Two things decide how holiday car travel goes. Restraint, because an unsecured pet in a crash becomes a projectile and a loose pet in a minor bump becomes a bite risk to whoever reaches for them. And preparation, because most travel sickness and most panic can be reduced in the two weeks before you leave rather than on the day.
What South Surrey travel actually looks like in December
The journeys from here tend to be one of three kinds, and they fail in different ways. There is the two-hour family run into the valley or over to the island, where the risk is restraint and an overheated or chilled pet. There is the border crossing, where the risk is a long stationary queue with the engine off. And there is the ferry, where you choose between leaving your pet in the vehicle and taking them up to a designated pet area.
All three come with winter weather, early darkness and a car packed to the roof, which is exactly when the dog bed gets left behind and the carrier ends up on top of the luggage.
Restraint, which is the part that matters most
In a highway-speed impact, an unrestrained large dog carries enough force to injure the people in front of them seriously. That is the blunt version. The quieter version is that even a hard stop sends a pet into a seat back or a windshield, and a frightened, hurt animal in a confined space will bite the person trying to help.
For cats and small pets: a hard-sided carrier, secured. A carrier resting on a seat is luggage, not restraint. Run the seatbelt through the handle or around the body of the carrier so it cannot slide or tip, and put it on the floor behind a front seat or on a rear seat, never in the front where an airbag can deploy into it. Cover it partially so your cat has somewhere to hide but still gets air.
For dogs: a harness independently certified by the Center for Pet Safety, not merely one whose box says crash tested, plus a short tether, or a secured crate. There is no industry standard behind the phrase crash tested, and independent testing has failed most products that use it. The harness clips to a seatbelt with a tether short enough that your dog cannot reach the front seats or get a leg over the edge. A soft carrier or a basket is not restraint. If you use a crate, it has to be anchored, because an unanchored crate in a crash is simply a larger projectile.
Not the front seat, and not a lap. Airbags deploy with enough force to kill a dog sitting in front of one, and a dog on a driver’s lap is both a restraint failure and a visibility problem.
Not the open bed of a truck, tethered or not.
Heads inside. A head out of a moving window takes grit, insects and road debris directly into the eyes, and ear damage from sustained wind is real. Open the window a few inches, not enough for a head.
The two weeks before, which does more than anything on the day
Most cats arrive at a car already frightened, because the carrier only ever comes out before something unwelcome. That association is worth undoing, and a couple of weeks is enough to make a real difference.
- Leave the carrier out as furniture. Door off or tied open, a familiar blanket inside, meals fed in it. The goal is a cat who sleeps in it by choice.
- Then add the car without going anywhere. Carrier in the car, engine off, a few minutes, back inside. Then engine running. Then to the end of the road and back.
- Do the same with a dog who only travels to come here. Short trips to somewhere good break the pattern.
- Practise the harness at home before it is used in a car, so the novelty is not happening at speed.
- Feed a light meal three to four hours before departure, not immediately before and not after a long fast.
- Sort out the identification before you load the car. A legible tag with a number someone can call, and a microchip whose registry entry still has your current phone on it. We will happily scan a chip during any appointment to confirm it reads, but updating the registry record itself is something only you can do. The scenario this is for is a leash slipping at a rest stop two hours from home. If you are crossing into the United States the chip is not just insurance, it is an entry requirement, and it needs to be an ISO-standard chip so a border scanner can read it. If your pet does get out, stay at the spot rather than chasing, phone the chip registry to flag them as lost, and contact the local shelter and animal control for wherever you are rather than for home.
- Bring a photograph on paper, not only on a phone.
Travel sickness, and what actually helps
Most motion sickness in pets is young animals whose balance organs are still maturing, and many grow out of it. Some of it is not sickness at all but anxiety, and the two look similar from the driver’s seat: drooling, lip-smacking, yawning, whining, restlessness, then vomiting.
What helps, in order of how much difference it makes: facing forward rather than sideways, because a pet watching the world slide past sideways gets worse; a view of the horizon rather than of a seat back; fresh air and a cooler cabin; smooth driving and fewer sharp corners; a light meal rather than an empty or full stomach; and breaks every two hours.
Advice splits here. Withholding food for eight to twelve hours is the long-standing recommendation and suits some pets; others do better on a light meal, because a completely empty stomach can bring up bile instead. If one approach has not worked, the other is worth trying. If your pet is reliably sick in a car and the above has not fixed it, that is worth a conversation with us before you travel rather than after, because there is more that can be done and it works better arranged in advance.
Border queues, ferries and the stationary car
A stationary car is the part people underestimate. With the engine off, the cabin follows the outside temperature quickly in either direction, and on a December afternoon in a line of traffic it gets cold rather than hot. A short-coated dog, a small pet in a carrier or an older animal feels that first.
If you are driving into the United States, three requirements now apply to every dog, including by land and including service dogs: the dog must be at least six months old, must have an ISO-standard microchip, and must have a submitted CDC import form with the receipt carried to the border. The age rule is the one that ruins holidays, because a four-month-old puppy will be turned back however good the rest of the paperwork is. Keep it all accessible rather than buried, keep your pet restrained while you are stopped, and run the engine periodically to keep the heat up in a long queue.
On most major BC Ferries routes you now have a choice: leave your pet in the vehicle, or take a leashed dog on a lead no longer than a metre, or a cat in a carrier, up to a designated indoor or outer-deck pet area and stay with them. What you cannot do is sit in your car on an enclosed vehicle deck. Pet areas vary by vessel, so check yours before you sail.
Carry more water than you expect to need, a bowl that does not tip, poop bags, a spare towel, a spare leash, and a plastic bag for the inevitable.
If something goes wrong on the road
If there has been a collision, approach carefully: cover the head with a towel to reduce the bite risk, keep your face away, support the body rather than lifting under the belly, and get to the nearest open emergency veterinary hospital. Even the calmest family dog in pain may bite.
Phone us first and we will get you in if your pet is unwell on the morning of a trip, because a long drive is the wrong place to find out. Our diagnostics team is the right call for a pet who has been vomiting repeatedly in a car and has not settled once stopped, since that is not always travel sickness. Our medical services team handles the pre-travel check, and our wellness services team can sort out parasite prevention and the chip at the same visit.
We are open 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Monday to Thursday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Friday, and 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. People leave early and arrive late, so the windows to plan around are before eight in the morning and after we close, plus the whole of a weekend evening. If your pet is injured in a vehicle, is in obvious pain, has laboured breathing, or is vomiting repeatedly and becoming flat during those hours, go to the nearest open emergency veterinary hospital and phone ahead before you leave. Before any long trip it is worth saving the number of an emergency hospital near your destination, not just ours.
Our guide to the ten-minute garage audit covers what else is sitting where you park, which is worth ten minutes before a winter of coming and going.
Questions we are asked
Is a seatbelt harness really better than a crate?
Both work if they are done properly, and both fail if they are not. A securely anchored, appropriately sized crate is excellent and is the better option for a dog who chews a tether or cannot settle. A certified harness on a short tether is easier in a packed car. What does not work is an unanchored crate, a soft carrier, a harness not designed for vehicle use, or a tether long enough to let your dog reach the front. If you are choosing, bring the options to a visit and we will help you fit it.
My cat howls the entire journey. Is she in pain?
Usually not pain, usually fear, and the vocalizing is often worst in the first twenty minutes. The things that help are a carrier she already likes, partial covering so she can hide, keeping her low and stable rather than on a seat where she slides, and not talking to her constantly, which tends to keep her activated. If it is severe every time, come and talk to us ahead of the trip, because there is more available than endurance.
Can I let my dog loose in the back of the SUV with a cargo barrier?
A barrier protects the people in the car, which is worth something, but it does not protect your dog. In a crash an unrestrained dog behind a barrier still travels at the speed of the vehicle into whatever stops them. If the cargo area is where your dog travels, anchor a crate back there rather than leaving them loose.
Should I withhold food before a long drive?
Either a light meal three to four hours ahead or a longer fast, depending on your pet. The traditional advice is to withhold food for eight to twelve hours; some pets do better on a small meal, because an empty stomach can produce bile instead. What to avoid is a full meal immediately before departure, and feeding in a moving vehicle. Water should stay available at stops.
How often should we stop?
Every two hours as a working rule, more often for puppies, older pets and anyone who has had a recent procedure. At each stop: leash on before the door opens, a short walk on grass, water offered, and a look at your pet rather than just a toilet break. Keep the leash on in rest areas even if your dog is reliable at home, because an unfamiliar place plus a highway is the combination that loses pets.
Is it safe to leave my pet in the car in winter while I run in somewhere?
Briefly and with judgement, which is a different answer from the summer one. A parked car in winter loses heat quickly once the engine is off, and a short-coated dog, a small pet or an older animal gets cold faster than you would expect. Leaving the engine running to keep the heat on is not a safe substitute, because it is both a theft risk and an exhaust risk if anything is blocked. If the stop is longer than a few minutes, take them with you or leave them at home.
We are flying rather than driving. Is that a different conversation?
Quite a different one, and it needs more lead time. Airline crate requirements, health paperwork, breed restrictions and destination rules all take weeks rather than days, and short-nosed breeds face additional restrictions with many carriers. Start that conversation with us well before you book, because some of it cannot be arranged at short notice.
Speak to the team at Peace Arch Veterinary Hospital
If you are travelling with your pet this season and want the restraint, the chip and the pre-travel check sorted out first, phone us and book a visit. Outside our hours, or on the road, go to the nearest open emergency veterinary hospital and phone ahead before you leave.
Published by the team at Peace Arch Veterinary Hospital.
This article is educational in nature and is not a replacement for hands-on assessment of your own pet by a veterinarian.
Peace Arch Veterinary Hospital
124-1959 152 St, Surrey, BC V4A 9E3
Phone: (604) 536-3131
Hours: Monday to Thursday 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM; Friday 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM