The ins and outs of traveling with dogs

Anyone who has ever taken a long road trip with a dog (or heaven forbid, two dogs) knows that the fun really begins once a long day of driving is over—because unless you plan on staying with friends or family, you've got three options.

1) Pretend you're Jewel and sleep in your car behind a Denny's
2) Drive around whichever unknown town you happen to find yourself stranded in and look hopelessly for a place that welcomes your two-legged companion(s).
3) Stay wherever the hell you want, but do so as if you're a Navy SEAL.

We generally opt for #3. If you ever plan on doing the same, here are a couple of tips we've picked up during six years of practice.

The smaller the dog the better
Any breed that has the word "teacup" in its name is ideal. Just place said dog in an overnight bag or purse and cover with a Kleenex—you should be good to go. However, if you've got yourself a little yipper, a slathering of peanut butter may be in order. All in all, the size and flexibility of small dogs drastically increase your overall lodging options.

What to do if you have a large dog (or heaven forbid, two)
With large dogs your choices are pretty slim. Basically you need to look for a place that has outdoor entrances—i.e. your run-of-the-mill roadside motel. So, as you enter town, scan the horizon for a Super 8, Motel 6, Comfort Inn or an older La Quinta. Lower-level rooms on the back of the motel are generally the best, but you can pretty much sneak in and out no matter where you are, just avoid parking the car in front of the lobby when you check in.

When a motel is not an option
Carrie and I were faced with this situation on our way back from Houston a couple of weeks ago. It was 11 o'clock and we were in the hit-or-miss area between Dallas and Oklahoma City, our only real hope for a place to stay was in Gainesville Texas—unfortunately their La Quinta had recently been updated which meant no outside entrances. This was virgin territory for us.

Here's how we handled it.

1) We scouted out the scene, driving around the building to see if there were back or side entrances (there were some on the side).
2) After parking a safe distance from the view of the front desk I ran in and got us a room on the ground level as close to the end as possible.
3) We parked around back and I ran in to check things out. Much to my dismay, the room wasn't very close to the end of the hall, but instead was 30 feet from the front desk! Time to improvise.
4) Carrie and I gathered up everything we needed to ensure that we would not need to make more than one trip (anxious dogs make noisy dogs). Then, since we use Gentle Leaders, we removed their collars to avoid the tell-tale sound of jangling tags and made a run for it.

Success.

Maybe the dogs were just too damn tired, or they were just in on the plan, either way, they were awesome. Our escape the next morning was a little more challenging due to the fact that our door pretty much opened up to the breakfast area, the solution to this little problem was to create a diversion at the waffle maker while Carrie, Luka and Zoe made their escape. MacGyver would have been proud.

Oh, a couple of more things we've learned over the years.

Ice buckets make great water bowls, always turn on the air conditioner full blast to muffle sound, and close the blinds—not to keep people from seeing in, but to keep your dogs from seeing anything they feel they need to warn you about.

Hope this helps you on your next trip.

Craig