The Fab Four have been on the road since they were a year old, so they have some excellent recommendations to share for essentials to accompany their fellow travelling hounds.
Our travels have also opened our eyes to the plight of our four-legged brothers and sisters both at home and abroad, so we have also included a selection of doggie gifts that give back.
Travel Essentials
1. Laser Engraved Identification Tag
The Pawsome Foursome LOVE these laser engraved, stainless steel agility tags. They come in different widths to fit different collar sizes, don’t get caught up when active pups run through the undergrowth, the inscription NEVER fades – and they don’t go rusty in the sea.
What information should you include on the tag?
- UK law requires a dog in a public place to have the the owner’s name and address, including postcode on the tag.
- A ‘phone number is optional, but a mobile phone number is highly recommended. For foreign travel, it is helpful to add the UK’s international dial code, which is 0044, or +44 to replace the first 0 of your phone number. (ie 0044 (0)123 456789 or +44 (0)123 456789 so that a call from a non-UK phone will be connected.
- To deter thieves;
- Putting your dog’s name on the tag is not recommended.
- You could consider putting ‘I am spayed’ or ‘I am neutered’ to deter theft for breeding.
- A second tag – if it won’t fit on one tag, a second tag engraved with your vehicle registration and ‘Please Check Local Campsites’ inscribed might help to reunite you with a lost pet on holiday.
- Collar Lights – for nocturnal walks and pee poo runs, we always use these flashing collar lights.
2. Road Refresher Non-Spill Travel Dog Bowl
Quite simply the best dog bowl that we have ever had! Although designed for travel, its other advantages mean that we now use it all the time both at home and in the car.
- While travelling, it does not splash.
- It keeps chins and dangly spaniel ears dry.
- As for sturdiness, Mark accidentally drove over ours TWICE with a 3.5T panel van – and it is still fully functional and watertight!
3. Pet First Aid Kit
The Pawly Pet First Aid Kit is a sturdy pouch containing 40 essential items, including a small and large tick remover, VetWrap cohesive bandages(they stick to themselves, not fur), latex gloves, eye wash and steri-wipes. A compact must-have for first-line treatment when hiking or travelling.
A. First Aid Kit Extras
A couple of items that we would add to this kit are either the natural, antibacterial Aniwell Active Manuka Honey Cream or Johnson’s Veterinary Antibacterial Wound Powder for minor injuries. Hibiscrub Skin Cleanser, the antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal agent used by surgeons to scrub up and sterilise before they operate is also a handy addition.
B. Ear Care
Because Cavapoos have floppy ears with closed ear canals – and they love water, we clean their ears regularly with Surosolve Ear Cleaner to prevent infection.
C. Parasites – Ticks, Worms, Mosquito Protection
There are a number diseases caused by bacteria and protozoa in Continental Europe that are rare or non-existent in the UK, so your dog is unlikely to have any natural immunity. These are transmitted by insects; such as ticks, sandflies and mosquitoes or by worms; such as heartworm or tapeworm. The diseases and carriers vary according to which part of Europe you travel to, so take advice from your vet. Also, some treatments are less effective due to drug resistance in some parasite populations.
VioVet Ltd – is one of the UK’s largest and most trusted, officially registered veterinary supplies retailers with veterinary qualified staff available to give advice. They supply many useful travel items;
i. Flea and Tick Protection
- There are many flea and tick treatments available, take advice on which is the most suitable and take care when mixing with other treatments, such as wormers.
- The Fab Four use Bravecto, a tablet which gives 12-weeks protection from fleas and ticks.
- The Seresto flea and tick collar is widely used and gives 8-months of protection.
ii. Ticks, Sandfly and Mosquito Treatments – Southern Europe
- The Scalibor collar protects against ticks, sandfly and mosquitos. It is particularly recommended for dogs travelling to Southern Europe and other areas. It is recommended to keep your dog indoors at dusk and dawn, when some insects are more likely to be active. Check out my post on How To Prevent Leishmaniasis In Your Dog When Travelling In Europe.
iii. Worming Treatments
- There are many worming treatments, again take advice from your vet as to the most suitable to target the hazards in the areas that you are visiting.
- The Fab Four use Milbemax, which is a broad-spectrum wormer. It covers tapeworm, so we ask EU vets to administer our own tablets to comply with the pet passport. This saves money and avoids the issue of adverse reaction, which Ruby experienced once after receiving a French worming treatment.
As with all medication, you must follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
4. In Car Dog Safety
To keep your pet safe, avoid points on your licence and make sure that your insurance remains valid, pets should be restrained in the car to prevent them from distracting you. The Fab Four have seatbelt harnesses to comply with the Highway Code Rule 57, which says that you can also use a pet carrier, a dog cage or dog guard.
For more information on driving with dogs, see my blog, Driving with Dogs; 10 Tips for Happy Hounds
Grooming Essentials
We groom our pooches ourselves while on the road to keep them comfortable and keep costs down. Here are the essentials from our grooming kit.
This compact kit in a convenient case, which costs £12.95, is pretty much all that we need to keep our curly Cavapoo coats pristine!
6. Nail Clippers – for your all-important Mutt’s Manicure.
7. Little Beast Solid Dog Shampoo Bar – mum and dad have gone solid to ditch the plastic and we love this all natural Little Beast shampoo bar, which leaves our coats soft, shiny and conditioned, while saving space, weight and the planet!
8. Professional De-Tangling Spray – this Pro Pooch de-matting spray cuts down on brushing time by up to 50%, which is OK by us!
9. Dog Clippers – we have just started using clippers and find them great for a quick trim that is more speedy than scissors and slices through mats. I recommend the oneisall clippers, but you also will find a great selection of silent or cordless clippers to suit all budgets here.
10. Foldable Dog Bath / Paddling Pool – we did try a collapsible paddling pool in year one to keep our hot dogs cool, but found that they used it mostly as an oversized drinking bowl! The foldable dog bath with a drainage hole is brilliant.
Cavapoo Containment Essentials
11. 50m x 1m High Plastic Safety Barrier Mesh Fencing with 10 Pins – as a compact, lightweight solution to keeping our pooches in, we have yet to find a better solution, although we did have to pin down the bottom with tent pegs to prevent Rosie from burrowing underneath! We did try the long leashes with pins, but found that they got crocheted around everything in sight and woven around each other. Blade, the Transylvanian stray whom we rescued in Romania could chew through this fencing, so it is perhaps not a solution for larger dogs, but worked well for our smaller pooches.
Essentials for Walkies
12. Collapsible Water Bowl – with the carabiner on one side, these fold flat and clip neatly on to your belt.
13. Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle – in 15 funky colours, we have the 750ml version which is light to carry and keeps both the human and doggie drinks cool for 12-hours. A must-have for all travellers.
14. Bio Degradable Poo Bags on a Roll and Zoolove Handy Dispenser – a convenient way to reduce plastic and save the environment. We recently moved over to these compact rolls and we LOVE them! Not only that, 10% of the dispenser sale price goes to a pet charity.
15. Waboba Floating Ball – The Fab Four’s favourite toy, this soft, rubber ball is easy for their little mouths to grip and it bounces and floats on water, their favourite element!
16. 10 Best Doggie Coats for Every Situation – see my blog for recommendations for keeping warm, keeping cool, keeping afloat, keeping well, keeping dry, keeping mud-free…
Doggie Pressies That Give Back
17. Guide Dogs Giftshop – World Wide Walkies is delighted to support the official Guide Dogs for the Blind Gift Shop. With every purchase you make, you’re helping blind and partially sighted people.
18. Friendship Collar – matching dog & human collar also feeds shelter dogs. We believe that every pooch & every cat should find their forever home and that every human should have a best friend with paws! So for every sale made, we donate food to shelters across the USA. Each time you purchase an item from Friendship Collar you are giving back. Thank you for helping us help them!
19. The Dogs Trust – although it is more than 40 years since the launch of the slogan ‘A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas’, unfortunately, Christmas remains one of the busiest times for this charity, which rescues and re-homes unwanted dogs. They have an online shop with great gifts, the opportunity to sponsor one of their dogs as a gift (we sponsor a Doodle called Rosie, of course!) You can even support the Trust without it costing you a penny while you shop elsewhere, such as on Amazon Smile, ebay or at your other favourite online retailers. The Dogs Trust Partners, such as Dog Friendly Holiday Cottages, Pet Plan Insurance and Pets At Home also donate some of their profits to support the charity when you use them. How great is that?!
20. Become a Guardian From A Distance, Georgia – as we research our trip to beautiful Georgia, we discovered that there are no animal protection laws. As tourism becomes more important, we have begun lobbying the UK Ambassador to Georgia to change this. Unfortunately, Georgia has many dogs in need. The non-government, not-for-profit union (association) Georgian Society for the Protection and Safety of Animals – GSPCA was set up to protect and save animals, preserve biological diversity and lobby to change the mentality to implement animal protection in Georgia. You can simply donate, although we rather like the idea of becoming a Guardian from a Distance to a specific dog, which also gives you an opportunity to physically adopt that dog or have a say in its adoption by a third person.
21. Barking Mad Dog Rescue Romania – a charity who rescue dogs in Romania. If you have been following my blog, you will know that this country and its dogs are close to our hearts; particularly since we came home with a fifth dog who we rescued during our travels there! BMDR Dog Goodies is their online shop which supplies all kinds of goodies. You can also help by fundraising, adopting, fostering or sponsoring a dog.
For Further Gift Inspiration
Thank you for reading!
I hope that has given you some ideas. For further inspiration, please see my Gift section, where you will find my Caravan Christmas List, Five of the Best – Caravan Stocking Fillers and 15 Best Travel Gifts That Are Also Kind To The Planet – along with lots more Pawsome Puppy Presents!
If you found this post useful, please like or share my blog!
To Get Quick, Free Delivery
Many of the listed items are supplied by Amazon. Amazon Prime offers many benefits, including Unlimited Streaming of Movies, TV, Music, ebooks and magazines – as well as secure, unlimited photo storage and speedy delivery of goods to destinations around the world. An Amazon Prime subscription can be shared with one other adult in your household. Click here to see full details of the Prime benefits and here for a free, 30-day trial.
Affiliate Disclosure
This blog contains some affiliate links. If you click on these and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission, which helps me to cover the costs of keeping my blog online. It does not affect your purchase or the price you pay in any way.
To see a full list of my affiliate suppliers and the reason why I selected them, please click here.
World Wide Walkies 
One thought on “21 Best Gifts for the Travelling Dog UPDATED FOR 2022”