I hope everyone enjoyed their first official weekend of the summer season. It is time for backyard cookouts, long evenings enjoying the warm weather and travel. Some of you may be planning on car trips, whether for the day or a week. Others may be traveling by plane. And at least some of you may be planning on bringing your pets with you. There are few things that you should consider before traveling with your pets.
If you are traveling by plane you will need to have your pet checked by a veterinarian before travel to obtain a health certificate. The health certificate is the airlines’ way to be sure that whatever animal they are transporting is healthy enough to travel at high altitude. You will also want to check with whichever airline you are using to be sure that you have any necessary paperwork, paid any additional fees and understand what type of carrier is required for transport.
In general we don’t recommend sedating animals for travel, especially for air travel. Most animals will experience stress and anxiety during travel. They may also become air sick and will need to vomit. If they are sedated their bodies natural responses to stress and sickness may be inhibited and they may be unable to respond appropriately. If you feel very strongly that your pet needs to be sedated please talk to your vet first. They can recommend options based on their knowledge of your pets state of health as well as something appropriate for the type of travel you are undertaking.
If your pet is prone to motion sickness talk to your veterinarian before you travel. There are several options for helping your pet with motion sickness. If you pet becomes very anxious when traveling in the car you should start with short trips, lots of praise and treats. For some more tips for making your pet comfortable in the car check out http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1422
Depending on where you are traveling, you may need to take some preventative steps to prevent certain types of infections. Tick control is important to prevent diseases such as Lyme and ehrlichia. Tick control is best done by applying a monthly topical product such as Frontline, Revolution or Advantix. Talk to your vet for recommendations on what product best suits your pets individual risk factors.
In most parts of the United States your animal should also be on a heartworm preventative. Heartworm is an internal parasite transmitted by mosquito bite. It lives in the heart and can be fatal. If you are traveling to heartworm endemic areas, talk to your veterinarian before travel to start your pet on a heartworm preventative. For more infomation about tick prevention and heartworm disease check out the American Heartworm Society at www.heartwormsociety.org.
As always, be sure to travel safely with your pet. Be sure they are restrained properly in your car. Never leave your pet in the car on a warm sunny day, even if the outside temperature is moderate. Take regular breaks to allow your pet to use the bathroom and make sure they get regular access to clean water. Never let your pet out of the car without a leash. In an unfamiliar place, even well trained and attentive dogs may become scared, disoriented and run away. Microchipping your dog is another good way to identify them. While microchips do not allow you to track your dog. They are a permanent form of identification that can be found by veterinary clinics, animal shelters and most animal control organizations. Registering the chip is vital to its success. If your pet is already microchipped but you aren’t sure if it is registered or with whom you can search for it on the American Animal Hospital’s microchip lookup tool at www.petmicrochiplookup.org. This will tell which company has the chip enrolled. You will then need to contact that company to be sure the registration information is accurate.
As always, have fun with your pets. It is a wonderful time of year to make some memories and have a great time.
No comments:
Post a Comment