The Pet Predicament & How To Solve It: 3 Simple Steps To Make Vacationing In Florida With Your Pet Easier & Less Stressful

Not that long ago, I took my dog on a walk to the park, but the ducks kept on attacking him…

I guess I shouldn’t have gone with the purebread…

Yeah, yeah, I know that’s an old joke by now, but I just heard it for the first time recently, and nearly choked on my sandwich. So it’s clearly worth a few laughs at least.

Do you know what’s not worth a few laughs?

How hard it can be to take your pet along for a vacation in some places, especially if you’re unprepared. I can tell you for a fact, it’s not funny at all.

It was one of the most stressful trips that I ever had, and the worst part is, it was all my own fault as well. I can’t deny it.

So take a little advice from me, and before you plan to vacation with your pet, plan ahead. It’s super worthwhile and fun, and I wouldn’t do it any other way… but I also probably won’t ever try to just “wing it” again.

Since I just went through this whole snafu, I thought I could share some quick advice that can make travelling with your most trusted companion a little easier, for you and them.

Next time I plan a trip, I’m starting with this new 3-step plan to make sure I get all the pet-friendly options before I pack my bags.

Photo by Lenin Estrada on Unsplash

1. Pet-Friendly Rentals Are An Absolute Must

I hope this isn’t a surprise to anyone, but you obviously can’t just take your dog into any rental you want. It doesn’t work that way.

There are many pet-friendly rentals, and some of them are in some real top-tier locations, but you can’t just assume they’re all going to allow your dog.

You really need to look in advance, limit your list to rentals listed as pet-friendly, and remember that it’s about more than just the property, but we’ll get to the other bits in a minute.

If you can find a rental lookup service that allows you to fine-tune your search, it can help a lot, because finding pet-friendly locations to rent can be a real pain otherwise.

A curated or filterable list can take away most of the stress and all of the heartache of finding the perfect location, only to find out it doesn’t allow dogs.

Photo by Sandra Seitamaa on Unsplash

2. Always Communicate Directly

This one is easy, near instant, and should be obvious to everyone… but sometimes the websites or services we end up using aren’t really set up to facilitate it.

Before you book a rental with your dog, always, always, always talk to the property owners first. It just makes sense, it’s worth double-checking.

Now, here’s the problem. This should be super easy, a click or two and a few typed words, badda-bing, badda-boom.

However, if the service you’re using doesn’t allow direct communication, it’s tricky and risky, because what if there was a mistake and dogs aren’t allowed, or maybe only small dogs are allowed, or only during certain seasons?

I don’t want to take that risk, so I won’t book with a service that doesn’t allow me to directly ask the host if bringing my dog is alright.

Better safe than sorry, because I’m not abandoning my dog or looking for a last-minute rental if there’s a mix-up.

Photo by Igor Kasalovic on Unsplash

3. Select Your Season & Location Carefully

Finally, something I never considered until after I was already in a very crowded vacation spot with my dog — sometimes it’s better to travel in the off-season.

Obviously, this is going to vary from person to person, and dog to dog, but my buddy doesn’t really like the crowds, and neither do I.

So now we only travel in the off-season, and that also means we don’t need to book nearly as far in advance.

However, I do recommend that if you’re booking during the busy months, you should pay extra attention to the amenities and your location.

You’ll want to make sure that you have places to take your dog that aren’t too crowded with tourists, and hopefully, it’s not a huge distance to get from where you’re staying to where your dog can use the bathroom.

I can say for certain that I’m never bringing my dog to a high-rise hotel again, because as fun as it was, he’s kind of old and doesn’t have a strong bladder.

It was a lot of trips up and down, and rarely for sightseeing… so maybe consider the ground floor, if you can.

All of this seems like a lot of work, and it can be, if you’re not coming into it prepared.

Travelling with your dog (or other pets) can be a ton of fun if you plan for it, but the planning is absolutely required, no doubt about it.

It all starts with finding the right rental — and that’s easier if you use a service that’s dedicated to providing you with the right information and options up-front.

A little planning goes a long way, and that’s good because I want to go a long way too, all the way to the beach.