Traveling with dogs can be an absolute joy, enriching adventures with furry companionship. Or, it can be a chaotic comedy of errors if you’re not properly prepared. Trust me, I learned this lesson in the most… aromatic way possible. My tale involves two adorable shepherd puppies, one winding mountain road, zero Dog Travel Crates, and a small child who probably still has nightmares about it.
Now, I consider myself a reasonably seasoned dog person. But even seasoned dog people can make spectacularly bad decisions, especially when faced with puppy-dog eyes. The decision in question? Thinking we could handle a car trip with two rambunctious Shiloh Shepherd puppies without the essential piece of dog travel gear: the dog travel crate. Spoiler alert: We were wrong. So very wrong.
It all started with good intentions. We were adopting a Shiloh Shepherd puppy – a breed known for its intelligence and gentle nature. The breeder, located a fair distance away, offered to fly our new pup to us. Then came the curveball: would we mind also taking one of his littermates for a couple of weeks? Their family needed a bit more time before they could make the journey south. “No problem!” we cheerfully said. “They’ll each arrive in their own dog crate,” the breeder assured us. Famous last words.
Dog Travel Tip #1: Measure Your Car for a Dog Travel Crate (Before You Need It!)
Shiloh Shepherd puppies are not your average tiny fluffballs. Even at four months old, these guys are substantial – think 40 pounds of pure puppy energy. Adult Shilohs? Imagine a gentle giant tipping the scales at 150 pounds. On pickup day at Atlanta airport, we were armed with water bowls, leashes, and chew toys, feeling like responsible dog parents. What we hadn’t accounted for were the airline-approved dog crates housing our new “boys,” Teddy Blue and Merlin.
One look at the crates crammed into the baggage claim area, and panic set in. There was absolutely no way two crates of that size were fitting side-by-side in the back of our brand new Land Rover Discovery – a car we’d specifically chosen with a large dog in mind! Quick thinking (or perhaps delusional optimism) led us to disassemble the unwieldy crates right there on the airport tarmac. Our solution? Wedge the two bewildered, oversized puppies onto the back seat, flanking our poor six-year-old son in his booster seat like furry, slobbery bookends.
Before we embarked on this questionable journey, the kind chaperone handed me a box of ginger snaps. “For car sickness,” he explained, with a knowing look. My blood ran cold. “Don’t worry,” he chuckled, “they were fine in their dog crates on the flight!” Reassuring, right? For the initial three-hour drive home on relatively straight highways, things were… manageable. Two puppies, one small child, no dog travel crates? Piece of cake, I thought naively.
Then came the fateful weekend trip to our mountain cottage in western North Carolina.
Dog Travel Tip #2: Plan Your Route Thoughtfully (Especially Without a Dog Travel Crate)
Ah, the mountains. Fresh air, scenic views, and impossibly twisty roads. Instead of meeting Merlin’s family at our place as planned, we decided a weekend getaway with the puppies in our mountain cottage sounded idyllic. Logistically, it wasn’t a huge detour for Merlin’s family. What could go wrong?
Turns out, our first mistake was changing the location. The route to our cottage wasn’t a straight shot on the Interstate. It involved a series of winding, two-lane highways with dramatic elevation changes. Ups and downs, twists and turns – the kind of roads that make even seasoned human passengers a little queasy. But we were experienced travelers! We knew all the best rest stops, and our dog travel bowls and leashes were always ready for action.
Then, inexplicably, we made our second terrible decision: taking the scenic route through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This wasn’t just scenic; it was a symphony of hairpin turns, narrow lanes, and breathtaking drop-offs. Beautiful? Yes. Puppy-car-sickness-friendly? Absolutely not. Pull-over spots for impromptu puppy walks? Scarce as hen’s teeth.
We hadn’t even ventured deep into the forest’s embrace before the puppies started drooling. Copiously. Ginger snaps were a distant memory. Drooling, as any seasoned dog owner knows, is often the prelude to something far, far worse. And worse it was. It came in waves. Repeated waves. Everywhere. Seats, floor, door panels, speakers. Remember that brand new car? Yeah, it was getting a baptism by puppy puke.
And then there was our son. Covered. Utterly, completely covered. The adorable Shiloh puppies had suddenly lost their charm. The sheer volume of projectile puppy vomit emanating from two 40-pound dogs is truly astounding. And there we were, trapped in a metal box hurtling through a gorgeous forest, with two acutely ill dogs and a child who was now beyond screaming – he was just making distressed whimpering noises. And what could we do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing but keep driving.
Dog Travel Tip #3: Always Be Prepared for the Worst (and Get a Dog Travel Crate!)
Where were those disassembled airline dog crates now? Still neatly stacked and utterly useless in the back of the car. Even if they had fit assembled, they were in pieces. And in the days between the airport pickup and this mountain odyssey, had we had the foresight to acquire proper travel crates? Nope. Another bad decision compounded the disaster.
We eventually limped into our mountain cottage, traumatized but alive. The journey included a torrential downpour, complete with thunder and lightning that sent the poor, already nauseous puppies into shivering wrecks. Teddy Blue and Merlin cowered and trembled with each thunderclap. The cleanup at the cottage was… extensive. And the car? Let’s just say it never quite smelled the same again.
Merlin’s family arrived the next day, overjoyed to finally meet their puppy. Despite the Joyce Kilmer incident, our farewell was genuinely wistful. We assured them Merlin was destined for greatness. We even helped them set up his dog crate in the back of their car.
And as they drove away, we handed them a box of ginger snaps. Just in case.
The moral of this story? Traveling with dogs is wonderful. Traveling with unprepared dogs is… an experience. But traveling with dogs prepared with a dog travel crate? That’s the way to go. Learn from my mistakes. Invest in a good dog travel crate. Your car, your sanity, and your passengers will thank you for it.
