We are making the move across country (2000 miles) to the Northeast with two dogs in tow. We are planning to get a Packrat pod for the belongings we are taking with, and will sell or donate the other furniture and belongings we don’t wish to take. We’re shipping one car with Montway auto transport,and driving the other car with DD’s dog (30 lbs)and our dog (20lbs).
Help! Do you have any advice or guidance for traveling with 2 dogs? Good pet friendly hotels?
We will be traveling Texas through Nashville and then on to western Massachusetts. It’s either a grueling 3 days, or a somewhat less grueling 4 days, and I am feeling a lot of trepidation!
I just Google for pet friendly hotels. We brought a fence enclosure our dog stayed in.
2 Likes
We did the same, with 2 cats during the height of Covid.
Our trip was simply a way to get from point A to point B, stopping only at open fast-food restaurants, rest stops (if even open), and nightly lodging.
Dogs are easier (imho), as you can take hikes with dogs on leash, and enjoy some of the wonderful scenery on your trip.
We also discovered (on calling) that “pets allowed” often meant dogs only, and not cats, so you should be fine. However, many hotels have changed their policies, so make sure you call any hotel direct to verify. The website might not be updated. For instance, LaQuinta USED to allow pets – but that is site specific now.
We used a helpful website to narrow hotel choices - but I can’t find it now. Will look again later. This one might help (never used it however) Hotel Chain Pet Policies Pet Friendly Hotels- PetTravel.com
1 Like
Drury Inns are known for allowing pets. I haven’t stayed in one myself . They are in the Midwest
2 Likes
In May 2022, S2 and I drove from Madison WI to Seattle with two dogs. It was 1,900 miles and we took four days to do it, so around 450 to 500 miles each day.
- We planned our route, figured out how long/how far we were going to drive each day, and got a reservation at a dog-friendly hotel for each night. So the exact mileage each day depended on where the dog-friendly hotel was. We made the reservations before we left Madison so we definitely had a room at the end of the day and didn’t have to drive around looking for a place. Some hotels charge pet fees, and they can vary greatly. So making those reservations is important. (When DH and I drove with one dog from CT to NC, the pet fees ranged from $30 to $150!)
- We stopped about every two to three hours, so we could use the bathroom and the dogs could as well. Typically one of us ran to the bathroom while the other one walked the dogs. They liked having new things to smell.
- One of the dogs is part Chihuahua, so my son gave her antianxiety meds every day. Nevertheless, she insisted on sitting on one of our laps for the entire trip. The ENTIRE trip.
- On our first night, in beautiful Mitchell, South Dakota, we stayed in a Hampton Inn. The chihuahua was freaked out by the sound of the elevator and people walking and talking in the hallway. She kept yipping loudly every two or three minutes. We finally got a call from the front desk with a noise complaint, so my son took both dogs and went and slept in the car with them until around 3:00 AM. That sucked. For the other nights, we were in crummier hotels that had cinderblock walls and opened directly into the parking lot. Not as luxurious for us, but definitely more relaxing in terms of not worrying so much about the dogs barking.
- We had a cooler filled with snacks, including water for the dogs, to amuse us when we got bored.
Good luck. It was definitely an experience.
ETA: I strongly recommend a less-grueling four days. When you do the math, 2000 miles in three days means ~667 miles per day, which means 10 or 11 hours driving every day. That’s an awfully long time. Don’t forget that you’ll need to stop at least once (half an hour there), you’ll want to get dinner (even if you only eat it in your room), and you’ll want to sleep ~7 to 8 hours. Doing it over four days is a more reasonable 500 miles a day, or 8-ish hours in the car. That’s a big difference.
4 Likes
Two small dogs should be no problem. Just keep water and potty bags in car.
You could medicate if necessary but that’s a last resort.
Our big Lab has been to Atlanta and Tallahassee a few times. He loves to travel. Good luck.
4 Likes
Great advice! Thank you. 
2 Likes
I’ve done a ton of long road trips alone with a 30 pound dog. Bringfido.com was the most helpful website. When possible I stayed at Drury Inns because they are known for pet friendliness and I always had a good experience. I preferred to have a room either very close to an exit door or a room right by the staircase. It was easier for me to run down the stairs with my dog for potty breaks rather than waiting for an elevator.
Drury has pretty decent breakfast buffets and I would take a paper plate of scrambled eggs up to my dog.
I also use Google Maps to check out what restaurants are right by a hotel. After a long day of driving I wanted to be able to get my dog settled in the room and go get a little dinner very close by.
1 Like
Please consider getting a grate to put between the front seat and the back seat, or between the back seat and the way back, to contain the dogs while driving. They’ll be safer, in case of an accident, and more importantly, you will eliminate the risk of an accident caused by a dog moving around in the car, interfering with the driver.
1 Like
Residence Inn will accept the dogs, and with their kitchenette (dishes, silverware, pots/pans, fridge, stove, microwave and coffee pot) will help on the meal budget too. I like their gym, most have a pool and jacuzzi, laundromat & breakfast is all included.
Good point! They will be seatbelted in with harnesses. We always do this for safety.
1 Like
We frequently travel with our dog. We have had good experiences in Hilton hotel brands, particularly Hampton Inn and Home2Suites. They do charge pet fees. You also have to check each hotel individually because they all have different requirements for weight and number of dogs, even within the same brand.
Our dog has a cushioned bed on the backseat and seems pretty comfortable there. We stop every couple hours and take turns in the bathroom and walking her around. We have a couple collapsible bowls and pour water into one at each rest stop so she can drink. It’s really not so hard.
1 Like
We’ve moved several times with our dogs. As mentioned before there’s a big difference in how different hotels welcome/charge for dogs. We’ve paid more for a night’s stay for our dogs ($75 each) than for our own hotel room.
We currently have one smaller (22 lb) and one larger (55 lb) dog, and have a large soft-sided travel crate from Orvis that goes in the back of our SUV, where the dogs stay. I pack a canvas tote bag with all their stuff. I have a refillable water bottle, those collapsible travel dog bowls, a ziplock bag of kibble, and rolls of poop bags. I find the dogs don’t eat/drink a ton while traveling.
We stop at rest stops and take turns walking the dogs while we each other uses the rest rooms. For meals on the road, if the weather permits, we find fast food places that have outdoor seating. Otherwise, we’ve gone through drive-thrus and eaten in the car.
My dogs have been fine in the car, but it’s definitely more work and limiting than when traveling without them.
My wife and I have traveled extensively with our two Corgis (25 lb and 30 lb). We bring their dog beds and have them on the folded down seats right behind us. We keep leashes on the dogs at all times when we travel, just in case. One likes to chase every bird, plane, squirrel, etc. and will almost want to leap out of the car as soon as the door is opened. So, we like to be safe.
One dog will sometimes want to sit in the passenger’s lap to see out better. Bring a cushion with you if you are willing to have them in your lap. The dog’s claws can scratch you even if they are trimmed well. The leash also helps the passenger keep the dog away from the driver.
Do call ahead to confirm that the hotel will accept pets. We’ve had reservations where it was clearly stated on the reservation that it was “pet friendly” only to have the hotel claim that they had recently changed their policy and hadn’t updated their website or their reservation system. It was late and there were no other pet friendly hotels available. They did let us stay but charged a $100 pet fee.
With our two dogs, if we leave them in the room by themselves (which we try not to do) we close all the windows and drapes. Corgis like to bark to alert and the quieter you can make it the less chance that they will bark.
Water, treats and potty breaks are a must. The potty breaks are good times for you to stretch your legs too.
We have a plastic container about 10 by 12 and 16 inches tall with a nice handle that we put all the dog food, bowls, a dog brush, extra treats etc. in. Very convenient when you get to the hotel.
As long as you take breaks for you and the dogs, you are probably the limiting factor on how far you can drive in a day. We’ve done as much as about 700 miles in one day. The dogs were fine, I was bushed.
1 Like
We traveled a lot with a 70-pound mellow sweetie, and it was easier than you would expect.
A lot of hotels are pet-friendly now. Dig through the reservation sites for the fine print on hotel pet policies. There’s a big variation in fees. On our last trip, we saw $0-$150, but on average it was $25. Most hotels require that you don’t leave the pet alone in the room, and we always honor that, but that creates the biggest downside to traveling with dogs - eating fast food pickup in the hotel room instead of going to a restaurant. We recently stayed in a hotel, and a dog in a nearby room barked the entire time his family was out. He was probably upset to be left alone in a strange location. I’m extremely tolerant of dogs, but it was annoying, and I felt bad for the dog.
Our dog rode in the backseat. We would pack stuff on one side of the floor and top it with a travel dog bed making it level with the backseat to extend the area he had to stretch out. We also kept his leash, poop bags, treats, water, and water bowl handy in the back seat with everything else in his hotel bag. Have a towel or dog wipes for muddy paws.
Our dog didn’t need any more bathroom breaks than we did. Lunches were usually picnics in a local park or rest area.
Our dog enjoyed traveling, and he was a fun travel companion. I hope you find the same joy with yours
1 Like
Oops, are we bad for leaving the dogs in the car when we eat in a restaurant? They don’t seem to mind. They don’t bark in the car.
Last time we moved and had the dogs in the car it was summer, and it was hot and we couldn’t leave them in the car. But if temperatures permit and the dogs are content I see no problem.
2 Likes
Oh, that makes sense. I forget about heat, living in Maine, ha.
I agree. If the weather is cool enough, dogs are usually content in their family car. Most of our travel was in the summer, or in warmer climates. My dog even enjoys going with me to the grocery store in the cooler weather.
1 Like
My two loved to just sit in the car. As a matter of fact, once we would get home from running errand, you couldn’t drag the older one out of the car; she would just sit in the car, in the garage if I would let her! When the weather was nice and we would go out to dinner, they would ride with us and wait in the car if we were somewhere we could see them. If they were good, they were treated to ice cream after!
3 Likes