Bodie and I at the gorgeous Chateau de Villandry, Loire Valley, France

Hello AndASmallDog followers! I know I have been quiet (except my rant about KLM losing our dog) but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been traveling. In fact, we’ve been on the road a lot of this year – first NYC, then Europe (Belgium and Holland this year), followed by a week in South Florida (the Keys and Miami). We’ve settled back home for a while until it starts again in NYC in March!

Of course, Bodie comes with us on these trips. We also took him all over France last year including the Loire Valley, Bordeaux and Burgundy areas. He got to explore the beautiful gardens at the Chateau de Villandry, see the cute castle of Chateau de Chennonceau (from the outside only), drive around the famous wine regions all over France (think his favorite part), visit the Armagnac distillery… Ooh la la! We stayed at some gorgeous pet-friendly properties including in the prestigious wine town of Puligny-Montrachet.

In Belgium, we did our own self-guided brewery tour. We lost count of how many breweries we visited but it was at least 12+! He wasn’t allowed inside the breweries but we’d leave him at our vacation rentals while we went in. Or just did a quick visit while he slept in the car (weather was cool enough for us to do that!).

Bodie enjoying the view

For the past two years, we’ve stayed on houseboats when in Amsterdam. Bodie loves (?) barking at the boats as they go by haha! We enjoy the feeling of space the houseboat gives us and its lovely to feed the passing ducks and swans out of the window (Bodie is not so keen and in fact tried to leap out of the window as I was throwing bread to ducks once. Luckily I grabbed him before he went overboard. So now I have to give him bits of bread each time so he doesn’t get jealous!)

He really doesn’t care where he is though as long as he is with us. He loooooooves being in the car and will sleep on our laps on the long journeys. I’m glad that he is so good about that!

Anyways, I am here still to assist you with your next vacation – whether you are taking your pet with you or not. AndASmallDog.com is my “pet project”. I have a couple other sites including GoYourOwnWayTravel.com (my main hub) and WineBeerTours.com (food/wine/beer travel). Feel free to check them out as well! They are the reasons why I have been quiet on here. Plus I’ve been busy helping my clients travel!

Happy Travels!

Leila Coe, CTA

Bodie and I enjoying the view - somewhere in Holland

I am writing this from the comfort of the Thalys high-speed train to Paris Nord. We departed from Amsterdam about 30 minutes ago. Our seats are in first class (Comfort 1) and are very spacious. There is free wi-fi for first class passengers which is a great bonus. The attendant has already visited our seat 3 times – offering sandwiches, drinks and coffee/tee. She even gave us a little cup of water for Bodie!

We have a Eurail pass but there is a seat supplement for the Thalys train since they are the high-speed train. A dog ticket is also required and cost 69 euros roundtrip (subject to change). A muzzle is supposed to be required, but they haven’t asked me to put it on Bodie (thankfully as he hates them!).

We are arriving in Rotterdam now, and will then be stopping in Antwerp and Brussels before arriving into Paris.

Want to take your dog to Paris? Just email me for advice and personalized assistance!

Happy Travels!

This is a guest post from Mary-Alice Pomputius, who has two blogs. Dog Jaunt offers advice about traveling with a small dog and Pet Carrier Reviews offers unbiased reviews of carriers and crates for dogs, cats and other pets. AndASmall Dog loves reading Dog Jaunt – always something new and informative!

Chloe ready for her next vacation

I write about all aspects of traveling with a small dog (our dog, Chloe, is a young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), but most of the questions I get are about taking a small dog on a plane. And most of those questions are about choosing a carrier. It’s a bewildering task: There are lots of choices, and there are lots of parameters to worry about. Nearly all of the U.S. airlines allow small dogs to travel in-cabin, and many international airlines do too, but there is no standard accepted maximum carrier size. Take a look at the “Guides” section on my blog, Dog Jaunt, and you’ll see that the maximums range from extremely small (Sun Country’s 8Hx16Lx11W) to the relatively palatial (THAI Air’s 12Hv22Lx15W). What’s a dog owner to do?

Here are five tips:

1. Assess your dog

The very first thing you need to do is measure your dog’s height. The crucial measurement is the distance from the floor to the top of your dog’s shoulders — not his head, his shoulders. Imagine that your dog has put his head down to drink water. His head and neck have bent low; the remaining body height is what you care about. That’s because your dog will spend nearly all of his time in his carrier lying down, either curled up or stretched out. He needs to be able to turn around freely in his carrier (that’s merciful, and it’s also an airline requirement), but he doesn’t need to raise his head completely to turn around or be comfortable.

That number is the minimum height that your carrier needs to be. If you’re blessed with a mini Dachshund, for example, you’ll likely be able to purchase a carrier with extra vertical room. We, however, have a dog that is 12″ tall, and so is her carrier.

Another crucial measurement is your dog’s weight. In general, a dog that weighs more than 15 lbs. is going to be too large to travel in-cabin. Some airlines have maximum weight requirements (look out, especially, for some very low international maximums), but the main problem is that a dog larger than 15 lbs. may not fit in a workable carrier and still be able to turn around freely. Chloe weighs 13 lbs., and she is at the upper limit of what works.

2. Buy a good-quality carrier

If you plan to take only one plane trip with your dog (say, for example, you hate to travel, but you need to relocate from Houston to Seattle — please note that I’m choosing two cities not serviced by the pet airline Pet Airways, which will carry your dog in-cabin for you), ignore this advice. Buy an inexpensive but complying carrier, like the small Bergan Comfort Carrier (available on Amazon), and call it good.

If you plan to travel frequently with your dog, however, don’t chintz on the carrier. Yes, a good carrier is expensive, but it will be sturdy and have features that contribute to your dog’s comfort and to your peace of mind. The features I look for include sturdy and big/numerous mesh ventilation panels, good-quality zippers, visual access to your dog from above (since your dog will spend most of your journey at your feet), patting access to your dog from above, at least one good-sized pocket, and minimal weight. A bonus feature is the ability to slip the bag over the extended handle of my own suitcase.

The features that airlines require include mesh ventilation panels on at least two sides, water-repellant fabric, padding, the ability to completely contain your dog, and sufficient room for your dog to turn around.

My choices? Chloe’s go-to carrier, the one she uses for her longest trips, is her large SturdiBag. My other favorite, and the one I use when I suspect that under-seat space is going to be tricky, is her Sleepypod Air carrier. If she weighed 10 lbs. or under, I would use her Creature Leisure Pet Pilot XL carrier (it’s a heavy carrier, though, so I wouldn’t use it if I was concerned about weight maximums). Please note that none of these carriers is a Sherpa bag, which is the original (and still most popular) soft-sided pet carrier. They have many good qualities, but their tops are solid, and I insist on being able to see Chloe from above, for both her comfort and mine.

3. Choose a carrier that flexes

The simple fact is that most pet carriers you see in use at an airport are non-complying. Only the tiniest of dogs can fit in a carrier that is 8-9 inches tall. The bag you will see most often, a classic Sherpa bag in size Medium, is 10.5 inches tall. No ticketing agent or gate agent will turn a hair over a medium Sherpa bag, and there is, in practice, a bit of leeway afforded to traveling pet owners. Don’t take it to extremes (a large Sherpa bag is too large, as is an extra-large SturdiBag), because even if you can charm your way past an agent, you still have to fit your dog in an airplane’s under-seat space. Since that space is fairly shallow, your dog’s carrier needs to fit oriented left-to-right. A carrier that is 18 inches long works; 19 inches is iffy; 20 inches is too long.

The three bags I like flex in important ways. The SturdiBag’s top and sides flex considerably, but its length is fixed at 18 inches. The Sleepypod Air can lose about an inch in height, but it is designed to (temporarily) lose up to 6 inches in length. The Creature Leisure Pet Pilot XL flexes in a different way: Zipped up, it just fits under most airplane seats, but as soon as you take off, you can pull it out from under the seat and unzip a large gusset that gives your dog a good deal of travel room during flight.

That last point is an important one to remember. Your dog needs to fit under the seat in front of you for takeoff and landing, but during the rest of the flight you can pull his carrier out into the space under your knees. With that room, the top of the SturdiBag pops back out, the ends of the Sleepypod Air flip back down, and your dog has the maximum scope his carrier allows him.

4. Choose black

Black bags look smaller. If you are the owner of a dog small enough to fit in a fully-complying carrier, buy one that’s neon orange. Live it up! The rest of us need to minimize the visual impact of our pet’s carrier.

5. Consider wheels

If you are traveling far enough that you have a layover, you’ll want to make it a long one, so that you and your dog have the chance to exit the airport, find the pet relief area, and return through security. Some pet relief areas are conveniently located and easy to find, but many are not — and sometimes the gate you arrive at is a remote one. You’ll need to hurry to achieve your goals, and wheels help. Chloe’s a small dog, but by the time I get to the pet relief area in Denver she effectively weighs about 57 lbs.

Only one of my favorite carriers (the Pet Pilot XL) has wheels, and it’s really too small for Chloe. Wheeled carriers that comfortably fit a dog Chloe’s size are typically too big to work as in-cabin carriers, unfortunately, but owners of dogs under 10 lbs. should give wheels serious consideration.

Thank you Mary-Alice for your wonderful and informative post! Please be sure to check out Dog Jaunt and Pet Carrier Reviews for more information.

Boone and Kenzie in San Francisco

Introducing Boone and Kenzie, two globe-trotting Scottish Terriers, who love to travel and share their photos and stories. These two adorable dogs have traveled all over Europe and the United States and they keep an online journal of their travels. The stories are amusing, told in first-person (first-dog?), and are about all their adventures. The highlight of the website, however, is the photos! These two dogs, one black and one white, have photos of themselves perfectly posing in front of famous landmarks all over Europe and the U.S. These two dogs have a lot of experience with traveling, so I asked them a few questions about their experiences.
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Q: Thank you Boone and Kenzie for sitting down for an interview for AndASmallDog.com! AndASmallDog.com is a website with information about traveling with a small dog – something you both know a lot about. Have you been on any trips recently?
A: Our most recent trips were to eastern Washington to see family and in the spring we went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which turns out it had more daffodils than tulips this year when we went.

Q: You traveled extensively through Europe, similar to what we did with our Jack Russell. What was your favorite place and why?
A: We enjoyed a lot of the places we travelled, however the one that sticks out in our mind the most was our stay in Milan, the first city in Europe that we visited (but Italy in general was nice).  Everyone was very friendly there.  We got to eat inside nice restaurants like Charlie Brown’s, visit dog parks all over the city, go through a castle, ride the trollies and visit the Piazza del Duomo and neighboring areas.

Boone and Kenzie in London, England

Q: You went to the UK when you traveled through Europe – did you have any problems with the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)?
A: We planned ahead pretty well to avoid the 6-month quarantine by getting our rabies shot and ISO chip, but we were forced to stay an extra day in Calais because we needed to get a sign-off from a vet for flea and tick and de-wormer medication.

Visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/index.htm for information regarding the rules of importing pets to the UK.

Q: What was your least favorite place in Europe, or the least doggie friendly place?
A: Naples was our least favorite place in Europe.  After arriving by train, we walked outside only to find garbage dumped all over the roads and flies swarming on top of the garbage. It turned out there was a garbage strike.  So we ended up leaving that same day back home. Spain also because they need a doggie train pass, otherwise the cost is prohibitive to ride them.

Q: What do you prefer: planes, trains or automobiles? My dog, Bodie, definitely prefers automobiles but also loves a good train ride.
A: We definitely prefer trains the most, especially when passing by cows.  We always tend to pay the most attention to the scenery when we see them.  We wish we could travel by rail in the United States, but sadly Amtrak doesn’t allow pet travel on their lines.

Boone and Kenzie ready for the plane

Q: When you fly, can you fit under the seat or do you ride in cargo? Do you have any tips for calming nerves when flying?
A: When we fly, we’ve only done where we fit under the seat, since we’re pretty much the max width, height and weight for in-cabin flying.  Tips for calm nerves during flight would be to go potty just before leaving and get fed treats during takeoff and landing.  Also it’s a good idea to practice being “kenneled” in the bag/kennel you’ll fly in for long amounts of time to get used to being in there.

Q: The highlight of your website has to be all the photos! Have you thought about putting a book together with all the best ones?
A: Yes we have and we look forward to doing that sometime in the future.

Q: If you could choose, where would you vacation next?
A: We’d love to visit Greece, Egypt and India next if we had our choice.  If quarantine wasn’t an issue, we’d also try visiting China, Hawaii and Australia.

(Note: Hawaii no longer requires a long quarantine. For more info, click here)

Q: Do you have any travel-related tips, stories or reviews you’d like to share?
A: We tend to point people to our FAQ, though we don’t have it properly linked from our website:  http://scottietails.com/faq.html

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Boone and Kenzie haven’t had time to update their travelogue lately due to the birth of their new family member, Brendan. ScottieTails.com is still a delightful website and the photos are definitely worth seeing. Boone and Kenzie are two cute, lucky dogs who have traveled more than most people!

Thank you to Boone and Kenzie, and to Ben and Shelby (and little Brendan), for participating in the interview. I hope to read, and see more photos, of your future adventures.

Links:

ScottieTails.com Homepage

ScottieTails.com Photo Gallery

ScottieTails.com Videos

Joey in Amsterdam

Dog-Friendly Amsterdam – My Favorite City

Amsterdam is renowned for being very dog-friendly. Any visitor can attest to this as dogs are everywhere! Many businesses including restaurants and bars will allow dogs inside. If you don’t see a “no dog” sticker at the entrance, then most likely they’ll be allowed. When in doubt – just ask – it won’t be the first time they’ve heard that question!

Dogs are not allowed in any of the major museums or churches but are allowed pretty much everywhere else. Dogs of any size are allowed on the public transportation system including trams, metro, busses and trains. Dogs are allowed for free on all types of transportation except for trains which charge a 3 euro dog day ticket fee.

Joey and I in Vondelpark, Amsterdam 2005

During the summer is the best time to take your pet as the city comes alive with outdoor terraces where your dog will be permitted even if they’re not permitted indoors. There are quite a lot of dog-friendly parks that are great for those long summer days including Vondelpark, Flevopark, Westerpark and Oosterpark amongst others. Flevopark even has a swimming area for dogs in the summer! 

You are supposed to pick-up after your dog wherever you are in Amsterdam but you rarely see dog owners doing this. I always picked up after my dog and had a number of Dutch residents thank me for doing so. It’s just not nice to leave a large lump of poo on the sidewalk (or next to the trees which is where my dog used to go). Some dog owners don’t seem to notice, or they pretend not to. But be respectful to others and just pick up after your dog.

Along the Amstel with Bodie

Dogs are seen off the leash throughout the city. I wouldn’t recommend this for visitors as your dog could easily get hit by a bicyclist, car or tram. There’s plenty of running around room in the parks where you can let them off the leash on big grassy areas, if you trust your dog enough to do so. They’ll be sure to meet other dogs in these parks as they are very popular with dog owners who let their dogs run free. Technically, I think there is a leash law in Amsterdam but no one seems to follow this rule.

Many hotels in Amsterdam, and the Netherlands, allow dogs. Most have some type of restriction – either for the weight of the animal or the number of pets allowed per room. If you need help in finding accommodations just fill out a Contact Request Form!

Amsterdam truly is a dog-friendly and dog-lover city. Perhaps I’m biased – my dog is Dutch after all – but we never had any problems with taking him around the city, or the country, with us. He especially loved riding the trams and getting to watch the world go by!

For more information or assistance with planning a trip to Amsterdam, please email me at Leila@WorldClassTvl.com or fill out a Contact Request Form.