Traveling with Dogs Tips

Hi friends! Brandy here. I have been right out straight with some chaos in my personal life, so we haven\’t been updating the blog enough here. We wanted to pop on real quick to let you all know that there are BIG changes happening and I hope to have more on the blog soon.

With that said, we recently found ourselves having to travel to Maine for a boxing match our son has to be at for his boxing gym. This meant trying to find a low-cost place to rent for the weekend Friday – Sunday that was less than the 2-hour 30-minute drive we would have to do the day of boxing match, had we stayed home.

While looking for places to rent, we found so many rules nad regulations and stipulations to going to a cottage which is usually the lower cost option, and found it wasn\’t suitable for our dogs. With all that said, as I found myself sifting and sorting through Google search results, VRBO, AirBnB results, and other options online, I was so frustrated that I realized maybe I should share some tips for you all out there traveling with dogs.

So, if you\’re a human that is traveling with a furry companion, boy do I have some tips and tricks for you to learn more about the rules, regulations, stipulations, and other terms that dog owners have to deal with whenever they try to find accommodations for their next travel excursion.

Find the Pet Policy

I found that Hotels.com, AirBnB, VRBO, and other websites will narrow down your search to show pet-friendly locations. This is fabulous! The problem with that is that they don\’t list out the entire \”pet policy\” on these websites.

I would find a fabulously low-priced location that was either a cottage or a family suite, or some lower-cost AirBnB that was pet friendly only to find out that our dogs weren\’t the right fit. So, how did I find that out? I used Google Search!

Something internally told me to look up a location that I was set on for our trip to Maine to check all of their policies before paying to book the cottage. Sure enough, I looked up the information and you had to register dogs with the office, only allowed two dogs per rental unit, and the dogs could only be a specific weight limit.

Other locations had restrictions, or you had to get your dogs approved before they would rent to you. Then there is the other rabies or extra things they require for dogs, and some of these things are totally reasonable, but others while reasonable, still make it impossible for us to travel with our dog dogs.

SO I highly suggest you do a little search \”[name of place] pet policy\” to see what the full pet policy is for each hotel or mainstream sort of place. Swap out the brackets and name of place with your specific location you\’re searching for. See example below.

AirBnB and VRBO, if the unit is not a hotel, will typically have the owner\’s house rules laid out on that site before booking.

Make Sure Your Search Filters Didn\’t Reset

I cannot being to explain the annoyance that is a site like Hotels.com or Booking.com or Google Search results for accommodations that reset your search filters when you click a button or do something else.

This is another huge tip to help you find a dog friendly location; make sure pet friendly or dog friendly is checked off at all times. For some reason, during my search to find a place to stay with dogs in Maine, I would see an awesome place that was super low cost only to learn that the dog friendly or pet friendly filter had \”unchecked\” itself during the process of me sorting through other options.

Yes, it happened more than once. So please, my friends, remember to make sure your search filters for a dog friendly accommodation didn\’t reset as you continue on trying to find the best spots to rent that are dog friendly in New England.

Consider Going Camping at a Lot at a Farm

If all else fails, consider going camping at a lot at a farm. There are many places on VRBO and AirBnB that have lots open with tiny homes, cabins, or similar that are dog friendly and often easier to grab than campground spots for camping.

Campgrounds have a lot of rules. For example, they may have breed restrictions. I have noticed even my German Shepherd mix doesn\’t get into some places as he is on a list for whatever reason. No, not my DOG, but the breed of my dog is on a list of dogs they don\’t want at their campground.

With that said, most of the private farmers who rent out land or have huttopia locations are more open to having just friendly dogs there. Dogs that are under control, and won\’t harm others on the fam or at the location are usually more than welcome.

I\’m biased in that I feel like camping in a tent or motorhome or tiny home cabin is way more relaxing of an event than trying to go to a hotel with dogs.

Those are the biggest things I have run into while searching for a dog friendly location to rent for vacation or time away in New England. I hope that you can share some of your frustrations with the search results you\’re finding when searching for a dog friendly place to travel to this year.

Have you had a hard time finding travel accommodations that are dog friendly lately? Let me know in the comments section below.