Dog Jaunt's new pet travel book is now out! Buy it, or learn more about it here. And please review it on Amazon!

Flying with your small dog? 5 tips to help you choose a good in-cabin carrier

“I write about all aspects of traveling with a small dog (our dog, Chloe, is a young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), but most of the questions I get are about taking a small dog on a plane. And most of those questions are about choosing a carrier. It’s a bewildering task: There are lots of choices, and there are lots of parameters to worry about. Nearly all of the U.S. airlines allow small dogs to travel in-cabin, and many international airlines do too, but there is no standard accepted maximum carrier size. Take a look at the “Guides” section on my blog, Dog Jaunt, and you’ll see that the maximums range from extremely small (Sun Country’s 8Hx16Lx11W) to the relatively palatial (THAI Air’s 12Hv22Lx15W). What’s a dog owner to do?”

The rest of this article — my five tips for choosing a good in-cabin carrier for your small dog — appeared today on And A Small Dog, my friend Leila Coe’s blog. Leila is the Orlando Travel with Pets Examiner for Examiner.com, and she’s a travel agent who specializes in (among other things) arranging dog-friendly vacations. Please check out my guest post (thanks, Leila!) and Leila’s terrific site and blog.

Chloe’s Clicks: Dog travel links we liked this week

Photo by Disney

The hottest pet travel news this week is from the happiest place on earth: A new Best Friends Pet Resort, located near Disneyworld (in Lake Buena Vista, across from the Port Orleans Resort) and meant to board dogs and other pets accompanying visitors to the Magic Kingdom, is now taking reservations for stays starting on August 27, 2010. The new facility is enormous (over 50,000 square feet, including “17,000 square feet of air-conditioned indoor space, 10,000 square feet of covered outdoor runs and play areas, and an expansive private dog park”) and will offer both day care and overnight boarding. The amenities have to be read to be believed; I’ll just mention that they include ice cream treats, orthopedic bedding, and bedtime stories. Please note that this facility will ultimately replace the five kennels that are currently open at Disneyworld.

Elsewhere in the U.S., The Philly Dog reported that Red Hook Café, located near Philadelphia’s South Street, is dog-friendly; Ours for a Lifetime posted a fun article, with lots of pictures, about dog-friendly things to do in beautiful Healdsburg, CA; and Brad Kauffman posted a useful article about dog-friendly beaches (and nearby hotels) in the Charleston, SC area. One state away, CLT Blog wrote a post about dog-friendly summer getaway ideas within driving distance of Charlotte, NC. Chatting with a new friend at TBEX, the travel bloggers’ conference held last week in NYC, I learned about a beautiful — and dog-friendly — hotel in Manhattan’s East Village. The Cooper Square Hotel, in addition to welcoming dogs, has a library for lounging and quiet reading, and a terrific Italian restaurant (Faustina’s).

Elsewhere in the world, HotelsIreland Blog posted an article about dog-friendly vacation accommodations around Ireland, and My Dog: Life with Penny reported that Yarra Bend Park, near Melbourne, Australia, now has features that make it a dog-friendly place to relax. Leila Coe, the blogger behind And a Small Dog and a travel agent focusing on travelers with dogs, listed the many places around the world she’s taken her dog Bodie. I knew she’d traveled a lot with him, but it’s inspirational to see her list, and to think about arranging a trip of your own to Amsterdam, perhaps, or Barcelona. Check it out!

While you’re doing all this traveling, keep safety in mind. FindAVet.us posted an article listing what a good first aid kit for your dog should include, and Take Paws‘ Rod Burkert, guest-posting on Will My Dog Hate Me?, wrote a really useful article describing the car restraints he’s used for his two big dogs in the Go Pet Friendly SUV, and in the Winnebago he and his wife Amy are driving around the country.

Photo Friday: Dog days of summer (in June)

I promise that this is the last time you’ll hear me complain about the heat and humidity in New York City last week. I see you yawning politely, and wishing I’d get over it already. After a few days back in Seattle, I am over it, mostly — but this picture reminds me of the horror, and of one dog’s solution. I was walking with Chloe and a friend in Riverside Park, and we passed the dog run (at about the latitude of W. 87th Street) just as one of this lady’s black Labs hopped in the run’s tub of water and laid down. Sure wish there had been an unoccupied tub of water on the promenade….

Direct action by a hot, hot dog

Please send me links to your favorite dog travel photos! They’ll get listed below, for everyone to click on and view. Here’s how it works:

  1. Every Friday, I’ll put up a post like this one, sometime during the morning (Pacific time).
  2. If you have a blog or a website, post a dog travel photo on your site on Friday and link back here to the current week’s “Photo Friday” post so that your readers can see other great dog travel photos. Please take a moment to make sure that you are linking directly to your photo post instead of your homepage.
  3. If you don’t have a blog or a website, simply post your photo to Flickr (or Facebook, Twitpic, etc.).
  4. Using the inlinkz button below, paste in the link to your photo or your blog post. That way, Dog Jaunt will link back to you. Please include a few words in the “Name” box describing where you took the photo (in this case, “Name” refers to the name of your photo, not your name!).
  5. Alternatively, heck, just e-mail me your picture ([email protected]) and I’ll post it for you!

Keeping your dog cool this summer: Chloe’s Zentek jacket

I’ve met Janice Kajanoff, owner of Zentek, and chatted with her about her company’s products and plans while she fitted Chloe with her new jacket (yes, each is tailored to fit, and since I bought Chloe’s jacket when she was a puppy, we had to have two fittings). I admire Janice’s moxie and I’ve enjoyed our chats — I don’t think that’s affected what I think of her products, but you should know about the connection.

Just over a year ago, I wrote a quick post about Chloe’s new crate pad, made by a Seattle company out of Comfortemp® fabric, a material impregnated with crystals that, according to Zentek, “interactively react to changing body or outside temperatures. Depending on the individual situation or activity level they absorb excess body heat and store it until it is needed again. This keeps your dog in the comfort zone longer.” Chloe seemed to seek it out during hot weather, which seemed to support Zentek’s claims.

Chloe, wearing Zentek, in a pensive mood (the extra petticoat on the end of the jacket was added when she grew)

Chloe also has a jacket from Zentek, and although it’s seen a lot of use in cold and rainy weather, I hadn’t really used it in hot weather before last week. I’m not sure why — perhaps because it’s such an unlikely-looking solution for hot weather. I own a couple of those neck wraps that you soak in water, and that technology makes sense to me. The stored water is released over time, and cools your neck — no mystery there. The Zentek jacket, though, is just fabric, and thick fabric at that, since the jacket is lined. No matter how much I read about how special this particular fabric is, it seemed wrong to wrap up my dog before taking her into the heat.

We spent last week in New York, and I knew ahead of time it was going to be hot and humid, so I packed the Zentek jacket. As you know from previous posts, we went on several long walks while we were there. As you also know, the weather in NYC was murderous, especially for a family that’s been enjoying a very cool Seattle spring. If there was ever a moment for a temperature-regulating jacket, this was it.

It was a hit. Chloe was thirsty from time to time, but a few sips contented her. She panted, but not so much that I was worried. As a test, we took her for a couple of shorter walks without the jacket, and the difference was noticeable. I don’t carry an ear thermometer with me, so I can’t give you precise comparisons, but we noticed that when she wasn’t wearing the jacket, Chloe stopped very frequently for water, drank a lot at each stop, and panted heavily.

My only complaint about the jacket is that because it has to cover her chest entirely, it fights a bit with her front-fastening harness. Zentek constructed it with a slot in front through which the harness clip pokes for attachment to Chloe’s leash, but the slot is small, and when the leash is tugged, the harness tends to shift the coat to one side or the other. It’s not a tragic flaw, and Chloe’s chest remains covered throughout, but it’s an imperfection. Otherwise, the coat is extremely well designed and constructed. It also looks nice — very clean and modern.

I haven’t tried any other dog cooling coats or vests on Chloe, so I can’t tell you what I think of the competition. I was very happy to have the coat we have during this cruel week.

NYC dog-friendly restaurant: The taqueria at La Esquina

I heard about La Esquina, a NoLIta eatery with three faces (Brasserie, Café and Taqueria), from another blogger (the great Everywhereist, who makes me laugh, and will likely make you laugh too) and thought what the heck — it’s exclusive, but no harm trying. So I called, I got reservations at the Brasserie (I’m sure it was my charm that did it, and not the fact that we were willing to eat early on a World Cup night), and we had dinner there with New York friends on Saturday. It was delicious — ditto everything Geraldine said in her review — and not the tiniest, tiniest bit snooty. The bouncer and the doorkeeper with the walkie-talkie both smiled sweetly at us, our server was endlessly patient and informative, the other patrons were not so astonishingly beautiful that I wished I’d had a chance to change out of my sweaty sundress and Keen flip-flops before dinnertime (I mean, I wished it, but it didn’t ruin the evening for me). It was a great meal.

Photo by A. Strakey

The Brasserie is, however, indoors, and that’s not good for travelers with dogs. Never fear. The street-level taqueria (the Brasserie is in the basement, and the café is around the corner) serves the same I-can’t-eat-them-fast-enough soft tacos that we had, and it has a walk-up counter, pictured above.

There are a handful of seats inside (again, off-limits to dog owners), but there are also some outside tables and a nice little park just across the street. Take your tacos to a table or a park bench and soak up the sun and the deliciousness.

Taqueria at La Esquina
114 Kenmare Street
New York, NY 10012
T: 646-613-7100
Taqueria open 12 pm to 2 am

NYC dog-friendly restaurant: Shake Shack (Madison Square)

There are three Shake Shacks in New York City (two more are about to open), and a new one in Miami, but the original Shake Shack was — and still is — a walk-up stand in Madison Square. We went there a few nights ago, after a day of cruel and unusual heat, for an al fresco dinner with Chloe. We arrived at about 8:30 pm and added ourselves to the end of a long line (maybe 170 people ahead of us? long, I tell you). Although it moved slowly, we didn’t mind. The day’s heat mellowed into a mild evening, there was darned good live music coming from another corner of the park, and the people-watching was first-rate.

The Shack in the distance

And the payoff, of course, was a really outstanding Shack Burger, seriously good crinkly fries, and what I know from other visits to be a divine vanilla shake (my husband chose caramel), except that I waited to drink it until last and it had mostly melted. But believe me, the Shake Shack shake is a thing of beauty. Please note that there are plenty of non-burger options, and the menu (PDF) even includes The Pooch-ini, a chilly treat for dogs. (Chloe did not have one. It’s about as big as she is, and last week she had some sort of GI meltdown that had us feeding her, essentially, Saltines. We feared the consequences.)

Chloe snoozed while we ate (yep, night had fallen by the time we got our food). Note that the line is still there. When we left at about 10:30, it wasn't much shorter than when we arrived.

Terrible picture, beautiful building

There were fireflies — the first we’ve seen this year. There was a view of the Empire State Building, black-tie elegant in its nighttime lighting. There was, at the very top of the 304 Park building, a startling statue (alas, temporary) of a human figure silhouetted against the sky (thinking of jumping? watching us? simply looking out over the other rooftops?). It was a fine night.

Tip we picked up from the couple ahead of us: If there are two of you waiting, send one of you through the very short B-Line (drinks and shakes only) for a beer to sip while you’re waiting in the main line for food.

Shake Shack
Madison Square Park (SE corner)
New York, NY 10010
T: 212-889-6600
Open daily 11 am to 11 pm

Chloe’s Clicks: Dog travel links we liked this week

For a change, I’ll go counter-clockwise around the U.S. this week, then head abroad. Let’s start with lovely Sanibel Island in Florida (still lovely, despite the adjectives-fail-me oil spill). Smart Poodle Publishing posted a fun article about renting a beach cottage on Sanibel — lots of pics, and a hearty recommendation for Beachview Cottages.

Heading west, Bukisa posted a short, helpful list of dog-friendly restaurants in Denver, CO. Keep going, and you end up in California: I learned this week, via a now-forgotten link, that The Lodge at Tiburon is dog-friendly. Why not take your dog on the ferry to Tiburon from San Francisco (fun trip, outstanding views) and spend the night? This week, by the way, the San Francisco Chronicle posted an article about pet travel that includes some useful advice and links. It fails to mention Dog Jaunt, but I’m a big-hearted person and can overlook that kind of mistake (the companies it does mention are all good resources).

Leaving the coast for the mountains, Travel Oregon Blog posted a really tempting article about a dog-friendly getaway at The Lodge at Suttle Lake, in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains (about 45 minutes from Bend).

Changing coasts, Me and My Dogs in Halifax, Nova Scotia reports that the excellent golf course in Belgrade Lakes, Maine (about 1.5 hours north of Portland) is dog-friendly. Figuring out the distance from Portland to Belgrade Lakes, I learned that “On Golden Pond” was filmed in Belgrade Lakes, so you know that it’s beautiful countryside there too.

This week’s last link takes you across the world to India, and to www.petvacations.in, which — like our own GoPetFriendly.com or petswelcome.com or PetTravel.com — helps you locate dog-friendly hotels, but in this case across the Indian subcontinent. It also offers help with pet relocations for owners moving to or from India.

Photo Friday: Wine tasting in Woodinville, WA

Well, the fact is, we only went to one winery, but I liked the sound of all those Ws. I’ve long known about the wine country around Woodinville (about a half hour northeast of Seattle, if the traffic’s in your favor), but I’d never visited any of the wineries or tasting rooms until this past Friday, when we zipped out to taste some wines from De Lille Cellars. They were excellent, no surprise there, but it was odd to be in a Seattle-style wine country — there were roundabouts (hints of Burgundy) and plenty of wine barrel furniture (hints of Napa), but the tasting rooms were all grouped together and lined up in strip malls (hints of huh?! though it is, presumably, convenient). The country around the tasting rooms is pretty, so keep the faith as you exit I-405 and plod past car dealerships.

De Lille’s tasting room is dog-friendly during the week, but not on the weekends (when it’s more crowded). Please note that it’s located about a quarter-mile north of the winery itself, on the left, just before the roundabout. If you miss it, as we did, circle the roundabout and try again from the other direction.

Chloe, husband, and a nice Roussanne

Please send me links to your favorite dog travel photos! They’ll get listed below, for everyone to click on and view. Here’s how it works:

  1. Every Friday, I’ll put up a post like this one, sometime during the morning (Pacific time).
  2. If you have a blog or a website, post a dog travel photo on your site on Friday and link back here to the current week’s “Photo Friday” post so that your readers can see other great dog travel photos. Please take a moment to make sure that you are linking directly to your photo post instead of your homepage.
  3. If you don’t have a blog or a website, simply post your photo to Flickr (or Facebook, Twitpic, etc.).
  4. Using the inlinkz button below, paste in the link to your photo or your blog post. That way, Dog Jaunt will link back to you. Please include a few words in the “Name” box describing where you took the photo (in this case, “Name” refers to the name of your photo, not your name!).
  5. Alternatively, heck, just e-mail me your picture ([email protected]) and I’ll post it for you!

Dog jaunt: NYC’s Carl Schurz Park (via City Walks for Dogs)

It’s hot and muggy in New York right now — if we didn’t have a dog, we’d find a bunch of reasons not to leave the hotel — but even the nearly-perfect Chloe requires at least one walk a day. On the bright side, I’d been looking forward to trying some of the suggested routes in City Walks with Dogs: New York.

You’ve probably seen the City Walks series, published by Chronicle Books — each is a collection of fifty 4″ x 5″ flashcards with a route on one side and a descriptive paragraph on the other, and they’re available for major cities across the U.S. and around the world (also check out Village Walks, available for Tuscany, Provence and Ireland). Chronicle Books added several City Walks with Kids to the roster (New York, London, Paris, San Francisco), and last year they published their first two City Walks with Dogs (New York and San Francisco).

The fifty suggested New York walks with dogs are sprinkled around the boroughs, though the majority are in Manhattan and Brooklyn. There are three close to our hotel, and we chose to do #16. Called the “Upper East Side,” it starts at 86th and Lexington and takes you to Carl Schurz Park (and then back, by a slightly different route). Along the way, it pointed out a couple of dog-friendly places to snack, a high-end pet store, and a dog park. We liked it because the flashcard is small and manageable — easier to consult, even, than an iPhone app — and it took us on a well-considered route to a cool place.

Carl Schurz Park is a beautiful, large park on the East River, with lots of shady paths and a really impressive number of operational drinking fountains (hey, it was hot — shade and water were my obsessions).

The water bowl is mine. All mine.

The planting is lovely, and there are great river views from the esplanade (of the Kennedy Bridge and the Hell Gate Bridge in one direction, and Roosevelt Island and the Queensboro Bridge in the other). People were picnicking and, dear God, sunbathing; it was a comfortable, friendly place to be and I’d return in a heartbeat.

At Carl Schurz Park, looking north (well, you are, anyway; Chloe and I were looking south)

The park is also home to Gracie Mansion, which is hidden from nearly every angle, and a small (a very small) dog park for small dogs. There is a second dog run for big dogs, but we didn’t happen to walk by it. Leashed dogs are allowed in the park, except for some marked patches of lawn.

The very small small-dog area -- strangely barren, but fenced, and with a great view

One walk down, forty-nine to go. I think our next choice will be either a walk along Roosevelt Island’s esplanade (#17) or one that winds around the north end of Central Park (#18). I’ve already ordered the San Francisco version, for our next trip to the Bay Area.

Amazon links:
City Walks with Dogs: New York
City Walks with Dogs: San Francisco

NYC dog-friendly hotel: Hotel Wales

Hotel Wales (corner of 92nd and Madison)

We first learned about the Hotel Wales in the years B.C. (Before Chloe), from actor friends who always stay there when they visit New York. It’s on the Upper East Side, in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood, with great access to Central Park and some of the city’s most wonderful museums. It’s also affordable, which is crucial even for well-established actors. Get yourself on the hotel’s e-mail list, and you’ll be offered really remarkable deals (right now, for instance, we’re paying $168 a night).

What you’ll find is a small, European-style hotel with tiny rooms, two good in-house restaurants, and friendly service. Complimentary breakfast (nothing to write home about — mediocre bagels and muffins, yogurt, coffee, OJ) is served every morning on the mezzanine level, which also houses the (tiny) fitness center and business center (computers and a printer). There is a rooftop terrace, which I’m avoiding right now because it’s hot and soggily humid in New York this week.

Our room this time is slightly smaller than the ones I’ve had in the past, but they’re all petite. It’s attractive and clean, and the bathroom is spiffy (the hotel was recently renovated, and you can tell that they focused on the bathrooms). Try to get a room on the exterior, not on the ventilation shaft. I’ve eaten several times at Sarabeth’s, one of the hotel’s restaurants (and purveyors of the jams and preserves you may have seen in high-end groceries) — good food, huge breakfasts, don’t miss the Four Flowers Juice — and last night we had a superb dinner at Paola’s, the other on-site restaurant. The duck breast (seared, with whole-grain risotto, house-made apricot mustard and black truffle vinaigrette) knocked me sideways, but the whole meal was delicious. Please note that you can get to Sarabeth’s without leaving the hotel, which is nice to know when it’s bucketing rain.

Anyway, we love it here. Your first thought will likely be that the rooms are too small and, well, European (also, the hotel charges a daily fee for wi-fi, which is lame). I suspect that you, like me, will overlook those drawbacks when you think of the hotel’s location and price (and the bathrooms!). There is a one-time, non-refundable $75 pet fee.