Traveling is a big part of Summer fun! When you have pets, as they are a part of our families, many things must be considered such as should you board them, find them a pet sitter or a home sitter to stay at your home or should you take them on the road with you? If you chose to take your precious pups or fancy felines with you keep these travel tips in mind. 

 

  • If you are traveling with a nervous pet, the color light blue can help. 
  • A Gentle Leader  head collar is a great tool to put on a dog with anxiety while traveling, but do not use red – blue, green or pink would be best if available.
  • If you are traveling with your dog or cat, the herb ginger and/or peppermint can help with car sickness. You can use fresh ginger or a capsule. If using a capsule, go by the body weight on the bottle and offer 1 hour prior to traveling. Bring peppermint essential oil for them to just take a quick whiff of. The aroma can dissipate motion sickness, headaches and help if an animal is in shock.
  • Bring water and food your animal is used to if possible, along with their toys and bed. A change in water and food can cause indigestion and diarrhea. If taking a new food – try dehydrated or freeze-dried and start feeding your new “travel” food to your animals one week before the trip so their systems can get used to the change.
  • Keep matches and lighter fluid out of your pets’ reach. Certain types of matches, for example, contain chlorates, which can result in difficulty breathing and damage blood cells.
  • Do not use insect repellant and DEET products on your pets as they can cause them to drool, vomit, have diarrhea, excessive thirst, lethargy and worse, lead to neurological problems.  I’m not a fan of the chemicals for our animals OR our family.  Consider a spray made with essential oils of citronella, lemongrass, cedarwood and eucalyptus and water.  This is great for people and animals, however, you want to make sure neither the person or animal’s skin is sensitive to essential oils first, even if they are diluted in water.  Dab a bit of the spray on their skin and see what happens before you spray the whole body with it. This is what we use for mosquitoes and other pests.
  • Consider a custom Bach Flower Essence Blend for your dog, cat or horse during the the travel season for any emotinoal issues they may need help releasing -such as thunder storm or fireworks anxiety! 

Consider learning more about natural ways to care for your pet at www.thelightfootway.com and look at our available workshops coming up that can help you with choosing your pet’s diet or helping him or her with any emotional issues.

 Make holistic animal care a way of life, not a last resort!  

Blessings,

Allison