Dog travel checklist
Choose how your dog is traveling and if you're leaving the country. You get a checklist from the weeks before the trip to arrival day, which saves your ticks in this browser and prints neatly.
Tim de JongHow is your dog traveling?
Adds entry rules, USDA paperwork and the CDC form for coming home
Hotel, rental or friends
Your checklist
0of 29 done
Next up: Microchip your dog, and check the registry has your current phone number.
Dog travel checklist
By car, overnight stay · 0/29 done
Weeks before
International trips often need the chip implanted before the rabies vaccine.
The ASPCA advises carrying it when you cross state lines.
In the last few days
Pack for your dog
On the journey
When you arrive
What to pack for your dog
The ASPCA's travel kit covers food, a bowl, a leash, a waste scoop and bags, grooming supplies, medication and first aid, and travel documents, plus a familiar toy or pillow. Our packing list, the same one the checklist uses:
- Food for the whole trip, plus a couple of days extra
- Food and water bowls
- Bottled water
- Leash and a spare collar or harness
- Poop bags and a waste scoop
- Medication and a pet first-aid kit
- Grooming supplies and an old towel
- A favorite toy, blanket or bed that smells of home
- Travel documents folder
What changes for car, cabin and cargo trips
Most of the list is the same for every trip. These items depend on how your dog travels:
| Checklist item | Car | Plane, cabin | Plane, cargo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask your vet whether you need a health certificate (certificate of veterinary inspection) for this trip | Yes | No | No |
| Book the vet visit for a health certificate dated within 10 days of departure | No | Yes | Yes |
| Read your airline's pet policy and book your dog's place when you book your seat | No | Yes | Yes |
| Book a direct flight if you can | No | Yes | Yes |
| Check the carrier fits under the seat in front of you | No | Yes | No |
| Get a travel crate your dog can stand, sit, lie down and turn around in | Yes | No | Yes |
| Take a series of short drives, gradually making them longer | Yes | No | No |
| Set up a crate, or a harness that attaches to a seatbelt, in the back seat | Yes | No | No |
| Label the crate with Live Animal stickers, your name, cell phone, destination phone number and a photo | No | No | Yes |
| Tape a small pouch of dry food to the outside of the crate | No | No | Yes |
| Don't give tranquilizers unless your vet prescribes them for this trip | No | Yes | Yes |
| A small dish of frozen water for the crate (it melts in transit instead of spilling) | No | No | Yes |
| Keep your dog in the back seat, crated or harnessed, with its head inside the window | Yes | No | No |
| Stop regularly for water, a short walk and a bathroom break | Yes | No | No |
| Never leave your dog alone in a parked car | Yes | No | No |
| Walk your dog for a last bathroom break before check-in | No | Yes | Yes |
| Tell the cabin crew your dog is in the hold when you board | No | No | Yes |
Traveling with a dog in the car
A crate is the safest place for a dog in a car crash, as long as your dog can stand, sit, lie down and turn around in it (our crate size calculator gives the dimensions). The alternative is the back seat with a harness attached to a secured seatbelt. Keep your dog's head inside: riding with it out of the window is on the ASPCA's list of things to avoid.
If your dog isn't used to the car, build up with a series of short drives before the big trip. Feed a light meal three to four hours before you set off rather than on the road, and plan regular stops for water and a walk. And never leave your dog alone in a parked car: on a warm, sunny day the inside heats up within minutes, as our hot car temperature calculator shows.
Flying with a dog
Small dogs usually fly in a carrier under the seat in front of you; check the size limits with our airline pet carrier size checker. Larger dogs travel in the hold, though a few airlines allow large dogs in the cabin. Either way, the ASPCA suggests:
- A health certificate from your vet dated within 10 days of departure.
- A direct flight where possible, so your dog spends less time waiting on the tarmac in bad weather.
- A crate big enough to stand, sit and turn around in, lined with bedding.
- A dish of frozen water in the crate, which melts in transit instead of spilling during loading.
- No tranquilizers, because they can affect breathing, unless your vet decides otherwise for your dog.
Documents your dog may need
Within the US: carry your dog's rabies vaccination record whenever you cross state lines, and ask your vet whether your destination needs a health certificate (certificate of veterinary inspection).
Abroad: each country has its own rules, often with a microchip, rabies vaccine timing and a health certificate that a USDA-accredited vet issues and USDA endorses. Some destinations take months to prepare for, so look yours up early with our pet travel requirements by country tool.
Coming home: CDC requires every dog entering or returning to the US to be at least 6 months old, microchipped and covered by a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. For dogs that have only been in rabies-free or low-risk countries, the receipt is valid for 6 months and can be used for several trips.
Staying in a hotel or rental with your dog
"Pet-friendly" can mean anything from one small dog for a fee to dogs of any size welcome, so confirm the rules for your dog's size and any extra charges before you book. On arrival, walk the room for anything your dog could chew or swallow, such as cables, medicines or snacks, before you let it off the leash.
Dogs settle faster with familiar things and a familiar rhythm. Bring the bed or crate it sleeps in at home, and keep meals, walks and bedtime close to your normal times. If you don't have a set routine yet, our daily dog routine builder helps you make one that travels well. Save the address of the nearest vet and emergency clinic on your phone on the first evening, so you aren't searching for it at night if something goes wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Should I sedate my dog for a flight?
Not unless your vet prescribes something for that specific trip. The ASPCA advises against tranquilizing pets for air travel because sedatives can affect their breathing. Getting your dog used to its carrier or crate well before the trip is the safer way to keep it calm.
When should my dog eat before a car trip?
The ASPCA suggests a light meal three to four hours before you leave, and no feeding while the car is moving. Offer water at every stop, ideally bottled water your dog is used to.
Does my dog need a health certificate to fly?
Often, yes. The ASPCA advises getting a health certificate from your vet dated within 10 days of departure for air travel. Airlines set their own rules, and international trips usually need a specific certificate format with government endorsement, so check both before you book the vet.
Can my dog ride in the front seat?
It is safer in the back. The ASPCA recommends a crate as the safest option in an accident, or the back seat in a harness attached to a secured seatbelt, and says not to let your dog ride with its head out of the window.
What should I write on my dog's travel crate?
For cargo travel, the ASPCA suggests Live Animal stickers plus your name, cell phone number, a phone number at your destination and a photo of your dog. A small pouch of dry food taped outside lets airline staff feed your dog if there is a delay.
Sources
Related tools
- Is it too cold for my dog?Enter the temperature, wind, your dog's size and coat to get a 1 to 5 cold risk level and what to do about it.
- Is it too hot to walk my dog?Enter the temperature, humidity, sun and your dog's size to get a 1 to 5 heat risk level, pavement advice and a safer walk plan.
- Hot car temperature calculatorEnter the outside temperature and minutes parked to see how hot the car gets inside and how fast it becomes dangerous for your dog.
- Pet travel requirements by countryPick a destination and arrival date to get the microchip, rabies vaccine, titer test and health certificate steps in order, with deadlines and official links.
- Dog age calculatorEnter your dog's age and size to get its age in human years, its life stage and when it counts as a senior.
- Dog calorie calculatorEnter weight, life stage and activity to get daily calories, a per-meal split, a treat budget and cups per day.