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How to find places for your dog to stay while traveling

| Updated Jun 19, 2023

Many people are traveling this time of year, but accommodating our dogs can be frustrating. There are places like National Parks where our canine companions are just not welcome. There are times when family or work obligations make it difficult to bring our dog. For RVers – 67% of who travel with pets – this can be quite a challenge.

Fortunately,  a number of websites and apps make it easy to accommodate our furry friends and family members while on the road.

I've collected quite a list over our years of RVing. Here are the ones I like the best.

BringFido helps travelers find pet-friendly hotels and attractions like dog parks, doggie beaches – even restaurants where canines are welcome. The app allows for in-depth research on pet policies so users know if they can bring big dogs, or more than one and BringFido includes a rating system so owners can see what others think of it. It’s free for iOS.

DogVacay is for dog owners who can’t take their dogs, yet aren’t crazy about the idea of a kennel. Pets stay in the home of a loving sitter. The app lists more than 25,000 dog sitters in the U.S. and Canada. Reservations come with pet insurance and even daily photo or video updates of how things are going. The app is free for iOS and Android. Jennifer and I have used this service in distant cities a couple of times and our dog loved it. The photo above shows a family that accommodated our dog Tai in Memphis a couple of years ago that I found through GogVacay.

There’s also the app named Rover. Like DogVacay, it connects dog owners with those who are close and who bring dogs into their own homes. It offers all sorts of dog care options– from short walks to dogsitting during the day, to long-term boarding for extended trips. The app is free for iOS and Android.

Finally, the website  gopetfriendly.com, which is – hands down – the best resource I’ve found for RVers who travel with their pets.

One of the reasons I like GoPetFriendly so much is because Amy Burkert and her Husband Rod are fulltime RVers themselves, traveling North America in a Class A and documenting thousands of places friendly t pets. Their site is an encyclopedia of travel advice for RVers looking for pet-friendly places.

Amy and Rod have traveled over 80,000 miles over the past five years with their two dogs, Buster and Ty. And she has lots of great advice for our listeners about traveling with your four-legged friends.

I interviewed Amy on a podcast episode a couple of months ago. You can hear it at https://rvlifestyle.com/episode-85-rv-travel-pets/ 

There is also doggie daycare available in most towns.  With our current dog Bo, we're using it right now in Fort Walton Beach, FL as we vacation with family. Bog gets a cool place to hang out with some doggie buddies during the day and we get to spend beach time with family. I drop him off about 8 AM and pick him up at 5 PM.

We checked three places before deciding on the place we're now using. The others were overcrowded and just didn't look very appealing to us. We also checked reviews on sites like Yelp. You can expect to pay from $15-20 at most doggie daycare centers. Bo gets supervised play time, a nice comfy private kennel and seems to love going there.

At night, he's with us and gets lots of loving from the family. Everyone seems happy.

Mike Wendland

Published on 2016-07-05

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

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