Last Minute Christmas Gifts for a Traveling Canine #HappyAllTheWay

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As a proud fur mommy, I can’t overlook my four legged family member when it comes to holiday gift giving. Our adorable beagle mix dog was abused and neglected before my family adopted him from a shelter.

As a puppy, he required a great deal of care to nurse him back to health.

My family has grown to love him deeply and take opportunities such as Christmas to spoil him with carefully selected pet gifts.

Owning a puppy didn’t slow down our traveling lifestyle and by the time he was two, he had traveled thousands of miles and spent the night in dozens of hotel rooms, sleeping on his own blanket on the floor beside us.

He even spent his very first Christmas stuck in a hotel room because of an ice storm.

I’ve learned from our unpredictable travel delays over the years, that I shouldn’t wait until the last minute to pick up gifts for my friends, family and pet. Yet, I find myself procrastinating over and over, year after year.

This year, I decided to pick up my last minute Christmas gifts in my local Walgreens pet department. I got a few ideas from the Walgreens holiday gift guide before I visited the store and knew that they had just what I wanted for my traveling pet- plus I could earn points with my Balance Rewards to save me money on future purchases.

Walgreens had a great pet selection of pet gifts and I was able to purchase everything on my list for Vincent, though there was one thing that I regret not buying. Isn’t this dog toy the cutest? I may need to stop back and pick this one up later this week.

My husband and I knew nothing about traveling with pets when we adopted Vincent, and honestly, he doesn’t travel with us nearly as frequently as he used to. These days when we travel, we often ask a house sitter to look after him and our house. But I miss those days that he traveled with us so my husband and I have decided that we’ll begin to take more pet-friendly trips in the near future.

I narrowed down my Christmas present ideas, focusing on future travel plans.  After all, if our dog is going to travel with us, there are a few items that are a necessity.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts for a Traveling Canine

1. Choose a great toy.

You probably wouldn’t take a toddler or young child on vacation without their favorite toy- the same is true for our traveling canine.

Though Vincent loves a dog toy that squeaks, sometimes the squeakers wear out and then he loses interest in his toy. This toy is a water bottle cruncher. Once he’s completely worn out the water bottle, I can simply replace it with a new- empty plastic bottle- extending the life of the toy.

2.  Don’t forget the snacks.

I picked up a couple, carefully selected snacks. No one wants to travel in the same vehicle as a dog with bad breath, so I picked up some dental bones as well as his favorite treats.

3. Don’t leave home without your dog bath wipes.

Worse than stinky dog breath, is stinky dog. Period. When we travel with Vincent, we like to get out of the car and do some hiking. It’s nice to have wipes to clean his paws and wipe down his coat before jumping back in the car, especially if he’s taken the liberty to roll around in dusty leaves or something stinky on our hike. Yes, it has happened.

4. Calming tablets are essential.

As you can imagine, since our dog was abused, he tends to get a bit anxious from time to time. I like to keep calming tabs on hand when we travel just in case we need them.

5. A good leash is essential to pet safety- and your peace of mind.

Not only is a leash important in keeping your pet safe, this PetShoppe leash has a few other aspects that I absolutely appreciate. It’s retractable, comes equipped with a mini-flashlight and has built in doggie bags to make clean-up a cinch. I can’t wait to put this leash to use next time we travel with Vincent.

I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of pet products available at my local Walgreens pet department and the sale prices were great! The only problem I have now, is keeping Vincent out of them until Christmas. He obviously knows they are for him- which is why these items, are no longer under the tree.

Do you purchase Christmas gifts for your pet?

© 2013 – 2014, Tonya Prater. All rights reserved.