Traveling with Your Dog: The Ultimate Guide for Dog Parents | The Yap Corner Podcast

Welcome to The Yap Corner, a podcast hosted by Madison Bennett and Jess Ramberg, dedicated to the joys and chaos of life as dog parents. 

In this episode, Madison and Jess introduce a new series called 'Pup Dates' where they share updates about their dogs’ lives and activities. They dive deep into the logistics, tips, and personal experiences related to traveling with dogs via air, car, and other modes of transportation. 

They discuss everything from pet-specific airlines and travel preparation, to the best pet-friendly accommodation and on-the-go essentials. The episode is packed with personal anecdotes, such as Ziggy's extensive travel history, adventures in Italy, Hawaii, and Alaska, and the essential travel items that can make a trip more comfortable for dogs. It also includes some fun segments like 'Would You Rather' and facts about traveling with dogs. 

Whether you're planning a road trip, a flight, or just seeking dog-friendly travel advice, this episode offers a treasure trove of information and experiences.

00:00 Welcome to the App Corner
00:49 Introducing Pup Dates
02:00 Traveling with Pets: Air Travel Tips
11:15 Road Trips with Dogs: Essentials and Tips
19:19 Exploring Other Modes of Pet Travel
22:47 Pet-Friendly Accommodations
25:06 Pet-Friendly Stays and Safety Tips
25:37 Traveling with Dogs: Gadgets and Tools
27:29 Favorite Travel Destinations with Ziggy
30:23 Memorable Travel Stories and Mishaps
32:18 Balancing Dog-Friendly and Non-Dog-Friendly Activities
34:19 Online Resources for Dog-Friendly Travel
37:40 Travel Content Creators
40:46 Essential Travel Tips and Preparations
44:31 Fun Travel Games and Dog Facts
50:13 Upcoming Adventures and Closing Remarks

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Jess: Welcome to the App Corner. A podcast for dog parents by dog parents. 

[00:00:10] Madison: We're your hosts, Madison Bennett and Jess Ramberg. Two dog obsessed humans who know that life is just better with a pup. I'm Madison, a girl who is always just trying to fill her calendar with her next adventure and on my free time, catch me doing a puzzle or enjoying some outside nature therapy.

[00:00:26] Jess: And I'm Jess. I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list. My favorite accessory is a Crisp Diet Coke, and Ziggy is my favorite personal carry on. So this isn't your typical dog podcast. We're not here to talk about food debates or training manuals. Just real talk about the everyday chaos and joy of life with a dog.

[00:00:43] So grab your pup, your beverage of choice, coffee, soda, and let's yap about it all. We have a new series called Pup Dates. We're gonna go back and forth, kind of giving the pup dates of our lives. April was National Canine Fitness Month, so Ziggy and I were really leaning into physical therapy, strengthening just her body.

[00:01:02] I mean, she's five, but doesn't hurt to just give those tools and resources for your dog to keep him strong. So that's something we've been 

[00:01:10] Madison: up to for us. We've been actually practicing some dog diving. Gemini and Apollo have both been doing dog diving lessons. Yeah. She loves it. And you wanna tell us about it?

[00:01:22] Um, so that's been really fun. Recently we went, uh, to the mountains to postcard cabins and enjoyed some time in the snow. The dogs got to play in the snow. It was really Gemini's first time enjoying the snow and, and you wanna come up? Okay. Like I said, she's a long girl, so for those not watching Gemini just got my lap and I had to pull her up.

[00:01:45] We went to the snow, we went to Big Bear, and uh, just really had a really nice time enjoying the nature and enjoying our some chill time. So 

[00:01:54] Jess: that's it for us. Well stay tuned. We'll give pup dates. Here and there throughout our, our episodes. 

[00:02:00] Madison: Today we're gonna be talking a lot about our travel, some tips, some best practices, destinations, and, and really the joys and chaos that comes with, with traveling with our pets.

[00:02:10] We really try to bring our pets everywhere we can go with them. I know, Jess, you have a lot of experience traveling with Ziggy flying her. With places with her especially, can bring her a lot. On your jobs that you go to, tell us a little bit, tell the audience about those trips and some things that you've done recently.

[00:02:28] I've 

[00:02:28] Jess: been flying with Ziggy since she was four months old. She's been to over 35 states. Alaska, Hawaii. She's even been international to Italy, which we'll dive into. Crazy. Of course. Yeah, just fun. There are a lot of things that go into it. There are a couple different ways for air travel. You have in cabin cargo and then some pet specialty airlines as well.

[00:02:52] For in cabin, you're gonna have your smaller dogs that travel, and Ziggy is a petite Corgi, so she just fits in a carrier and goes under the seat. But what that process looks like is I call ahead with the. Airline that I'm gonna book with. I get Ziggy as a pet, added onto my ticket, and then when I arrive at the airport, I head to the ticketing desk.

[00:03:10] They check your information, I get my pet tag, put it on the carrier, go through security. No, Ziggy does not go through the X-ray machine. I take her out. We walk through, grab all our stuff, and we kind of get settled. I definitely find a pet relief area. They're all over the airports. I usually will just.

[00:03:29] Look 'em up on my phone and you can even find the little dog icon kind of by the bathrooms, up on the signs you'll find them. After that, we kind of get to the gate and we get ready to board and I'll put her under the seat in front of me, kind of zip her up, or I may, I may open like the corner and she pokes her nose out, but then she'll just kind of.

[00:03:49] Cuddle down there and sleep the whole time. Been traveling with her since she was four months, so she has plenty of experience getting used to it All I know that dogs aren't used to, it's, you train them. Some techniques that we used early on we're putting high value treats in the dog carrier. We use a brand called Rover Land.

[00:04:10] We've had the most success with them. Size large is our favorite. Come in all different colors. I know you have a couple as well. Yeah. Another tip that we did was we put Ziggy in the carrier and drove with her in the car. So she got used to movement being in the carrier and giving her treats as well. So it became kind of her safe space.

[00:04:29] So now all I have to say is in and she'll jump into the carrier. And that is her favorite place to be in the airport. 

[00:04:36] Madison: Yeah, I've seen her in the carrier. She really loves it. She honestly, just, every time you put it out or leave it out, she'll get into it herself. Like it's a safe space. So That's awesome.

[00:04:47] It is. 

[00:04:48] Jess: We don't have much experience on this next one for cargo. Hold. Talk us through that one. 

[00:04:54] Madison: Yeah, so like just said. We personally have never had experience or had, uh, put our dog in the cargo hold. I know a lot of times a lot of larger dogs, maybe again, those that are over 30 pounds or whatever the airline restrictions say, have to go in the cargo hold.

[00:05:12] Fortunately, there's a lot of companies that will actually walk you through that process and make it more comfortable for you and the dog. Yeah. Do recommend looking into those resources if that's something that you're interested in. Obviously, when you travel. Overseas. That might be your only option. Not a lot of experience there, but definitely an option if you really wanna fly with your dog.

[00:05:33] I know 

[00:05:33] Jess: that's not a popular option, but sometimes the reality of it is people can't afford a private plane or these. Pet specialty airlines or drive across the country. We know that it, it's an option out there and there are airlines like Air France, Alaska, that we've had friends experience with and ultimately had a good experience getting to their destination with their dog.

[00:05:56] Madison: I know you alluded to this, so I'm really interested in, in knowing more, but what are some of those specialty airlines that you. You think you can fly with your dog or know you can fly with your dog? 

[00:06:05] Jess: You have bark air, canine jets. JSX retrieve air, and they're so fun on social media, seeing the dogs, traveling with the owners and the videos.

[00:06:16] They have little champagne and dog champagne and they're wearing robes and they're all cozy. There's all sorts of dogs on the plane and they're just walking around, sitting in the chairs. A reality that I, I would pay a lot of money to see that with a huge plane. So they're smaller planes and they have a select few destinations and routes that they take.

[00:06:37] So hit look up their websites and see kind of more of that information. 

[00:06:43] Madison: Those dog airlines sound really fun. I'm really hoping they become more popular one day, and that's really just. The norm, and we can get on a flight and take our pets. With two dogs, I can only really fly with one. You have to have, I think you have to two seats in order to fly with two dogs, but that does take two people.

[00:07:02] So if I just wanted to fly somewhere with just you, and Ziggy unfortunately can only bring one dog, so hopefully in the future. We can afford a private jet and be flying everywhere with our dogs. I do know that's a goal of ours. So one day, both times that I've traveled, I am air with the dogs. Uh, I once flew with Apollo and that was when I first got him.

[00:07:24] So he was a four month old little puppy. I had flown through four airports that day to go get 'em all the way from, I think I flew from San Diego through Oklahoma, Kansas. Denver some crazy route just because I was like, I'm going to go to Kansas and get this dog. That was the first time, and I remember being so nervous about going to get him, I started Googling everything.

[00:07:49] What does it take? What do I need? What do I need to bring, uh, to get? This dog home. And so that experience really was a different one for me, but it really was the first time, obviously, that I had met Apollo. So I was super excited. But one of the best parts of that and good learning that I've learned for future experiences is really getting to the airport early.

[00:08:09] When I went to go get him, I had an extended layover, um, while I was picking him up. And so we had spent that time going outside, getting him to go potty and just for future travel again, that's gonna be something that I. Just put into practices, making sure I get there early, making sure that I'm comfortable and the dog's comfortable.

[00:08:28] So if it's your first time flying, I recommend, you know, getting to the airport early. 

[00:08:32] Jess: Remember when I was starting to fly with Ziggy, I was calling all the different airlines 'cause I had flown a coup, a handful of different airlines. Everyone has their own different rules. They're always changing. Utilize the website.

[00:08:45] Call in when you book your ticket, talk it through with them. I mean, there's tons of resources and blogs and people out on the internet and social media sharing their experience, which I, which I love. That's what I learned a lot. But it, I do emphasize whenever anyone asks for advice or tips or any questions, I always advise them like, please do your own research.

[00:09:09] Have those conversations, ask those questions because things are. Always changing. 

[00:09:15] Madison: Yeah, and I, I think a one good point there too is regarding social media, you might see a page of a, a dog that does travel a lot, but that dog might be different than you. That dog might be bigger than your dog. That dog might be more comfortable with that environment or more accustomed to it.

[00:09:31] So again, doing that research and learning what's best for your dog is really important here. 

[00:09:36] Jess: Some more unique air travel experiences that I've had with Ziggy was navigating Hawaii. And abroad to Italy. Italy, surprisingly enough, was a breeze and way easier than Hawaii. Strongly encourage people to use the USDA website.

[00:09:53] They have all the resources on there. They have the options if you're traveling out of the country or traveling to the United States, or you know, you can pick your Destin, your starting location and your destination, and it will give all the policies, all the rules. Laws, documentation needed everything, and it's a step-by-step process.

[00:10:11] Like Hawaii is a packet of information, but they give you a step-by-step with check boxes that you can check off as you go. I worked a ton with our vet and we are a military household, so I get to use the services on base with military vets, and they are doing this all the time. So I was fortunate enough to be kind of coached through with a military vet who is doing this all the time.

[00:10:36] Transferring dogs from different bases. So it was really helpful. I had a lot of confidence. I felt good when I arrived to the airport, had all my information, all the documentation. I'm double, triple, checking everything to make sure I have it. But we had it all together and it was, again, you're just following the instructions if you do that.

[00:10:57] You'll have a successful trip and we're back. We had to take a dinner break and feed the pups. Just like you said earlier, the life enjoys and the chaos of dogs in the studio. We just deal with things that come up. 

[00:11:11] Madison: Yeah, 

[00:11:12] Jess: you never know. Back to traveling. So we just wrapped up air travel. Now let's talk about traveling in a car with your dog.

[00:11:19] We've done a handful of road trips, both of us. Long distance. Short distance. Tell us about traveling with your pup in a car. The 

[00:11:27] Madison: first thing we do obviously is making sure our dogs are really comfortable. Our dogs luckily enjoy going in the car. Honestly, could even forget that they were there. Like we could leave them in the car.

[00:11:38] I know. 'cause they're so quiet. A lot of essentials or things that people bring or kennels, crates. Obviously your leash. There's even buckles that can hook to the harness to keep your dog safe. So a lot of people do like kennels. There's a lot of options out there. There's the ruffling, there's the impact crates, really, those that are tested for the car are the go-to.

[00:12:00] Again, read online, do your research, find out what you like, what fits your car, what fits your dog size, but those are some of those things that we do. And making sure again, that you have a seat cover if you need it. We have dogs out. Shed a lot. So I definitely use that really more for myself than anything.

[00:12:18] So you're saying there's car seats for dogs? I was actually referring to the seat covers, but there are, so we actually got one of those booster seats one time. We really thought the dogs would enjoy it. Apollo loves sticking his head up, almost like he's looking out the window. So we're like, let's give this a shot.

[00:12:35] I bought one of those booster receipts. They're not really cheap either, but we gave it a shot, uh, immediately putting Apollo and it jumped out. We're like. Okay, this might've been a waste of my money. But yes, there are car seats for dogs. I know people with really tiny dogs especially love them to lift their dog up, give them a view out the window.

[00:12:55] I know Ziggy loves putting her head out the window when she can and getting some fresh air. Let's 

[00:12:59] Jess: talk about the essentials To pack in a car with your dog. A water bowl, a collapsible one is nice on, on the easy to go travels. Um, we like the little gulp for the water that you can push out and then. When you're done, it can go back into your water bottle.

[00:13:15] You mentioned collar and leash, treats, snacks, 

[00:13:18] Madison: food harnesses, or really big on our harness. Our dogs love running away if they can, so we make sure we have a harness to clip it in. The front also helps with the walk. A Paula's looking at me right now being like, where are we going? Are we going on a walk?

[00:13:34] Are we going with my harness? I'm sorry buddy. I just used your favorite word. Another thing definitely is poop bags. I have them everywhere on me. They're in my purse, they're in the car, they're in the glove box. Uh, really just because you don't wanna be a bad environmental steward and leave dog poop anywhere.

[00:13:51] So making sure you always have those, 

[00:13:53] Jess: I always bring wipes as well if the paws get dirty, a towel. Toys. Favorite 

[00:14:00] Madison: toy? A blanket. Keep 'em warm if you're going somewhere cold. Definitely wanna have bed. A dog 

[00:14:05] Jess: bed, 

[00:14:05] Madison: a dog bed. I know a lot of people do like to bring like a dog bed. Even this past weekend we were somewhere and I saw people with their dog at this restaurant and they put the dog bed under their table and I was like, oh, that's a great idea.

[00:14:18] The 

[00:14:18] Jess: dog's probably very comfortable. I've seen some where they've made like travel. Dog placements even. They're small and you just put 'em on the ground and you can bring 'em to restaurants, different outdoor locations. It seems very user-friendly. 

[00:14:31] Madison: That's smart. And you, I know you have like, not necessarily a dog blanket, but it's a blanket.

[00:14:37] That's a picnic blanket you could bring to the beach, put put your dog. But also when you travel, if you're stopping somewhere and need to take a break, take them out. You can put that blanket down and kinda sit with them and you don't have to sit on the grass. 

[00:14:49] Jess: Yeah. A lot of useful items, and I'm sure the list just keeps growing of what you 

[00:14:54] Madison: bring, but one big one I think we'll both forget, but we never forget, is a dog backpack.

[00:15:00] Uh, we both have canine sports sack and the. Little chunk. We love them both and they're really useful, especially if you're stopping anywhere and they're not such a dog friendly place. You can just throw your dog in the backpack and walk around. We 

[00:15:14] Jess: love both those backpacks. We love 'em for adventures, for commuting, for walks, hikes, travels, biking.

[00:15:20] Very useful. In these, in these 

[00:15:22] Madison: cases, we also, on our road trips, one of our best practices is we like to take a lot of rest stops. You know, the dogs do need to go potty, unfortunately, like we just mentioned before this, we let them out to go eat, to go potty. Um, some dogs, especially as they get older, have a really weak bladder.

[00:15:41] Some even, you know, maybe use diapers. But on our trips. I definitely plan trips with stops in mind and stops that make sense. Not like by the scary road or anything, but those typical rest stops are great for the dogs. So many rest stops even have dog parks, which are awesome. 

[00:16:01] Jess: I think we stopped at a gas station once on our road trip and there was multiple dog pens for like a dog park area.

[00:16:09] Madison: Yeah, it definitely made going to the potty easier 'cause there was a lot of smells for them. I've 

[00:16:14] Jess: done a handful of cross country road trips with Ziggy as we've moved throughout our career, and she's a dog that loves the car. I can put her in there, she'll sleep in the front seat in the backseat. She'll curl up on the floor.

[00:16:28] She'll stick her head out the window and I don't have to worry. She's not gonna jump out. She loves the carts or safe space. It's almost like an activity she gets to do. So that's been really fun. Some of our favorite stops and road trips, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, just some of the land and the views out there.

[00:16:46] You forget. Wow, this is. Our world and you're so small and this world is so big, and being able to travel with your pup next to you, driving down the road with the window down, there's just nothing that beats that. But I do, I mean, have experience. My former boss, I was watching her dog, and her dog was, was a senior dog, and we took her on a road trip and all of a sudden the dog just projectile vomited.

[00:17:12] And I thought the dog was dying. I thought I was gonna get fired. I called my boss letting her know, and she said, oh. I forgot to tell you that Lucy just gets really carsick, so I, yeah, never have experienced that besides that one moment with a dog that's car sick. 

[00:17:27] Madison: I would hate to be cleaning that up, but at the same time, you didn't get fired and it was just the dog throwing up, so it's all good.

[00:17:33] Recently we went on a trip and we went around these really windy mountains. And for a second I thought Gemini was gonna get sick. That was the first time I've ever experienced car sickness with a dog. But she was just like moving back and forth. So we were like, what do we do? We just started rolling down the windows, giving her some fresh air.

[00:17:53] She ended up being fine, but. We really try to get our dogs accustomed to the car before long road trips, putting them in short rides, just making sure that they're okay with the car. Uh, a lot of times I've done, when I used to be a rover sitter, I would take many different kinds of dogs in the car. When I pick them up or drop them off, I'd have dogs that barked excessively, some that needed to be in a crate in the back, which is completely fine.

[00:18:18] Some that wanted to sit up my lap at the front while I drive and I'm like, ah, I don't know if this is safe, but really there's. All kinds of dogs out there. And really there's a lot of options for going on a road trip and and making sure your dog is having a good time. 

[00:18:33] Jess: You're always reminded how different dogs are, and I think that's so fun and it's fun to have those reminders to learn and experience personalities, likes and dislikes, fears.

[00:18:44] They're what makes 'em happy. And a car and traveling is very visible on how different dogs can be. 

[00:18:52] Madison: Apollo is especially funny in the car because he likes to sit backwards with his head on the headrest or on the armrest, and I'm just like, what are you? Doing buddy, but ever since he was a little puppy, he's laid like that.

[00:19:05] He doesn't like to look forward. He like gets in the same position every time. He jumps in the car and puts his head backwards in. I'm like, all right, whatever works for you buddy. Don't we 

[00:19:13] Jess: call him? We call him sad boy. 

[00:19:15] Madison: Yeah, he looks so sad, but I honestly think he's having a great time. 

[00:19:19] Jess: There are other ways to travel as well.

[00:19:21] Train, bus, boat, ferry, bike, all these different ways. They all have their rules. They all have different protocols or instructions you have to follow, booking your pet and your dog on your ticket, making sure they have a leash or sometimes a muzzle or to be in a carrier. I know for like the trains, those cities that have the subways, like New York, you see all the dogs and the carriers and it's, I think they got that rule in 2016 that they had to be in a carrier and before.

[00:19:56] You know, businesses and companies and brands started building dog carriers. People were using those IKEA bags. Mm-hmm. Backpacks. Yeah, because I think 

[00:20:04] Madison: it was that you just have to have your dog in a bag. So there was like all these videos of people just putting their dog in a, like an IKEA bag. It was hilarious.

[00:20:12] Hilarious. 

[00:20:13] Jess: We've done a handful of those. The fairies are always really fun. I think as long as your dog is well behaved and leed, you can almost get on every. Place there. 

[00:20:24] Madison: Backpack also comes very in handy when we do bike biking things. So a lot of cities you can go to, you can rent a bike, you know, they might be the line bike, they might be Uber bikes or whatever it might be.

[00:20:36] But the backpack, we just throw our dogs in the backpack and. Ride a bike with them. There's also the Mad Dogs Place, which I know we both have been really wanting to go to and try out. And they have like a little sidecar for your dog, for your bike. So that looks really 

[00:20:52] Jess: fun. We have to get the helmets and the goggles for the dogs, the e-bikes.

[00:20:56] We're definitely gonna have to do that sometime. 

[00:20:58] Madison: Ziggy already got, has goggles, so she'll 

[00:21:00] Jess: be perfect. She'll be perfect. When I was doing some research about traveling with your dog on these different modes of transportation, cruise. There is a dog friendly cruise that's coming up this year in November.

[00:21:12] It's like the Margaritaville of the Sea or something like that, and it's gonna be going out of Florida, so I can't wait to see this dog friendly cruise. And they have dog menus, dog activities, dog play areas, so I'm sure that will be all over social media. 

[00:21:30] Madison: I wonder if they're going to limit the number of dogs, or is every cabin allowed to have a dog?

[00:21:36] I thought, I 

[00:21:36] Jess: thought I saw that there was a certain amount of dog tickets that were available. So I think we need to get on that. We should do some research and see how we get on that. 

[00:21:45] Madison: Luckily, our dogs know how to swim, which I think is a requirement, but outta the cruise ship. Not jump out of the cruise ship, but I imagine if you're on a cruise ship, you're gonna go somewhere with water or What about the pools?

[00:21:59] I wonder if they'll make of any of the pool's dog friendly. Mm-hmm. Our dogs love to dog dive, so they'll be in that pool. Yeah. My 

[00:22:04] Jess: sister's dog will jump out of their boat all the time. Oh no. So. I hope that they have really, mine is going all over the place. They need safety nets for the dogs dog overboard.

[00:22:15] Yeah. I'm sure they're gonna have dogs. I, I'm sure they 

[00:22:18] Madison: have a safety protocol for this. 

[00:22:20] Jess: And you walk on there with your dog life jacket. How cute. 

[00:22:24] Madison: Yeah. That is one thing. Our dogs also, when we go on trips, a lot of the places we'd go, like lakes or beaches. We do bring our dog life jacket as well, just as a safety measure.

[00:22:34] You never know if you're gonna get caught in a rib tide. 

[00:22:36] Jess: Especially here too, in the O when we go to the beach with the ocean, the waves like it's strong. 

[00:22:41] Madison: Yeah, 

[00:22:41] Jess: so putting a life jacket on your dog, having them comfortable in it. It's just a nice tool and security for them. When 

[00:22:47] Madison: you go to your trips, obviously you have to find a place to stay.

[00:22:51] Do you have any best places or places that you prefer to stay at with Ziggy or really, I mean, I know us, we've, we've traveled with you and stayed at some places, but what about you? 

[00:23:02] Jess: Stay. Pineapple is a brand built for dogs in mind. They're so fun. Branding is so cute. You walk in, there's a dog bed, there's a dog bowl, there are treats.

[00:23:11] There's a cute little note for you and your pup. You walk in the lobby and your dog's name is written on a board of all the pups staying with us, so I love Stay pineapples. Kimpton is another one where they say if it fits through the door. It can stay with you and your dogs stay for free, and we've stayed there plenty of times.

[00:23:31] And Kimptons are boutiquey hotels. Fun experiences. Fun bars, fun restaurants. So really love Kimptons. There are a handful of Marriott properties that are also dog friendly, aloft hotels, another fun, just good environment. They have the dog bed for you and the dog bowl and the dog amenities. Um, so those are kind of some of the hotels that we'll stay at.

[00:23:52] Madison: I know this is no way sponsored by Kimpton, but we do love a Kimpton, especially their happy hour that they have. We can bring the dogs to a lot of times. We've brought our dogs and then ran into other dog parents and then started hanging out with them, and then end up becoming friends with the dog parents through our dogs at the Kimpton.

[00:24:10] Also, there are tons of. Luxury resorts that we've seen. I know we've seen a lot on social media. That's definitely a goal of both of ours. Yeah. 

[00:24:20] Jess: Dogs staying at the Ritz Carlton, the Four Seasons and these custom robes, they have these room service for the dog and their poolside hanging with their owners.

[00:24:31] That 

[00:24:31] Madison: is a life I've even seen doggy spa menus. Could you imagine? Gemini would just love, she has really big ears. She would just love getting her ears rubbed at the doggy spa. Oh, 

[00:24:43] Jess: that's a dream. They're getting brushed. They're getting manicured. A pot acure. Pot Acure. Yep. There you go. And they're getting facials.

[00:24:51] Eating the cucumbers 

[00:24:52] Madison: that they would be eating the cucumbers. 

[00:24:54] Jess: We've also stayed at Airbnbs and other vacation rentals. We just communicate with the owners and the listing property managers asking the dog friendly that we're gonna bring dogs and. They'll usually say, sure, always a pet fee associated with that.

[00:25:10] But we find tons of 

[00:25:11] Madison: stays through those, especially with those, we do often look at ones that have a gated area. I know a few months ago we went to Joshua Tree and stayed in an Airbnb and it was a super friendly host and they, you could tell that they were dog friendly, but one of the best things was the fenced area, and we would just be able to let the dogs run out outside.

[00:25:31] Side without having to worry about them running onto the desert at night. 

[00:25:35] Jess: Having those safety measures are always great. Other tips, uh, bringing a crate if you're gonna leave your dog alone at the Airbnb or the hotel. I saw dog owners even. Find products to create a video that you can set up in the hotel room to watch your dog, almost like a a VRBO type situation, but it wasn't as easy as connecting the camera to the hotel wifi.

[00:25:59] You had to use this portable, portable wifi box, connect it to the internet, use your laptop to connect the camera through there so I can remotely on my phone through the app of the camera. Tune in and watch Ziggy throughout my workday. It's a whole process. It's a whole nother video, but there are tools and resources out there to kind of check in on Ziggy while I'm out and about for work.

[00:26:23] And again, Ziggy's been, she's an expert at traveling, so she just will stay to herself. She'll fall asleep and I walk in and she's like cuddled up on the bed just saying, Hey, where you been? 

[00:26:34] Madison: I've seen her come in and she's just laying on your clothes too. She loves laying on your clothes. It keeps safe and warm.

[00:26:39] Loves the clothes. One of the other things that we love to bring, I honestly don't leave without it, is a Kong. They keep them so entertained. You just put some peanut butter in there or whatever their favorite treat is and it would keep 'em busy for hours. So any interactive dog toys we really love to bring to our hotel stays or any stay really.

[00:26:59] Jess: I've forgotten interactive toys before. 'cause that's always great, especially when I'm leaving, to kinda just give Ziggy something to do. I'll either like sprinkle food or treats around the room and give her an activity to search for them. Or I even take one of the hotel towels that I'm not gonna use.

[00:27:14] It's strictly Ziggy's, but I'll wrap it up with food kind of mixed in there and then let her. Kind of add it and it's like, like a puzzle 

[00:27:22] Madison: toy. 

[00:27:22] Jess: Yeah. And like a snuffle mat. And it just keeps her mind going and activity and she gets tired from that. 

[00:27:29] Madison: So what have been your, some of your favorite. Travel stories or or times with Ziggy, I know you've been to a lot of places.

[00:27:35] You've done a lot with her. Do you have any favorites? 

[00:27:38] Jess: Italy, Hawaii, Alaska. Those are top of mind. Favorite travels that I've done with Ziggy Italy. We did a whole, almost two weeks traveling around the country. We were on the multi coast. We went to, drove around the Tuscany region. We were in Rome. We went to go see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Ziggy was along for the ride.

[00:28:02] Italy is an incredibly. Dog friendly country. There was not one activity that we didn't have, Ziggy, we even did a whole cooking class and the owners of the cooking class said, oh, bring Ziggy along. We said, no. I mean, it was a whole class of people and we did not wanna ruin their experience by bringing a dog.

[00:28:20] Obviously I would've brought her, but I also know that life you need to be present. And it was a really fun thing. We had Ziggy on the scooter in the backpack. When we were driving on the coast of the Amal Amalfi coast, we had her in a boat and we did like a private tour and we had tons of good food. I think she went swimming with you too, off the boat.

[00:28:42] We went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Crazy. And it was also fun too, because. Atal. Italians would come up to us and they'd realize that we were Americans and Ziggy loves people, and they would go down and pet her and Ziggy squealing and excited and giving them little barks and, and they said to us, oh, these dogs are so friendly.

[00:29:02] The Italian dogs are so mean. They just walked past us. So Ziggy was, I'm sure there's 

[00:29:07] Madison: nice Italian dogs out there. Yes, I am 

[00:29:09] Jess: sure there are. We ran and we ran into them as well when we were walking. We had a ton of good food in Italy and it was just a really good experience. I'm dying to go back. Hawaii was beautiful, the beaches remarkable, the views, the weather.

[00:29:25] Beautiful. And then Alaska, my sister lived in Alaska, which is why we went there a ton. I would have Ziggy in the backpack, standing in the river. Casting out my line catching salmon, and it's a postcard everywhere you look. With Alaska, we've been all seasons and all season, all the different seasons are beautiful in their own way.

[00:29:45] So those are our favorite moments. 

[00:29:47] Madison: I'll just say I am very jealous of Suki. I haven't even been to Italy, she's been to Italy. It's crazy to think like the places that you're able to take your dog, that must, I mean, that is so amazing. So. 

[00:30:00] Jess: And, and the memories are, I'll cherish them forever. Like who knows if I'll get to have another dog as lucky as Ziggy with how adaptable she is and adventurous and well-behaved and trained.

[00:30:12] So I am blessed and I. Very, very grateful for having a travel pal like Ziggy. 

[00:30:18] Madison: So you talked about obviously an amazing trips that you've had with Ziggy and everything that you've gotten to do. Do you have any least favorite times or 

[00:30:26] Jess: worst memories? I think, I think I've told you this story, but I just tried to forget it as much as I can.

[00:30:31] One time we were flying back from. Boise, and I just remember it was a chaotic mess of a trip to get to the airport, and I didn't have a lot of time and we needed to get to the, our gate to board. And so I was standing in line for TSA, I took Ziggy out of the carrier and all of a sudden I looked down and she's going to the bathroom and the line's moving.

[00:30:52] I'm up next, I'm scrambling. I have a, my new $80 hoodie wrapped around my waist and I cannot believe my next move was taking it off my waist and wiping up. The dog pee on the ground. I was mortified. I can hear people whispering in the background. Is she wiping up the pee with her sweatshirt? And I'm like, yes, but not making any eye contact.

[00:31:15] Immediately. Get up, give my id, and we move on. And I just shove that bag in my suitcase. And that was it. Live and learn, right? Most embarrassing mortifying experience I've had. Probably not traveling. Not 

[00:31:28] Madison: just traveling. Just in in life. Yes. Honestly. Yes. You know, there's always times and, and again, like to your point, it was a chaotic day.

[00:31:37] It happens and, and that's just something you kind of have to remember. We could give you all the tips and tricks and everything. And you still have a dog that pees in the airport. What are some of your favorite memories traveling with the pups? I. Really have enjoyed the road trips that we've taken, especially with Apollo and Ziggy, when they were younger, we went to Flagstaff with them and Big Bear and really had a fun time playing in the snow.

[00:32:02] It was really cute to see them hop around. They look like little bunnies in the snow. Um, to enjoying all those times that we get to spend really together as friends and with our partners and with the dogs. How about some. Least 

[00:32:16] Jess: favorite memories or moments. 

[00:32:18] Madison: There's always that hard time when we go on trips with friends that don't have dogs, and we do our best to plan balance as much as we can.

[00:32:28] Time spent with the dogs, time spent without the dogs. We went to Joshua Tree. Pretty recently and a lot of the trails aren't dog friendly. Again, something that you research plan ahead, we knew that going into it and so we do our best to tell our friends. They understand, of course, but then afterwards we go to, you know, go find a restaurant and, and.

[00:32:52] Of course most of 'em don't have outside patios except for one or two, and those aren't serving full menus, all of that. So really, it's not like a worst time. But it's one of those things that you just have to remember that we're dog parents. They're not, we understand that, but it's always just a, a good reminder to plan a trip.

[00:33:14] Balancing that you're gonna take your dog, maybe put him back at the Airbnb or house and put him in a crate. So that you can go spend time with your friends too. 

[00:33:23] Jess: And I think you're always learning as if you, if you had a dog or you didn't, you're always learning from experiences. But I also think it's good reminders for us too, as yes, as much as we are obsessed with our dogs and wanting them with every trip and experience, it's also important for us and healthy to have a life without the dogs there as well.

[00:33:43] So our friends that don't have dogs give us that good reminder and that healthy push to. It's not all about the dogs. 

[00:33:52] Madison: Yeah. Except it is. 

[00:33:54] Jess: Yeah. Except 98% of the time you're gonna see Ziggy with me on whatever trip I'm on. 

[00:33:59] Madison: Yeah. I'm always like, oh man, I wish I could do this with the dogs. Even when we're on trips.

[00:34:04] Just me and my husband we're always like two days into it, we're like, we miss the dog so much, but at the same time, we enjoy spending time with our friends and each other. 

[00:34:15] Jess: Talked a lot about the dog activities and adventures that you can do. What about some online resources, tools, websites, blogs that we've come across?

[00:34:26] Madison: Yeah, there's tons out there. There's tons. For just the us there's tons for just California, Southern California. But I think one that really works for a lot of places is bringing Fido that has information on even the airports and what airports have the best bathroom stops for your dog. I mean, every airport has a bathroom for your dog, but some do have like bark parks or other things.

[00:34:51] So that's a really good resource. 

[00:34:53] Jess: That's my go-to when I'm trying to figure out an itinerary with dog friendly activities. I think that's a great resource. I also use Google reviews, Yelp reviews. I will even type in the city, say I'm going to Phoenix, I'll say Phoenix dog activities blog, and I'll just type that into.

[00:35:12] Google and of course a whole bunch of different blog entries or websites or other people's posts and experiences come up and that's how I'll tend to find some of these blogs that I've, I've come across Jet set pets, three Dogs, one Bar, traveling with a dog. We'll put all of these links in the show notes of resources that we find, but.

[00:35:35] Please. If you have any other blogs or websites or different resources that you've seen online, send them our way. Tag them in the comments, put the link in the comment and we'll share that with everyone else. Add it to the YAP forum. Yes, add it to the Yap It Out form. You can find that link in our bio.

[00:35:53] Add it there. 

[00:35:54] Madison: I think one last tip too I'm just thinking of is the, um, on Google, there's a setting that you can set where you put. Is it dog friendly, it, the filter? Oh yes. I am obsessed with that. Really. Uh, I remember recently we were trying to find a place even around our house. We're not in the as dog friendly area that we used to be.

[00:36:16] And we were just trying to find a brunch spot that we could take the dog. 'cause we were going to spend the day with the dogs. And I went on Google and just Googled brunch restaurants and then filtered dog friendly. There was only one, 

[00:36:27] Jess: but we went to that one and it was great. There's also one I wanna mention that's go pet friendly.com.

[00:36:31] I went to their website when we were, I was doing some research for this episode and they just stopped because of the power of AI that you can literally type in dog friendly restaurant place to take my dog for brunch and AI will now give you all these different places. So the couple that are behind that blog, they also have an Instagram account.

[00:36:54] They, they said that. They're gonna keep their site up because they still have tons of guides and different resources of all the trips that they've taken. So you're gonna find some oldie but goodies out there. 

[00:37:05] Madison: Well, I'm glad they're keeping it up 'cause definitely like to stumble on those and, and again, going back to the research, when I do find one of those sites and one of those links, I.

[00:37:15] Definitely check the website or check that out to make sure that they're still dog friendly. We do that a lot of times with the wineries around us. We have a whole list going and, and that list can change every day, so just making sure that you keep. You know your own resources up to date, 

[00:37:31] Jess: and I know there are a handful of content creators, dog traveler, influencers, social media accounts that we love to follow.

[00:37:38] Wonderlust Sammo was one that I lived through scrolling, especially in Europe. This dog has been to some of the most beautiful places, and it's a bigger dog too, so they have great tips and tricks of how they travel. But I used their Instagram account as just like my personal travel. Document to figure out where to go.

[00:37:59] There's also a corgi. That travels internationally. Yeah, 

[00:38:03] Madison: worldwide. Winston, I'm obsessed. I know that they've had many videos of their dog going viral in business class and one day that will be Apollo and Gemini, but they get to travel. Um, I know the owner's name is Madison, so I do have a personal connection with her being a Madison myself, but they go on all these luxury trips all around the world.

[00:38:24] She also provides a lot of great tips on traveling with your dog and just regulations and everything that. Goes into traveling internationally. 

[00:38:31] Jess: Handful of other accounts that I love. Uh, her boozy tails. Not only does she do dog traveling and she has small to large dogs, but she also does a ton of human travel content as well.

[00:38:42] So I love her resources. She's got a blog and her social media account is amazing. 

[00:38:48] Madison: I also love Hello Ruby Doodle. We recently went on a trip to postcard cabins in Big Bear and. I actually got all of that idea from her and her account. She does a lot of California, especially trips, so I can't tell you the number of reels and things I have pinned from her account.

[00:39:08] If you're interested in doing any nature related trips, they have a lot of great, uh, ideas on her page. So 

[00:39:14] Jess: travel dog, tofu, Remy around the world, NYC Yorkie Girls, Jonathan Warren, official. Jonathan is a rescue. Mixed Chihuahua type dog that lives in New York City and now is from the streets to the luxury of travel.

[00:39:30] And Jonathan and their and owner, Amanda, will travel around the country, the United States, the world, the everything. Just amazing what some of these dogs out here are doing. 

[00:39:41] Madison: That sounds 

[00:39:42] Jess: like a dream again. 

[00:39:44] Madison: Um, I also know that you love to travel with Ziggy and, and post a lot on your page too. So Yeah, a little 

[00:39:50] Jess: self plug.

[00:39:51] Ziggy underscore the cog. Always trying to just, you know, share our experiences, our travel. I've tried a couple different things. It's all about consistency and I just kind of, my brain just moves on to a whole bunch of different things. But at one point we had like a. Traveling the Corg series that I would post photos in like a carousel of like one city that we traveled to and all the different experiences that we did.

[00:40:15] Madison: A lot of great advice. I've even seen people tag you and say, Hey, I went to this place in Italy because of you. So it's really cool to see though if you guys have any other social media accounts that you follow. I know there's tons out there and we're always. Personally also looking for advice and other accounts to look for.

[00:40:31] So if you have any, again, put it on the Yapp It Out forum that's in our link in our bio. Or send us a DM on the YAP corner Pod. 

[00:40:41] Jess: Yeah, tag. Tag them below. Comment them in this video. Yeah. We want to see it all. Now, we've gone through all these different travel tips and tricks and advice and experiences and stories.

[00:40:53] Let's get down to just some of like our core tips that we want to give folks, but are also. Good reminders for us. 

[00:41:01] Madison: I think we've said it a couple of times, but I don't think we can reiterate it enough. Do your research. Things change every day. We don't have the UpToDate information. We're just giving you our current, what we've found online information.

[00:41:15] So definitely do the research. Look at the airline pages, look at the city pages. Some cities even have. Dog like accounts and whatnot. But anyways, you can find more information through several platforms. 

[00:41:29] Jess: Make sure you have all the documentation needed. I strongly encourage using the USDA website. They have your checklist on there.

[00:41:37] They have all the vaccines that are required, the rabies, the shots. Everything. Work with your vet. Make sure that your dog is up to date on their vaccinations. You can get your health certificates through them. Cannot encourage enough to utilize those resources that are out there on official websites and documents.

[00:41:57] Madison: Yeah, and, and going to the vet and making sure that your full up to date on medicine too, or, or if you by chance need to leave your dog at a boarding facility. There's a lot of requirements in terms of vaccination, so maybe just being. Overly prepared is sometimes better. Um, I know we also like to use a lot of technology like the PHI collar or any tracking, even air tags.

[00:42:21] We put them on our dogs. Like I said before, sometimes our dogs like to run away. So better safe than sorry. You put it on your luggage, you might as well put it on your dog. Um, there's a lot of cool new tags out there even that are linked to your collar that you have existing, so you don't have to go buy a new collar.

[00:42:35] Jess: We have an emergency kit, kind of like a dog first aid kit that we bring, especially on road trips or adventures outdoors. Your bandages, your ointments, any medication your dog may need, wraps. All that stuff. 

[00:42:51] Madison: On that note too, though, we oftentimes will pack CB, D for our dogs. Um, like I've said before, in previous episode, one of our dogs has some anxiety and if there's like a lot of loud noises or we go places with trains, we just like to be prepared again and have the CB, D on hand if we need to use it and just calm 'em down.

[00:43:13] But again, talk to your vet talk. I'm no health expert. Talk to your vet, um, before you give anything to your dog. 

[00:43:20] Jess: This one's a little different, but we ran into it when we were planning. Our trip for Italy was in European countries. It's common for dogs to have a muzzle on, especially on the train or the fairies.

[00:43:31] Or other transportation. The bus, we did a lot of training with Ziggy getting her comfortable. We just looked up a video on YouTube on tricks to train your dog with a muzzle. So we didn't see any in in Italy, but we always had it with us just in case, because the website mentioned that to have a muzzle on hand.

[00:43:50] So we follow that. We use all trails when we go hiking to look at the reviews to see if the. The hiking trails are dog friendly, how they're, how hard level they are, and kind of all the advice there on, on all trails. 

[00:44:05] Madison: I know some countries even have dog passports, so you can look that up, but they, some countries will have, you know, kind of like a human passport.

[00:44:13] All the dog information, your vaccination records. I don't know if that's necessarily required, but it's a good. Tip to look into if you're traveling abroad. Oh my gosh. So much information. I know we've shared a lot of tips, destination travel modes, all the fun things, stories, necessary information of course.

[00:44:31] But, um, I just wanna play a little game of, would you rather now you and the games. I also just love a would you rather? And so this is my chance, so I'm gonna ask you some, would you rathers? And then I'll answer them myself too. Of course. So would you rather your dog be a bark ranger or a therapy airport Dog.

[00:44:53] Jess: Therapy airport dog. Ziggy loves. The airport people watching? 

[00:44:56] Madison: I think for Apollo, I would say the same, just because he loves sitting in front of people and getting pets. He might be a little nervous, but I really think you'd enjoy the therapy side of it. Um, but for Gemini, I'd say bark Ranger. She loves being on a trail, being the leader of the pack, and, and so that just fits her more.

[00:45:15] Would you rather go on a cruise with your dog? And I know there's cruises out there, or. Do a Van Life tour with your dog 

[00:45:22] Jess: Van Life tour, the amazing places you can stop. Absolutely. Van Life tour. 

[00:45:28] Madison: I'd say agree. I know we've wanted to get a van or looked into get going cross country with both of our dogs.

[00:45:35] We think it'd be such a funny story to share. And would you rather stay at a luxury resort with your dog or camp under the stars with them luxury resort. Hands down, easy. 

[00:45:47] Jess: I 

[00:45:47] Madison: don't know how I actually should answer this, but I'll say luxury resort. 

[00:45:50] Jess: I want a custom robe. I want matching robes with our initials.

[00:45:53] Sitting poolside with a mimosa in hand and a cheese and fruit plate. And Ziggy would have her own little 

[00:46:01] Madison: like drink martini or something that's dog friendly. Maybe some wine. And the custom face mask. I've seen those too. Sleep masks. Yes, all of it. Would you rather carry your dog in a backpack or a. A stroller 

[00:46:15] Jess: backpack, but I'm sure there's gonna be a time where I'm pushing Ziggy the stroller.

[00:46:20] Madison: I mean, same for both of us. Uh, you know. It 

[00:46:24] Jess: makes me sad to think about, would you rather go on the dog friendly cruise or fly on one of those pet specific airlines? 

[00:46:32] Madison: Pet specific airlines? Yeah. I'm much more of a air traveler than cruise anyways, so, so let's continue with the fun. I know I had my fun with a game and, uh, talk about some dog fun facts.

[00:46:44] So I'm gonna pull up my phone for this one because I. Can't remember everything. Same. Did you know that dogs kind of have frequent flyer miles? Some airlines like JetBlue's, jet Paws program give you points and perks for your flying pets flying with you. 

[00:47:00] Jess: That's amazing. Yeah. I think every airline needs this.

[00:47:03] I would love to track Ziggy's Miles, and I say I do it every year, but I just forget about it. It would be amazing to see your, and to get bonus points, your reward. 

[00:47:14] Madison: This dog would have more frequent flyer points than me. She would, 

[00:47:19] Jess: and a lot of people. 

[00:47:21] Madison: Yeah. So, 

[00:47:21] Jess: okay. This is one I found. The first dog on a road trip was a white pit bull named Bud.

[00:47:26] The owners traveled for 63 days, and that was back in 1903. 

[00:47:30] Madison: Holy crap, 

[00:47:31] Jess: that was so long ago. Bud. Bud, who was the first dog on a road trip? You saw 

[00:47:35] Madison: the world. I don't know how far they made it, because were they going by like horseback? Who knows? Who knows? Dogs are the ultimate icebreakers while traveling.

[00:47:44] According to a travel study by Airbnb and Rover, travelers with dogs are 70% more likely to strike up conversations with strangers and locals. Kind of like you said, with even Italy. 

[00:47:56] Jess: I believe it. Everywhere we go. I mean, with our dogs, everyone's asking, and especially if you're traveling. And people aren't traveling with their dogs, they're gonna approach you and say that they miss their dogs and then spark up a conversation.

[00:48:10] Madison: Yeah. I remember even when we went to London and we saw so many dogs that looked like Apollo and we're just like, ah, we miss them. Can we say hi and then start talking and then make friends? So 

[00:48:21] Jess: yeah, I think people trust people with dogs. Yeah. Here is another one. Some national parks have bark Ranger programs.

[00:48:30] Do you know what bark in the Bark Ranger program stands for? I actually have no idea. Okay, I'll tell you. B bag your pet's waste A. Always leash your PET R. Respect wildlife and K know where you can go. So these Bark Ranger programs at National Parks. You can go to the visitor center, they'll even give you like a little sticker or like stamp this passport or even like a little dog tag.

[00:48:56] And it just promotes education for pet friendly national parks. 

[00:49:02] Madison: Do you know that dogs just like humans can get, um, jet lag? And so like, especially if they're sleeping or food schedule shifts, it really affects them. Makes sense. Has that ever 

[00:49:14] Jess: happened to Ziggy? It probably has. It probably did when we were in Italy.

[00:49:18] Yeah. Or even if we're traveling west coast to East Coast. I'm definitely gonna look for that now. This is a really cool story. I came across this guy named Tom Tursi and his dog Savannah. They spent seven years walking around the world. Tom became the 10th person to do this, but Savannah became the first dog to do this, and they're from New Jersey, so a very cool, unique adventure.

[00:49:40] Madison: Wait, so they walked around the world, did they? Obviously they flew to different places and then just spent seven years traveling and walking. Yes. Oh 

[00:49:49] Jess: my gosh. They're going through rainforests, deserts, all sorts of different weather. What a great episode and topic. There are still tons of more information, I'm sure, on the world of dog traveling, but hopefully you learned a ton of stuff here and.

[00:50:06] Share with us. Any, any other information or advice? Put it in the yap, yap it out form What's coming up next? We have dog mom day coming up. We have a fun day adventure plan for us and the pups, so we can't wait to share that in next week's episode. 

[00:50:22] Madison: Alright, that's it for today's episode of the Yap Corner.

[00:50:25] Thank you so much for tuning in. Whether you're listening or watching, 

[00:50:29] Jess: make sure to follow us at the app Corner Pod on Instagram and TikTok. Share this with the dog owner or a dog lover. That's how people can find us. Thank you for tuning in. We can't wait to see you next time. And if you have a dog travel 

[00:50:42] Madison: story, please share it with us, whether that's through DM or even at hello at the yap corner podcast.com.