Traveling With Your Golden Retriever

Golden Retrievers love to be included in family activities, which includes take rides in the car and traveling.  They love attention, and love for you to treat them just like they are a member of your family.  When you first get your Golden Retriever puppy, you’ll have to teach him how to enjoy car rides and traveling, so he can come to appreciate it more as he gets older.

When you decide to take him traveling for the first time, you should always give him food in small amounts throughout the day, while he adjusts to traveling.  If you feed him a lot of food before you head out, he may get sick in the car and have an accident.  By reducing the amount of food that he consumes, he’ll be much more in control of his bladder and himself.

When you are traveling, always plan to make frequent rest stops and allow your Golden Retriever time to relieve himself.  You should also take some time to exercise as well, stopping every few hours for bathroom breaks and exercise.  Golden Retrievers will hold themselves if they need to, although it isn’t good for them.  No matter how far you travel, you should always be kind to your dog and stop every so often to let him have some time.

A common mistake that many have made, and one you should avoid at all costs, is letting your Golden ride in a moving vehicle with his head out the window.  Although you may think this is a good idea, your Golden can easily get an eye, ear, or nose injury.  Cars and trucks move at very fast speeds, and something can pop up when you least expect it and do serious damage to your dog.

When you stop for a break or to fill up your car, you should never allow your Golden Retriever to be alone in the car with the windows up.  Even though you may crack the windows for him, the heat of summer can result in a heat stroke if you aren’t careful.  If your dog does get a heatstroke from being locked up in a hot car, he can easily die before you are able to return to the car.  If you simply must leave your dog in the car, make sure that you park in the shade and give him plenty of air.

As long as you do your part and take care of your Golden Retriever when you travel, he will love to travel with you.  Traveling is something that your Golden needs to get used to, although most adapt to it fairly quick.  Once you have taken your dog traveling with you, he will know when it’s time to travel and eventually learn to tell you when you need to stop so he can use the bathroom.