How To Prepare Your Pet For Vacation

Estimated reading time: 7 mins

Vacations are exciting—but they can also mean big changes for our pets. Different people, different schedules, and different routines can all be stressful, even for pets who generally handle change well.

The good news is that a little preparation goes a long way. Here are some tips for making the process as seamless as possible so your vacation actually feels like a vacation…instead of yet another stressful process that you need a vacation from. 😅

5 Ways to Prepare Your Pet for Vacation (When They're Staying Home)

1. Find Your Pet Care Team Early

Whether you’re hiring a professional pet sitter, asking a trusted friend, or boarding your pet, don’t wait until the last minute to make arrangements. High quality pet care professionals typically book out several weeks in advance–or even longer during major holidays.

If someone will be staying in your home or visiting throughout the day, give them opportunities to meet your pet, learn your routine, and see where all of your pet supplies are stored before your trip. This is especially important if your pet is shy, fearful, or selective about who they trust. A stranger showing up after you’ve disappeared isn’t exactly the best way to make a first impression.

If you’re using a boarding facility or a professional who offers boarding in their home for the first time, consider doing a trial run before your vacation so everyone can get to know each other with much lower stakes. Again: get this on their books as soon as possible. Many facilities and in-home boarding providers require trial run visits and get booked up quickly.

2. Keep Your Pet's Routine as Consistent as Possible

Pets don’t understand that you’ll be back in a week—they just notice that suddenly everything is different. While it’s impossible to keep everything exactly the same, maintaining familiar routines can help your pet feel more secure. Talk with your pet sitter about:

meal times
walks or potty breaks
play sessions
training routines
bedtime routines
favorite sleeping spots

The closer life feels to “normal,” the easier the transition is likely to be.

That said: pet sitters usually can’t do things at the exact same time that you do them. While some pet sitters may offer that as a premium service, be aware that they are operating under constraints that lie beyond their control–like traffic jams or medical emergencies of other pets in their care. When I was a pet sitter, I wouldn’t even take on clients who insisted that I show up at their house at the exact same time of day because I knew I wouldn’t be able to honor that commitment. My schedule fluctuated quite a bit based on the number of clients I had, where in my service area those clients were located, the medical complications of the pets I was caring for, unpredictable traffic issues, and my own health issues.

The good news is that, for almost all pets, what matters more than the exact time that their routine happens is the order in which it happens. The overwhelming majority of the pets I cared for were perfectly content with their modified routines because I stayed faithful to the sequence of events they were accustomed to.

3. Prepare Supplies Before You Leave

Running out of food or medication halfway through your vacation creates unnecessary stress for everyone. Before you leave, double-check that you have enough:

food and treats
medications
poop bags, litter, or cage substrate
cleaning supplies
enrichment toys
any specialty items your pet uses regularly

If your pet enjoys food puzzles, frozen KONGs, snuffle mats, or other enrichment activities, consider preparing several in advance so your sitter has easy ways to provide mental stimulation.

Making sure your pet sitter has everything they need to take care of your pet and maintain their routine allows you to just enjoy your vacation without having to play the role of long-distance logistics coordinator.

4. Have a Plan for Emergencies

Hopefully your sitter never needs it, but having a clear emergency plan makes everyone’s life easier. Leave written instructions that include:

your veterinarian’s contact information
the nearest emergency veterinary hospital
emergency contact information for someone local
any medical conditions or medications
your pet’s microchip information
instructions about who can authorize veterinary care if you’re unreachable

It’s also worth letting your veterinarian know you’ll be out of town and who will be caring for your pet, especially if your pet has ongoing medical needs. When I worked as a vet tech at an emergency hospital, one of the worst, hardest things was telling a pet sitter that we legally couldn’t treat the pet they brought us until we got permission from the owner (in fact, that’s one of the reasons I decided to become a pet sitter for animals with medical and behavioral special needs!).

Those legal technicalities can make an already scary and stressful situation exponentially worse. Your vet will know the laws surrounding medical treatment by proxy in your area, and may have a document that you can fill out to make the whole process as smooth as possible.

5. Make Coming Home Easier

Returning from vacation can be just as exciting (and chaotic!) as leaving.

Some pets explode with joy. Others need a little time to settle back into their normal routine. Either response is perfectly normal.

Try to give your pet some quiet one-on-one time after you get home. A walk, a sniffari, a cuddle session, or a favorite game – whatever activity both you and your pet enjoy – can help everyone reconnect after time apart.

Likewise, if you need some time to transition back into your daily routine, make sure to prepare enough food, medications, enrichment activities, and other supplies to last for a few days after you return. That way, you have a few days to focus on decompression and easing back into your regular schedule before you have to resume all of your regular animal care duties.

5 Ways to Prepare Your Pet for Vacation (When They're Coming With You)

1. Refill Medications and Supplies Before You Leave

One of the easiest vacation mistakes to make is realizing you’re down to two pills the night before your trip.

Check all medications several weeks before you leave, especially if they’re prescriptions that require approval from your veterinarian.

It’s also a good idea to pack medications somewhere easily accessible rather than buried deep inside your luggage, especially if you’re driving instead of flying and will need to access the medications while you’re in transit.

Likewise, make sure you have more than enough food, enrichment supplies, and any other supplies you need. Pack extra, in case your return home is delayed for any reason.

2. Double-Check Identification

If your pet were to become lost in an unfamiliar place, would someone be able to contact you?

Before your trip:

make sure your pet’s ID tags are current
verify your phone number is correct
confirm your microchip registration is up to date
ask your vet if your pet needs a health certificate or any particular vaccines for your vacation destination
if you’re traveling with an exotic pet, make sure they are legally allowed into your vacation destination (for example: Quaker Parrots, also called Monk Parakeets, are illegal in several states)

Those few minutes of preparation can make an enormous difference if the unexpected happens, and can mean the difference between a fun trip and a disappointing return home before your vacation even starts.

3. Learn About Your Destination

A little research ahead of time can prevent a lot of unpleasant surprises. For example:

Are there fireworks scheduled during your stay?
Will there be festivals or loud events nearby?
Are there leash laws or breed restrictions?
Are there local wildlife hazards?
Where is the nearest emergency veterinary hospital?

Knowing what to expect allows you to plan proactively instead of reacting in the moment.

4. Pack a Safe Space

New places can be overwhelming for any pet except, perhaps, the most seasoned of non-human travelers. Bringing familiar items from home helps many pets settle more quickly.

Depending on your pet, that might include:

their bed
favorite blanket
exercise pen or crate
familiar toys
white noise machine or sound masking
a familiar mat they’ve practiced relaxing on

Think of it as bringing a little piece of home with you.

Then, when you arrive at your destination, set up their safe space, show them where it is, and give them a long-term calming project so they can decompress from the trip. Using the safe space in their new, temporary home sets them up so that they know how to use it the rest of the time they’re there. Which brings us to…

5. Bring Your Calming Toolkit

Travel often involves waiting, resting in unfamiliar places, or navigating exciting environments.

Packing enrichment items that help your pet to decompress will enable them to self regulate throughout the trip, and utilize their safe space to the fullest. We call these items long-term calming projects, because they help your pet to downregulate and enjoy the experience.

Some ideas include:

stuffed food toys
lick mats
long-lasting chews
snuffle mats
favorite treats for training
easy enrichment activities you already know your pet enjoys

The goal isn’t to distract your pet from being scared—it’s to give them opportunities to engage in behaviors that help them relax and cope in a new environment.

Here’s to harmony,

Emily

Now What?

Remember: A vacation that your pet doesn’t enjoy isn’t really a vacation for them. If your pet finds travel stressful despite thoughtful preparation, it may actually be kinder to leave them at home with a trusted caregiver while you enjoy your trip. There’s no prize for bringing your pet everywhere—only the opportunity to make the choice that’s best for all of you.

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