We had Castle for 6 weeks when we took a trip to Washington State to visit family. We had no idea how our hyperactive dog was going to do being in a car for that long. It was a 16 hour drive to Coulee Dam Washington to see my family and then another 5 to Bremerton to see Gab's mom. By the time we got home we had clocked about 45 hours in the car. Luckily for us, besides the farting, Castle did great. Here's a few things we did to attempt to make the trip go smoothly.
1. Buy a new bone that they've never had before. The new taste will keep them busy for a few hours at least.
2. Buy a new toy. They will be excited to play with it in the car, during stops and wherever it is you're going.
3. Set up a designated sleeping area for them. We put his crate in the back with the seats down and he slept in there probably 50% of the time.
4. Take the time to play and run them around for ten to fifteen minutes at every stop. When we stopped Gab would gas up the car and get the snacks and I would try to find some grass so he could go to the bathroom and then I would run around and play with him to try to get his wiggles out. The investment is well worth it because even those ten minutes of play would tire him out to go to sleep for a while.
5. This might seem like a no brainer but make sure you get a hotel room that allows dogs. I had never had to think about that before and it almost slipped my mind so make sure you don't get charged extra.
6. Make sure they have their regular comforts with them. For example, the same food they usually eat and enough of it so you don't have to buy them new food that will upset their stomach. We also brought his favorite toy and tried to keep his sleeping pattern the same.
7. Pack your sense of humor. Castle was farting so much in the car. We had to roll the windows down going 80 on the freeway like 20 times and we had to laugh or else we would have cried. He also slept on my lap a lot of the time because he could only be in his kennel so much before going completely crazy so I had to share my tiny portion of the car with a 20 pound dog. It was frustrating yet comical.
8. Make sure they still get their exercise even though you're on vacation! They need it!
