Ways to Avoid Holiday Hazards For Pets

So the first way to avoid holiday hazards for your pets is to be sure – or as sure as you can be, given that a pet cannot voice its opinion during the choosing of a destination– that the animal in question will like the place you go. Picking a place with a radically dissimilar climate to your own is not a great idea; nor is visiting a city, which is full of confusing noises and smells, and beset on all sides by the hazards of motor vehicles.

Once you have picked a location, you need to be sure that the area around your accommodation is suited to the animal you are taking. Take good care to inquire about the true pet friendliness of the area – meaning how many cafes, restaurants and bars are happy for you to bring dogs to, as well as what the local walks are like. If you go to an ostensibly pet friendly environment only to find that the bulk of eating places won’t allow a dog, you run a greater risk of having to leave him cooped up and bored, which may come with its own hazards!

There is some risk of injury to dogs taken to strange places. Where an animal doesn’t know the terrain it can get into difficulty following an unfamiliar scent – chasing a rabbit, perhaps, or a sheep. It is a good idea to keep your dog on a lead for the first few days of your holiday, and to walk the same routes so both you and the animal get used to them. It’s also a good idea to walk during daylight hours, when your pet can be seen much better. If you must walk at night, keep the lead on at all times and stick only to recognized walking routes.

Some animals have disabilities or age related problems, which are fine in their home surroundings but which can become a real problem in holiday environments. Probably the most common issue here is that of deafness. A deaf dog adapts extremely well to familiar territory, particularly if it has lived in the same place for a long time. It follows its way by smell and sight – and at night is able to recognize home by its scent.On holiday, a deaf dog is a liability. If your animal gets out at night, you have no way of calling it back.