Driving to Florida with my dog..
 

I am thinking about my move the The Villages and am a bit anxious about driving three or four days with my Boston Terrier. I have never driven more than a couple of hours in the car with her. Any experiences with long drives with your dog would be appreciated.

Bathe him real well ( for you ) & Valium ( for the dog )

Like you, I'll be driving to TV with my older sheltie for about 2 days. Plan to talk with my vet about sedation and also plan to stop often to exercise her. Also have to find a motel that accepts dogs which I think is more acceptable in the south then it is here here in the north.

Or the other way around , lol
Seriously, I will have the same problem later this year with 2 dogs---50 mg of trazadone works wonders

How is just a short drive. Our old dog would vomit just looking at a car.

We have driven many time from Pa to the Villages with our dog. Straight through 16 hours. Stopped about every other rest area to let him do hid business. He slept most of the way and had no problems. When he was awake he just sat looking out the windows. There are many hotels that accept dog, many charge a small addition fee. Google to find them. BTW he weights 16 lbs.

When I last drove down I put them in a doggie car seat. It looks like a dog bed. Goes in the back seat. They are fastened in. It is high so they can see out. But the seat belt and padding is there incase of a accident.

Made lots of trips from NJ to Florida over the past 10 years with our 2 mini pins. Once the car was in constant motion they slept. We usually drove straight through and stopped at each states welcome center for them to do their stuff and walk a little. We usually started out our trip in the very early morning so they always started out half asleep. Sorry but I dont believe in drugging them unless it it TOTALLY necessary.A good soft dog bed helped them also.

Dog friendly.com, bringfido.com. We travel at least once a year with our 2 dogs. Car seats& Benadryl for the one that gets carsick. Lots of good advice on the web. Just be sure they are well secured on leashes before opening car door at rest stops.

We drove straight thru from Northern VA in December. Stopped for gas 4-5 times and that's when she got out to do her business.

Our dog loves riding in the car or the golf cart. He even went cross country with us from Massachusetts to California and back down to Florida when we bought here. We then returned to Massachusetts. He never gets upset or sick riding. He just likes being where we are. Despite his begging we never let him drive.

We drove from CA to FL wh.en we moved here. My wife and I in the lead car with our black lab, and my mom in her car with her Rottweiler. We stopped every two hours or so at a rest stop to let the dogs out and stretch our legs, staying at least 15-30 minutes. We used pet friendly places for the night and drove no more than about six to eight hours per day. Since we used a chain motel with the same room layout, it got so the dogs would go to the same place in every room to sleep. Never a problem with them.

For the last 7 years we have driven from northern Wisconsin to our properties in The Villages 3 X's a year
with our 2 dogs. In those 7 years we never had one negative experience with our dogs, they love that trip !
Google pet-friendly motels with dog park areas nearby on your route, also all the rest stops have pet exercise areas to accommodate travelers. Make sure you carry a current vaccination record of your dog in the glove box, and most important, attach an ID tag to the collar of your dog.
FYI~ A dog can sense it's owners anxieties, so relax and safe travels.

Thanks to everyone for your advice. It's comforting to know that others have been in the same boat and survived.