relocating - traveling with dogs

Have the dogs been on car trips before? Now would be the time to get them used to rides if they haven't gone for many.

My girl relocates frequently; I moved 100 miles from home for college and she came with me to VA from IN for an 8 week internship this summer. The long trip from IN to VA is a 10 hour car ride. She was a bit anxious at the new place at first, but once she realized I was still there and so was all of her stuff, she settled right in.

On long car trips you do need to stop frequently for exercise and potty breaks and I would highly recommend crating your girls for the trip so they aren't a distraction. Car harnesses can work well too, but I find that my girl gets tangled in them easily and is more relaxed in her crate.

ETA: Maggie was 4.5 yo when I moved for college and 7 yo for the VA internship move. She'll be coming with me for my job of course when I graduate in May and it's looking like we'll end up in CO - I have no qualms about that move, or even if we ended up in CA. []

Shouldn't be to much of an issue, my husband and I moved from northern Illinois to Louisville with a then 12 yr old cat and a 7 year old Babe. We just made plenty of stops for them to stretch, go potty and drink. It added some time to our trip but other then that was not to bad.
 
I did talk to my vet on their last visit to get some tranquilizers just in case.
 
Good Luck,
Dawn

I moved from Texas to NY, to MO, and then back to Texas with Indy- the rest of the crew changed over time. (Summer came to us while we were in NY and I placed her after she was spayed because she hates performance events, and of course Wings came with us from MO to TX) Although Indy didn't enjoy the initial car ride past the first 8 hours or so, he adapted pretty well, and I think he actually MISSES the snow.  

We travel a lot, the little terrier doesn't care much for it (he gets nervous when he sees us bring out the suitcases!) but he just rides on the floor and sleeps. The big girl . . . she has only been with us for one long trip (KY to VA) and she sat in the front passenger seat (in a doggie seatbelt) looking all around while I sat stuffed in the back seat with my two kids in their carseats! People would drive by and point and laugh, guess we know who's daddy's favorite girl huh! They really are both fine as long as we're with them, just don't leave them while you go in anywhere. Also, we check out places along the route where we can stop . . .like parks and PetSmarts/Petco's so we can take them in if the weather's bad. Your trip will be longer due to all the stops, but just approach it like an adventure!

The actual move is not usually so much a problem as the prep, the loading and the unloading.  The times when the doors are open and stuff is leaving the house or going into the new one are really dangerous for the dogs.  When we move, which we seem to do a LOT (DH is in radio....think moving like in the military without the military help...just a lot) and when we are loading, unloading, the dogs are crated or safely contained.  Our last big move was from GA to MI.  While the truck was loaded the dogs were crated in a part of the house that we had moved everything out of so that they were disturbed as little as possible.  Once the truck was loaded they played in the fenced yard while I did the cleaning that was left and we got on the road.  Even if you have a room to shut the dogs in that absolutely no one needs to enter while you are loading or unloading, I still strongly recommend crating them in that room.  They do get upset at a bunch of strangers taking their stuff and they could get frightened and bolt.  The last thing you need when you are trying to move is to be looking for a runaway dog!
 
I carry drinking water from the old home for my dogs.  My tummy isn't bothered by water changes, but theirs can be.  The don't get coffee and other stuff on the road, just their water, so it's important that they have something they are used to.  You don't need diahera on the road either!
 
The two times during this whole move that you're gonna be flat out up against the wall busy are loading and unloading.....let the other stuff wait a bit so that the dogs can have time and attention and some normalacy.  Unpack the stuff that is absolutely essential...in fact, I PACK a box of essentials that goes with me in the car....bedding, tp, hand towels, soap, light bulbs, phone, etc.....and play with the dogs for a bit before you go back to unpacking.
 
I keep my dogs crated during a move, and unless we are traveling in the motorhome, they wear their leashes at all times.  I don't want to worry about training being forgotten at some rest stop in the middle of nowhere and someone jumping out of the vehicle.  Also, you might want to get some travel tags made up with a cell phone number.
 
Above all, try to relax about it.  Moving is a bear, but if you relax, so will the dogs.  They don't really care where they live, so long as they are with mommy and daddy.

Glenda's right.  I was going to say pack the dogbeds/blankets last and bring them out first. 
 
On my crates in the car, I have a note with the dog's name, several phone numbers, a short paragraph about that individual dog.  I need to redo them since I just recently got a cell phone.