Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for people to travel with their pets. Eighty million families in the United States share their homes with dogs.Many homes have multiple dogs living in them, accounting for 90 million dogs. Approximately 35% of those dogs regularly travel with their owners. Consequently, dogs are welcome in more places now than ever before, including over 40,000 hotels nationwide. Hotels may or may not have restrictions, such as weight or number of dogs.But one thing is for certain, all hotels expect their four legged guests to behave themselves. People traveling with dogs can ensure they continue to be welcome by following one simple rule; be considerate of other guests. This includes cleaning up after your dog, keeping your dog quiet, not letting him soil inappropriate places…basically try to go unnoticed. Easy, peasy, right?

Cleaning up after your dog means picking up his poop – every time. Don’t leave it there for someone to step on or expect other people to pick it up for you. It is your responsibility. Many hotels even supply poop bags for your convenience. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter because you should always carry some when traveling with your dog. And if your boys have a tendency to mark their territory while indoors, consider investing in bellybands. They come in all sizes and colors that will keep Fido in style, and will make accident cleanup a cinch.

Keeping a dog quiet in a hotel room can be challenging for some. All the different sounds and smells can have Cujo on high alert and in protective mode. A barking dog is a persona non grata, especially when done incessantly or at inappropriate times. It’s a good idea to have the television on to drown out outside noise. You might also consider investing in a sound soother or downloading a white noise app for your smart devices. The soothing sounds will help you get undisturbed sleep and will keep Cujo quiet at night.

Put your dog in a crate if you are going to leave him in the room while you go out to dinner. If your dog is trustworthy enough to leave in the room uncrated, then do so. Remember to make sure you leave the TV on. Again, you don’t want him to hear the neighbors talking and feel like he needs to get in on the conversation. Let’s agree on what trustworthy means. It does not mean that Rover won’t throw an alcohol filled party with Buster from room 211. No. Trustworthy means that he will not rearrange the furniture, re-do the carpet, whittle down the coffee table legs or sing an acapella version of “Who Let the Dogs Out”.

Believe it or not, some people don’t like dogs, they just don’t. Let’s not give those oddballs a reason to complain. Trust me, they will have a conniption over the tinniest inconvenience. So, for the sake of your canine travel companion, do not disturb.

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