Sometimes a family holiday includes the four-legged members of your family as well. Of course, travelling with a dog can add some logistical complications when you're looking at the availability of a car for rent in your destination. A little bit of homework is required, but there's no reason why your pooch can't easily come along for the ride.

All-Inclusive Policy

Does the rental company have an all-inclusive pet friendly policy? This needs to be closely investigated, particularly with companies where each outlet is owned by a franchise holder who might be able to dictate their own policies. Just because one outlet of a rental company will allow pets, you should not assume that they all will. Ensure that your animal will be permitted to travel in the vehicle at the outlet from where the vehicle is collected.

Comfort and Safety

Is your dog a seasoned traveller when it comes to riding in the car? Comfort and safety are important for all members of your family, and naturally this includes your pet. You might wish to bring your own travel harness which can be clipped into a seat belt buckle. If you are particularly concerned about the safety of your pet while driving and have chosen a pet friendly rental company, you should ask for their assistance. They might be able to provide you with a pet travel crate for a small additional charge.

Motion Sickness

Has your dog ever experienced motion sickness while in a car? It might be worthwhile to visit your vet and obtain some medication to combat this. If you are worried about your dog vomiting while in the car, it might be a good idea to cover the seat with some plastic drop sheets as added insurance. You would hate to be charged a cleaning fee all because of some animal vomit.

Cleaning

And speaking of cleaning, it is possibly a condition of rental that the vehicle is returned with no sign that an animal had ever travelled in it. This means you might need to stop at a service station on the way to returning the rental vehicle in order to use their self-service cleaning facilities. Of course you will need to thoroughly vacuum the interior of the car to remove any hair, along with wiping down surfaces in order to remove any paw prints.

So while travelling in a rental car with your dog does require a little bit of extra work, it's certainly worth it so that all the members of your family can come on holiday.

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