TL;DR
The yard and the schedule stay home when you travel. So the energy burn rides along with you, in the car, at every stop and in the room at night. Sprints and sniffing on the drive, the flirt pole on grass, tug and puzzle feeders inside. A tired dog will sleep in just about any room you put them in.
For stuff you can do inside, see how to exercise a dog without walking, and how to actually run the chase is in the flirt pole training guide.
Who This Is For
- You’re on a road trip with a dog in the back seat
- You’re staying in hotels or rentals with your dog
- You travel in an RV or van and your dog gets restless
- Your dog gets wound up anytime they’re away from home
- You’re flying or driving somewhere new
- There’s no yard and no normal walk where you’re headed
- You just want a calm dog while you’re on the move
Signs Travel Is Getting to Your Dog
- Whining or panting in the car once you’ve been driving a while
- Bouncing off the walls in the room
- Can’t settle down in a new place
- Barking at every noise in the hallway or every person walking by
- Restless, pacing or tearing stuff up when you’re away from home
- Won’t relax even when they’re obviously tired
- More reactive or more clingy than usual on the trip
Break Up the Drive
Eight hours in a crate and then out comes a calm dog? Not gonna happen. All that sitting builds up, so I’d stop every couple of hours and get them actually moving, cause a quick potty and back in the car doesn’t do much.
Use the stop. Some sprints, a couple recalls, or a quick round on the flirt pole on whatever strip of grass is by the gas station will burn real energy and kind of reset them before the next leg. Keep them secured in the car between stops too, it makes the whole thing easier on everybody.
Sniff breaks reset the brain
Let them sniff at every stop. A dog comes down a lot after being stuck in the car if you just let the nose work, and five slow minutes of that beats a rushed lap around the parking lot.
Burn Energy in a Hotel
In a hotel room you lean on brain work and games that don’t need much space. A puzzle feeder, a snuffle mat, tug with some rules to it and short training sessions will all tire a dog out in a small room. Then go find a lawn or a quiet corner close by for a few minutes with the flirt pole.
Mental work travels light
A puzzle feeder, a snuffle mat and a handful of treats fit in any bag. Making a dog think wears them out without needing much room, so that’s the best thing you’ve got once you’re inside, and I’d pack it first.
Structured tug and games
Tug with rules and little training games don’t take up much room and they’re pretty quiet, which the folks in the next room will appreciate. Throw a sit or a down or a trick in between rounds of tug. With some structure to it, even a tiny room gives your dog a decent workout.
Find a grassy patch
The American Kennel Club recommends planning exercise into any trip, and most hotels and rentals have a lawn or a quiet corner somewhere nearby. A flirt pole doesn’t need a big yard, just enough open grass for the lure to move, so you can get a real chase in at most places. Look for a spot when you first pull in.
Hold the Routine on the Road
I’d try to keep their day looking kind of normal. Dogs like knowing what’s coming, so feed them and exercise them and put them to bed around the usual times even if you’re three states away, cause that’s something familiar for them to hang onto.
And bring a little piece of home. Their bed or a blanket or a toy that smells like the house makes a strange room feel safer, so a nervous dog relaxes a lot faster. Wherever you end up the order is the same. Exercise first, then settle.
Drain, then explore
Get the travel energy out before you go sightseeing with your dog. That way you’re not dragging a wired dog through some busy new place, you’ve got a calm one that can actually enjoy it with you.
Stop, burn, settle
Move the Dog
Every time you stop I’d do some sprints, a few recalls or a quick flirt pole round on the grass.
Drain First
Get a real energy burn in before you go sightseeing or try to settle into the room.
Mental Wind-Down
A puzzle feeder and something from home go a long way so your dog can relax in a strange place.
The routine doesn’t come on the trip unless you bring it, so stop and move them on the drive and find some grass when you get there and make them think in the room, cause a tired dog will settle just about anywhere.
Don’t ever leave a dog in a parked car in warm weather, cause it can get deadly hot in there in minutes even with the windows cracked. Keep your dog secured while you drive and keep water with you and watch for heat at every stop.
The Whimsy Stick: Fits in the Trunk
On the road you don’t have your yard, so the outlet has to ride with you. A flirt pole gives your dog a full chase session on just about any patch of grass. The Rugged XL is one piece and doesn’t come apart, cause breaking a pole down into pieces costs it strength, so plan on about 4 feet of room for it in the car.
Read These Next to Go Deeper
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Exercising a Dog While Traveling: FAQ
How do you exercise a dog while traveling?
Honestly it’s the same stuff you’d do at home, you just chop it up into little pieces, so the rest stop gets sprints and sniffing and the grass by the motel gets the flirt pole and the room gets tug and a puzzle feeder at night. If every stop has a little something in it for the dog, a cooped-up dog stays way calmer than you’d think.
How often should I stop to exercise my dog on a road trip?
I’d go every two to three hours, but don’t do the potty-and-back-in-the-car thing, cause after a few hours in a crate your dog needs a few minutes to really move and sniff around. They ride better after that and they settle a lot easier that night too.
How do I exercise my dog in a hotel room?
Mostly with brain stuff, cause a puzzle feeder or a snuffle mat or tug with rules or a short training session doesn’t need much floor at all, and then I’d walk out and find a patch of lawn or a quiet corner by the building and get a few minutes in on the flirt pole before bed.
How do I keep my dog calm while traveling?
You get the energy out first and then you get calm, it doesn’t really work the other way around. Feeding and exercise and bedtime at about the usual times takes a lot of stress off, and their own bed or blanket makes the room smell a little less strange to them.
Is it cruel to take a dog on a long road trip?
Not if you plan around what your dog needs. With regular breaks and real exercise and a safe way to ride, plus water and something familiar, most dogs do fine on the road, and the trouble comes from being shut in a long time with no outlet, which is what this plan is there to stop.
Can I run a flirt pole while traveling?
Yeah you can, all it takes is some grass with room for the lure to move, so a rest stop or a hotel lawn or a campsite is plenty. The Rugged XL is one 46-inch piece and won’t fold down, so you gotta make room for it in the car, but once you’re there you can run a full chase session just about anywhere you stop.
How do I exercise my dog in an RV or van?
I’d use your stops and the outdoors cause there isn’t much room inside, so stop for sprints and some chase on the grass and then use puzzle feeders and tug inside for brain work. Keeping a rough routine helps a dog settle in a small space that keeps moving.
My dog won’t settle in a hotel. What helps?
A lot of times they need to get some energy out and feel safe, so do a real exercise session when you get there and bring their bed or a toy from home and use a puzzle feeder to help them wind down, cause a tired dog in a room that smells a little like home relaxes a lot faster.
