This is the checklist I’ve created for trips with Chloe. I live for checklists. Please note that I don’t bring every item on this list on every trip. It helps me a lot, though, to collect in one place a list of every item I have, at one point or another, been grateful for or wished for. If instead you are looking for a list of items to keep in an emergency kit, or to pack for an evacuation, please check out this post.

(My husband would want you to know that he believes Chloe will never, ever need a lifejacket, but he doesn’t write the checklist. Or buy dog gear.)

Before you leave

• Make travel reservations for your dog
• Ensure hotel is pet-friendly
• Ask about mini-fridge if bringing raw food or bones
• Get health certificate from vet, if needed, within 10 days of travel
• Confirm that your copy of your dog’s shot record is current
• Ensure sufficient supply of prescription medications
• Identify good local vet and emergency vet
• Get a temporary ID tag with local address and phone number
• Print a copy of your airline’s pet policy
• Get directions to pet relief areas in airports where you have layovers

Carry-on

• A couple of meal’s worth of food (I carry 1-2 of the tiniest Natural Balance dog food rolls)
• A collapsible water bowl
• A water bottle (filled once I’m past security)
• Chloe’s leash and harness, for unfenced pet relief areas
• Poop bags
• Extra-good treats, to coax her back in her carrier en route
• Health certificate (if needed) and a current copy of Chloe’s shot record
• Prescription medications
• Picture of your dog
• A hand-held fan (a sensible suggestion from a Dog Jaunt reader)

Packing

• Carrier and messenger bag carrier
• An extra leash and harness
• Harness and seat belt clip for car travel
• Towel or seat cover for car travel (to protect dog from hot seat, and protect seat from dog)
• Window shade
• Windex Wipes (to clean nose prints off rental car windows)
• Coat/raincoat (depending on the weather)
• Lifejacket
• Safety vest or blaze orange handkerchief
• Paw booties
• Food kit (if you’re traveling abroad, be sure to research your destination’s rules about importing meat products — remember to think about the treats you’re packing, as well as the food)
• Prescription medications
• Treats and chews
• Quiet clicker
• Toys, inc. felted ball and Chuckit! Mini Launcher
• Travel crate (soft-sided or metal, depending on your pup) and 2 pads
• Loose bedding (towels/blankets)
• Crate fan
• Bedsheets, to protect the hotel’s bedspread and sofa
• Travel bowl or Gulpy
• More poop bags
• Flashlight, clip-on light for nighttime walks (a sensible reader suggests a headlamp instead, and recommends the Petzl Tikka 2 LED Headlamp, from REI)
• Dog-walking pouch (arm gusset, clip-on pouch)
• Extra Zip-loc bags
• Set of Poochie Bells door bells
• Bottle of enzymatic cleaning solution
• Paper towels
• Lint roller
• Air freshener/candle
• Bitter Yuck/Bitter Apple
• Gaffer’s tape or painters’ blue tape, to tape cables and power cords out of reach
• Grooming supplies (small bottles of shampoo and conditioner; brush and comb; pet clipper; no-tangle spray; super-absorbent towels; tub faucet adapter; eye and ear cleansing pads; nail clippers; dog hair dryer)
• Local dog-oriented guide book(s)
• First aid kit