Kai and Rosie in their Hurtta Slush Suits

Used and Abused – we have been travelling with our pooches for three years now and these are some of the canine accessories that we never leave home without!

1. Road Refresher Non-Spill Water Bowl

This does what it says on the tin, meaning that your fur babies have fresh water available at all times when travelling with you in the car. Not only does it not spill, it reduces slobber and soggy spaniel ears, so we use it in the caravan too!

It is very robust. Mark did get confused about the ‘Road’ in the title and has driven over ours not once but twice with Big Blue, our 3.5 tonne van. Remarkably, the Road Refresher survived! I can’t recommend it enough. It is available in grey, pink or cream and at the time of writing was discounted on Amazon. Click here to order.

2. Outward Hound Ripstop Life Jacket

Where we go our pups go too and this includes on our Stand Up Paddleboards. If you intend to take your fur babies on the water in boats, rafts or on SUPs, one of these life preservers could prove very useful.

Our woofs are water babies. They are excellent swimmers, but if they were to tire or find themselves in rough water, the additional buoyancy will keep them afloat. The pad under the chin keeps the airways clear. The handles make it easy to lift puppy-people back aboard if they fall in or go for a swim and the bright colours are easy to spot. The Velcro and click fasteners make the life jacket very easy to put on and take off. Sizes from XS to L are available. To order, click here.

3. Hurtta Slush Combat Suit

With four fine, furry friends who share a love of mud and rolling in unmentionable things, these Slush Combat Suits have been a godsend! We also use them as an additional waterproof layer over the doggies’ Equafleeces to keep out the snow when we take our Pups on Piste. With a full-length zip on the back, the dogs just step into the suit. Poppers on the legs ensure a close fit. It is very easy to put on and take off. I believe that these are supplied by Amazon US and all of the sizes are not shown on one page, which is a pain. But click here to go through to one size and do a search on Hurtta Slush Combat Suit and Bob should be your uncle! (I have mentioned Equafleece before on this blog and we definitely don’t leave home without those either!)

4. Stainless Steel Identity Tags

I mentioned that The Pawsome Foursome are water babies. The problem with this was that sea water corroded their identity tags and they frequently fell off, got lost and had to be replaced!

We swear by these engraved stainless steel tags, which do not dangle, do not rust and are cheap enough for us to get a further set if we decide to stay in one place for a period of time, such as our winter seasonal accommodation. If you travel abroad, remember to add the international dial code for your mobile phone number. e.g. +44 (0) 1111 222222. Click here to order and don’t forget to choose the correct width for your dog’s collar size and use the ‘contact seller’ link to send over the contact details that you wish to be engraved on your tag(s).

5. Waboba Ball Bounces on Water!

This is The Fab Four’s Favourite Toy! It is made of soft rubber, so they can easily get their dainty little mouths around it to retrieve it but the fun comes as it floats and bounces across the water for them to chase. It is covered in fabric, so they do tend to chew holes in it eventually, but we just make sure that we don’t leave it with them to destroy! It is discounted on Amazon at the time of writing. Click here to order.

6. The Tranquil Pines Camping Shop – Pets go Camping

We were made very welcome at Tranquil Pines, a British-run campsite near Lake Balaton in Hungary (Click here for their Facebook page.) I must recommend their very well-thought-out online camping shop, particularly the pet travel section.

This is not only because it stocks my book (thank you so much, Sharon and Andrew!) but because it has the most comprehensive selection of pet travel essentials that we have seen anywhere. It is bound to give you gift inspiration. And if you ever stay there, you MUST try their home-made goulash. Slow-cooked over an open fire for six hours, it was the most delicious thing that I have ever tasted!

For further gift ideas for the canines and caravanners in your life, check out my Gift Guide for a few more unusual ideas. 

Please note that this blog contains Affiliate Links with Amazon. If you click through on these links and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. This does not affect your purchase or the price that you pay in any way, although if you would prefer that Amazon kept all the profit, you can always bypass the link and go direct! 

I have no connection with any manufacturer, receive no freebies or monetary compensation and base any recommendations purely on my own research.