Tiu Hazra’s Tips on Traveling with Dogs

Posto came into the life of Tiu at a time when she was struggling to recover from a surgery and dealing with the challenges of lockdown and mental health. Since his adoption, she says, she has been happier and healthier in many ways. Posto helped her and her husband have a better routine, eat more vegetables, get more exercise in terms of walking him, find an equally passionate animal-loving community on Instagram and playing with him, and he even makes for a good company on vacations!

Posto frequently travels with his parents, and with time they have devised some really clever tricks to make traveling with dogs as efficient and fun as it can be. So let’s look at some very helpful lifestyle and travel tips that Tiu gave to us during our Instagram Live this Sunday.

Lifestyle:

• Posto has very long and beautiful ears, but they get in his food and water often! So his parents put a Snood on his ears to help him stay clean and dry.
• Tiu strongly suggests adopting, as far as possible. However, if you choose to purchase a particular breed, it is essential to make sure you buy from an ethical breeder.
• Since Posto was a lockdown puppy, he is not very used to his parents leaving for work for long hours and has separation anxiety. They have been working on it by leaving him alone for a couple of hours every day with a monitor, chewies, and toys in places where he is most comfortable.
• Tiu recommends crate training, as it is the most beneficial way to avoid separation anxiety.

Travel:

• Posto mostly travels by car, and the biggest issue that arises is that of motion sickness. Tiu, upon the consultation of a nutritionist, recommends feeding your pet their last meal at least 4 hours before travel.
• A little bit of ginger paste could be added to that meal as it helps with motion sickness.
• Only one big meal a day is enough on the days of travel, and small treats like carrots can be given during the rest of the days.
• To help Posto remain seated, his parents use a hammock, fill the leg-space with luggage, and put a bedsheet on the setup to make a large and comfortable space for Posto. For longer journeys, chewies can be given.
• When travelling with a larger family where the backseat is not available for the dog, the front passenger seat can be shifted back and the dog can be made to sit in the space in front of the seat so that the scenery doesn’t excite them too much and we can still connect with their parent.
• Toilet breaks should be taken every two hours so that your pupper is always comfortable.

Tiu taught us this, and much more during the session, you can watch the full session on Instagram. She expressed how creating an Instagram community helped her learn so much about pet parenting, and she shares her journey and learnings with Posto on (@postothezippypuppy) on Instagram.  Follow her to join her community!