ll be honest; it hasn’t been simple to get her to stop naturally greeting everyone. But often kids love it when Alzu paws their hands while saying hello.
I know this sounds like a lot of work but your efforts to train your dog to be a superb travelling companion will pay off beautifully. In addition to being able to better protect her, being able to explain to her what to expect in a new circumstance can lessen her worry and let you relax.
And the better behaved your travelling dogs are, the more places they’ll be allowed to go!
In my next blog, I will share some fun travel ideas for your dog bucket list Stay tuned!
You can reach out to me at travel.shivanibohare@gmail.com or visit my Instagram handle, Facebook page, or Twitter for a visual update on my year-long travels with Alzu.
Happy travels! Woof Woof!
Shivani & Alzu ❤️
