Long Car Trips With Pets: A Practical Guide

The drive to the coast in December is a rite of passage and a genuine risk for an unrestrained animal. An unsecured 30kg dog in a crash becomes a projectile with enormous force, and a loose animal is also a distraction that causes crashes in the first place.

Restraint

The safest options are a crash-tested travel crate secured in the boot or on the back seat, or a proper harness clipped to a seatbelt anchor. A cat should always travel in a carrier, secured with a seatbelt, and never loose — a panicking cat under the pedals is a real scenario. A dog hanging out of the window risks eye injuries and can fall.

Heat is the killer

Never leave an animal in a parked car, not for five minutes at a petrol station, not in shade, not with a window cracked. Interior temperatures climb into lethal territory within minutes in South African conditions. If you are travelling alone and need to stop, use drive-through options or take the animal with you.

Check that the boot of your car actually receives air conditioning — in many bakkies and SUVs the rear airflow is poor and a dog in the back is much hotter than you are.

Plan the stops

Every two hours, for toilet, water and a leg stretch on a lead. Do not open a door on the N1 shoulder — take the offramp. Keep a lead attached before the door opens; the most common way dogs are lost on road trips is bolting from a car at an unfamiliar stop.

Motion sickness

Common in young dogs and many outgrow it. Feed a small meal three to four hours before rather than travelling on a full or completely empty stomach. Face the dog forward, keep the crate low and stable, and crack a window slightly for airflow. If it is severe, veterinary anti-nausea medication is very effective and worth getting before a long trip — sedatives are a different thing and should not be used without advice.

The packing list

Water and a bowl within reach, not in the boot. Their own food, measured. Vaccination card. A towel. Poo bags. Medication. A photo of the animal on your phone. Their own bed or blanket, which does more for settling than anything else. And confirm the accommodation is genuinely pet friendly in writing, including any size limits, before you drive nine hours.