Holidays with your dog – Micro’s packing list
I have my own little holiday bag. I know it very well. It holds every good thing! Things like the emergency tennis ball, floating toys, treats… My humans are trying to teach me how to pack things, but I prefer unpacking things… especially if they haven’t closed the bag’s zipper all the way.
My humans double check to make sure all dog tags are up-to-date with all our contact details (for abroad especially mobile numbers) and that every harness/collar has one (you just never know).
They also usually check where the next vet (animal clinic) is, just in case.
Here is a list of things that you can find in my holiday bag when we travel abroad:
Dog folder (imperative, and usually goes in M’s handbag/backpack) with
- EU pet passport (to check for the up-to-date rabies vaccination and tapeworm treatment stamp, which needs to be dated and timed between 24 and 120 hours before re-entering the UK)
- Insurance policy papers (just in case)
- Tasso registration papers (I wear the tag on my collar in case my humans get lost)
- My old vaccination record book (from before I had my own pet passport)
For the dog folder, M has sewn me a two-tone white and blue vegan leather bag with a velcro flap. There is a big H on it (for Hund – dog in German). The letter is made from a spare piece of fabric. A fun bag (something like this) for all your papers.
Travel bag (2017 summer edition)
- Cooling jacket (before, it was a cooling bandana)
- Float coat/life vest (read robinventures blog for detailed reviews of dog gear)
- Collar
- Food and water bowls (+ collapsible bowl, which always in the car)
- Poop bags (though you can get them in every pet shop, not a drama if you’re running low in supplies)
- Spare lead (always in the car)
- Towels
- 10m non-retractable lead in highly visible neon yellow (Editor’s note: in case monsieur Micro has a moment of “I don’t want to leave here” or dogs do need to be on a lead because of cliffs, wildlife, etc.)
- Water bottle
- Blanket
- Baby wipes (you never know)
- Baby shampoo
- Toys this year:
- Ruffwear turnup (my most favourite ball in the whole world)
- Tennis balls (for playing in the river – they can get lost, although I get upset when they do…)
- Safe stick (in small)
- Kong Aqua – which survived longer than the Wet Wubba although I still managed to dismantle it within 48 hours
- Ronnie the Rhino (which is in better shape than Piggie, also known as cochonet)
- Deer antlers and a buffalo horn (or what’s left of if)
Emergency kit
- Silver spray (Editor’s note: the Lila Loves It emergency kit it’s great, if you need to buy a full set)
- Paw care
- Solution to clear the ears (standard, from the vet)
- Tick twister
- Furminator (less for grooming, more to check for ticks after walks in the woods)
- Kong Zoom Groom Brush
- Nail clipper (standard from the vet)
- Kinesiotape (also for my humans, because – you never know)
- Some pain medication (see vet) – just in case
Our human emergency kit has a lot that doubles up for the me (gauze, bandage, medical disinfectant strips), We generally don’t take any medication – unless I’m currently on them – and prefer to see the vet where we are, if something goes wrong (to be honest, I prefer NOT to see the vet, wherever we are!!!). They know best about illness in the area.
My humans say that I will also wear a Scalibor collar (just not in when swimming), starting a week before we go. This is against mosquitoes, and was vet recommended and by people from the dog park going to affected areas. Leishmaniasis is a possibility, even though they actually haven’t seen the sandflies where we are going to go for a few years now. It’s not a dog only disease, humans (if you’re squeamish, skip this link – slightly graphic pictures) can catch it as well, it just easier to treat in humans than in dogs.
Our human emergency kit has a lot that doubles up for the me (gauze, bandage, medical disinfectant strips), We generally don’t take any medication – unless I’m currently on them – and prefer to see the vet where we are, if something goes wrong (to be honest, I prefer NOT to see the vet, wherever we are!!!). They know best about illness in the area.
My humans say that I will also wear a Scalibor collar (just not in when swimming), starting a week before we go. This is against mosquitoes, and was vet recommended and by people from the dog park going to affected areas. Leishmaniasis is a possibility, even though they actually haven’t seen the sandflies where we are going to go for a few years now. It’s not a dog only disease, humans (if you’re squeamish, skip this link – slightly graphic pictures) can catch it as well, it just easier to treat in humans than in dogs.
Also, different bags for easier travel:
- Food
- A couple of puppy pads (for the overnight train only, just in case)
- My bed
- A little dog paddling pool (which technically would fit into my bag, but it’s already packed with different gear.
Plus the new backpack for Micro – as a replacement for my old red travel bag. It carries up to 12kg so I should be way within weight limit. I’m just not very found of enclosed spaces!!! My humans say ‘let’s see how it goes’. Hmmpff. So far, I don’t hate it, but I don’t like to be kept in enclosed spaces…
Hello, we’re two expat friends (aka Tournesol and Tigerduck) and a dog (Micro-the-Dog, aka “the boss”). After living in London for 18 and 16 years respectively (or 5 years in the case of Micro), we’ve just made a leap of faith back across the channel and are building a new life in Munich. Thank you for reading our musings about the world, life, living with CFIDS/ME, music, crafts, dogs and other observations.
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