Motorhome holidays with dogs: everything you need to know
One of the biggest advantages of a motorhome holiday is that its simple and easy to take your furry friends with you! We have always taken our dogs with us on our motorhome adventures, the dogs love it and it means we can go away for longer periods of time without worrying about them at a kennels of a friend’s. If you have never been on a motorhome holiday before, or perhaps never taken your dog away with you, you might be wondering about the do’s and don’ts of taking your dog with you. We put together some advice, tips, and facts about motorhome holidays with your dogs so that you can rest assured you’ve got everything covered.
Travelling in the motorhome with your dogs
First of all, when you’re driving the motorhome from location to location, it is important to know that it is a legal requirement to have dogs restrained, by a harness or otherwise. This is so that they cannot distract you whilst driving and so that they don’t injure themselves or anybody else if you have to stop suddenly. The requirements are the same when driving cars and other vehicles, not just motorhomes.
We recommend using a harness, rather than using their lead attached to their collar, to secure them to a seat belt anchor point as using a harness means that if you have to break suddenly they won’t injure their neck. Also, if you were unfortunate enough to have an accident, you know that if the dogs are travelling in a harness they are unable to run away from the vehicle if they are scared or injured. Plus, it means that they can even sleep on their bed on the floor and relax whilst you travel.
Dog harnesses don’t need to be expensive and can be bought from various places online. Including Fetch and Petsathome. You can find out a bit more about different harnesses and the best ones to buy here.
Keeping your dog safe on a campsite
Once you’ve safely reached your destination with your dogs all happy and safe in their harnesses, you will need to know a little bit about keeping your dog safe on the campsite too. Most campsites allow dogs but be aware that some don’t so it is worth checking before you book. Nearly all campsites ask that dogs are kept on a lead when in and around the campsite. Therefore, it is useful to take a spike that can be twisted into the ground to secure your dogs lead to, which means that you don’t have to constantly keep hold on the dogs. Using a metal cable lead, which are available in different lengths, is a great way to give your dog the freedom to walk around but without being able to wander off in search of someone’s BBQ sausages!
Quite a few campsites provide a safe dog walk on site where you can let your dog off the lead, or they may provide details of nearby walks that are suitable. Campsites can be very dog friendly places and there’s often multiple furry friends around so do be sure to ask for any extra information that might benefit you and your dog. We would also recommend, when checking into a campsite, to ask if they can provide details of local and emergency vets so that if anything happens you know who to contact.
General safety of your dogs
In terms of general safety of your dogs, the normal things apply whilst you’re on holiday, obviously! But, we would also recommend keeping a dog first aid kit with you containing:
Antiseptic
A tic remover
Bandages
Tweezers
A thick blanket or towel
You can find out more about pet first aid kits on the blue cross website.
Just in case of accidents, it’s good to be prepared! We would also recommend making sure that your contact details are still legible on their name tag and if travelling abroad it’s worth including the international dialling code. It’s the little things that are often forgotten but keep your dogs safe and sound on your travels.
Travelling abroad
Other things you need to think about when travelling abroad include vaccinations and documentation – all the boring but very important stuff!
Dogs require a passport to travel and they can be obtained from your local vets but it’s best to allow at least 4 weeks to get one arranged as you must wait 21 days after their rabies jab before travelling.
When you’re on your way back, in order to return to the UK, you must have your dog treated for tapeworm by a vet, which needs to be recorded in their passport! Don’t worry, if you’re travelling by Eurotunnel there are plenty of English speaking vets around Calais that can do this for you (albeit for a price that will make you wish you’d thought of a career as a vet).
Also, it is a good idea to have your pet microchipped as this is a requirement for animals entering the UK. Do be aware that if the UK leaves the EU, these rules might change so it is important to check and keep up to date with that. You can find out more information about taking your pets abroad and coming back to the UK on the government website.
The essentials
We hope this has helped guide you through a few things you need to know before you take your dog on your motorhome holiday. It really is one of the best things about travelling in a motorhome and your furry friends will love the outdoors and freedom on the holiday. We never go anywhere without our dogs, so get in touch if you’ve got anymore questions. All our motorhomes for hire are completely dog friendly, and there is no extra charge for bringing your dog (apart from a £25 cleaning charge).
Just so that you don’t forget the essentials, here’s a handy dog packing list to use for your next motorhome holiday with your dog:
Collapsible water and food bowls
Food (for the whole travel period)
Dog shampoo
Dog towels
Waterproof travel blanket (to put of their bed outside to keep them dry)
Lots of treats (obviously!)
Travel harness
Their favourite toys
Poo bags