Long(ish) car trip. Any tips?

[rushdoggie]

the dog and I love La Quinta - especially the "no pet fees". Motel Six is the same - dog friendly, no fee. Super 8's are usually $10.00 but not all Super 8 are dog friendly.

 

I like Ramada but their pet fees are $25.00 despite Travelocity claim that it was $10.00.

 

Yeah, and Ramada charges an extra $10/dog. My experience with Motel 6 was they charged a fee per dog (I lived in one for 2 weeks when we 1st moved to WA), but maybe that wasn't a corporate thing but an individual owner thing. Love LaQuinta, they usually have free breakfast with waffles too!

[Cody & Duchess]

I love La Quinta- but quick story. I always ask for a "quiet first floor room" b/c of the dogs. After a long days drive we ended up at a new La Quinta - with a beautiful lobby and a exterior elevator. I was told that we were booked into a 4th floor room- nothing lower was available. I asked if there was stairs - told no ( that is how tired I was, there is always stairs for fire purposes). We had Cody about 5 months and he was really skitish. You can image how much he appreciated an exterior elevator and watching the world drop away. After the first time I had to pick up the big boy ( 50 pnds) - he was not going into that scary elevator. Lesson learned - the next time we ended up with a room above the 1st floor - we walk the stairs.

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Doggers,

I think a $10 fee is reasonable. More duff to clean up. My experiences with Motel 6's and Day's Inns have been mixed. Often the rooms are too smal and grungy. I don't much care what kind of breakfast they offer since I'm gone before they start serving.

 

Donald McCaog

[rushdoggie]

Dear Doggers,

I think a $10 fee is reasonable. More duff to clean up. My experiences with Motel 6's and Day's Inns have been mixed. Often the rooms are too smal and grungy. I don't much care what kind of breakfast they offer since I'm gone before they start serving.

 

Donald McCaog

 

I don't mind even a $25 fee, it does get hard when you travel with 3 or 4 dogs and they charge "per dog" though. Last place I stayed for a mini mid-winter vacation they were off season and very slow so as an incentive they waived the "extra pet" fee but had they not it would have added $65/ a night ($25 for one pet, $15 for each extra pet) to the room.

 

I always remove the bedspread from the bed when we arrive so it doesn't get hair on it (even if the dogs don't get on the bed, hair seems to get on it) and then leave a $5 for the maid, figuring we left more dirt and dog hair behind than the average guest.

[SecretBC]

I also have no problem paying a pet fee -- But man does it add up quickly when it is per dog/per night. I always stay at the cheapest hotels I can find, but a $30-45/night pet fee sure does add up quickly. I usually have decent luck getting it reduced to a two dog charge vs. three, but still, it's not cheap.

 

I need to start looking into these places without a pet fee, I guess. I usually stay at Super 8, Days Inn or Travelodge, because they are all part of a rewards program I belong to. Go to enough away shows and eventually I get to stay for free. And so far, I've found that when I use my free nights, they don't make me pay a pet fee!

 

I try to pack towels or a sheet to put over the bed -- especially if the weather is foul/wet/muddy.

[The Good Shepherd]

If any of you ever need to stay in Mountainair, NM stay at the Turner Inn!!

I stayed 2 nights with 2 Bordercollies and my total bill was $109.68.

 

The drawback: the only kind of dogshows there are herding events

[Sue R]

Since I bought my small camper, I don't tend to use motels when I travel with dogs any more. But, when I did, I followed my own set of "rules".

 

These included always removing the bedspread and blanket (if there was one) and putting them where they would not get dirty/hairy. I brought my own fleecy blanket to put on the bed, one that would tend to be a "dog-hair trapper" (we always referred to it as "the dog blanket"). I'd put the water bowl (a non-spill, non-splash type) in the bathroom on a mat and, if I had anything messy to feed (like a bone), that would also be fed in the bathroom and I'd wipe up afterwards.

 

Of course, picking up poop and watching for those discarded chicken bones were part of my rules. And so was leaving a good tip, for good will.

 

I really dislike the "per dog, per night" rules - I think it's just a way of ripping off customers. You are either going to have to clean something because there might be dog hair, etc., or not, but the number of dogs or number of nights shouldn't make any difference - at least not if you travel like I did, and requested no cleaning service during multiple night stays.

 

I always had my favorite motels and found Red Roof to be the one I liked the best, just about anywhere I travelled. Ed and I travelled to Idaho from West Virginia (and back again, of course) with two dogs and never had an issue with finding a good motel that would take the dogs. Well, except for the single motel that wanted to put us in a smoking room once we arrived there, and we said we'd go elsewhere - and they changed their mind at that and let us stay in non-smoking with the dogs.

 

Happy Travels!

[Malvie]

Dear Doggers,

Mr/Ms Malvie wrote:

 

"La Quinta is pet-friendly chain-wide. The "Inns and Suites" are nicer than the "Inns" (which are the old motels) but honestly, I've never had a bad experience there. "

 

Good tip. Thanks. Red Roof is also pet-friendly. First floor rooms are okay but dog walking is often poor. Most Super 8's accept dogs but,like most new motels, they have lobby access, back door and side door which often opens into a truck parking lot. I use takeyourpet.com and google maps, then check websites for outside room entrances. They wouldn't be important if I only had one or two dogs but since I often travel with four, the outside entrances are preferable.

 

Book ahead, mention your dog and ask for ground floor near the back. Sometimes the only "pet" rooms are smoking rooms. Arrive before five and you'll have your pick of rooms for that night. Get in at nine-thirty and they'll give you what they have left.

 

Donald McCaig

 

It's "Mr." and thanks, Mr. McCaig.

 

I like La Quinta; their rewards program mounts up rapidly and their points don't expire; they usually have decent accomodations, their rooms don't stink (!), and if you are early enough and nice enough you usually get a no-smoking but pet-friendly room on the ground floor near the back.

 

They are Lucy and Ethel approved (Bessie joined the family after I stopped traveling).

[Lewis Moon]

Well, we’re back from the cabin up in the Sangre De Christos in NM…..reluctantly. We left our home in AZ on a 114 degree day and had highs at the cabin in the low 80s.

 

A little background on the “cabin”; it’s a 1500 sq ft A-frame with all the amenities that my sister and her husband, both doctors, could fit into it…all except for a TV or a computer (that’s good!). The cabin itself sits in Dalton Canyon, a small private in-holding at 7600 ft. in the National Forest north of Pecos, ~ 30 miles due east of Santa Fe. Did I mention Santa Fe is a really nice small city? We’d move there in a second if we could find jobs…and an affordable home.

 

Cerbie, our nine month old BC/Lab cross was like a little piggy in mud. From the moment he exited the car till the time we had to drag him back in he was completely off-lead. We hiked, played ball, poked around in the creek and chased loose, free range cattle out of our yard (he shows no herding instinct ). Cerb went full metal earthdog and got head to toe muddy, ate cow plop, caught butterflies and zooted around like a pinball. Thank heavens and training he had stellar manners off-lead with only one missed recall; he decided he’d rather stay and have fun with our daughter than come back to old, grumpy dad. When hiking, he always stayed within 30 or so feet when given the “with me” command and for some reason, knew instinctively to stay out of the poison ivy. Cerb also had to adjust to a host of new experiences: climbing steps with open backs, crossing wooden bridges, crossing streams, jumping 20 ft deep fissures in the lava field at Malpais …all done with one balk and a bit of coaxing. He probably got more exercise last week than he did in the entire month of June. Damn Phoenix summers….

 

The nine hour trip to and from the cabin went off completely without a hitch with Cerb curled up and sleeping in one of the rear foot wells. Thanks to everyone who gave me assurances and suggestions on traveling with the pooch.

 

Nom, nom, nom....everything tastes good!