The Ultimate Thanksgiving Checklist!

Hello, Hello Y'all!

As we all know Thanksgiving is exactly one week away now. So I just wanted to take a couple minutes to give you all some reminders, tips, and general holiday information.

First off for those traveling with your pet, do you have everything packed, or a completed checklist of everything you need to bring with you? Are you sure? If you're not so sure, or even if you are check out my list of my lucky 13 things that make up the ultimate packing list.

1- This ones pretty easy: Water and Food Bowls

You need those for obvious reasons but I find that those are some of the EASIEST things to forget to put in the bag! Or maybe that's just me.

2-Also a pretty easy one: Travel Food

Nobody likes to lug around those huge 50lb bags so some solutions are to buy a smaller bag of your dogs regular food for easier carry, or you could do like me. Use an empty container and fill it with the food. I personally use an empty Apple Juice container that I got from my grandmother and it has worked wonderfully for me for about 2 years now.

3-Carrier and/or Seat Belt

If your pet isn't comfortable or even used to sitting in the car for long periods of time, you don't want your pet unsafe in the car or to cause a potentially deadly car situation, so a pet carrier is a great option. If you have a larger dog like me a seat belt is also a great option. It keeps you and your dog safe the whole trip.

4-SEAT COVERS

I'll say it again. SEAT COVERS! I have an American Bulldog that I don't crate in the car and that leaves hair EVERYWHERE in the car and I hate it! If you prefer to not have dog hair stuck all over the seats, then you need seat covers.

5-Distraction(s)

Distractions, distractions, distractions. A way to have a long car ride is to keep your pet distracted. Bring interactive toys or tough snacks that would keep your pets attention for a long while.

6-Jacket(s)

For short haired dogs if you're going someplace like Vermont then Jackets will be your dogs best friend for going out into the harsh weather.

7-Paw Protection

When I say this I mean boots, shoes, or waxes. Personally I love 'Musher's Secret' which is an all natural wax that works wonders.Here is a picture of before and after the wax on my pooch.

8-1st Aid Kit

You just never know what may happen when you're far from home. If you have luck like me that's when everything crazy actually happens.

9-Extra Leash and Bags

Again if you have luck like me this is when your dog decides to chew a whole in your leash. Or even the leash you've had for 5 steady years just decides to break apart out the blue. And you should always have extra bags just a rule of thumb.

10-Tags

This may seem like a silly one but if your pet ever gets loose having tags would make getting your pet back to you easier when they are found. And if you switch out collars for the holidays -decorative ones- then remembering to either have a second set of tags or transferring your tags is very important.

11-Bedding, Crate

When you finally get to where you were going, you need somewhere to set your pet up. So its time to pull out the bed or open the crate. This is where somethings can have dual purposes. If you don't want to carry a lot of extra things then you can use blankets as your seat cover and then again as your pets bedding.

12-Providers

Know your surroundings. Know where the local emergency vets office is, what the local number for poison control is and so on.

13-Love and Patience

Traveling with your pet can be a bit tedious but it can also be very rewarding. Being able to have all members of your family together for the holidays is a great feeling and well worth the effort to get everything ready. So while you're packing your pets things, dealing with craziness on the road, just remember that in the end it will all be worth it.