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Travel Tails on PetLifeRadio.comSusan Sims, host of Travel Tails

Susan Sims
Pet Travel Expert
Publisher Fido Friendly Magazine

Ramp4Paws

Nicholas Sveslosky, host of Travel Tails..........Ramp4Paws

Nicholas Sveslosky.......................Ramp4Paws
Pet Travel Expert
Editor Fido Friendly Magazine...................



Travel Accessories for Fido are an important facet to remember when traveling with your dog. On today’s show, Editor and Publisher of Fido Friendly magazine, Nicholas Sveslosky and Susan Sims, talk with Cathy Trauernicht, owner of Ramp4Paws. Cathy invented a new type of ramp to assist Fido with easy access to and from your vehicle. Be sure to listen in and find out what the hosts have picked as their top 10 Travel Accessories for 2007. If you have any questions or suggestions on topics you would like to see covered about traveling with your dog please email traveltails@petliferadio.com

Products in this week's show:

1. Ramp4Paws: www.ramp4paws.com

2. Country Dog and Friends: www.countrydogandfriends.com

3. 1-800-help-4-pets: www.help4pets.com

4. Kurgo zip line harness: www.kurgo.com

5. Soggy Dog: www.soggydog.ca

6. OC K-9- Orthopedic Memory Foam Pet Beds: www.OCK9.com

7. K9 Topcoat: www.K9Topcoat.com

8. EzyDog Harness: www.ezydog.com

9. Anxiety Wrap: www.anxietywrap.com

10. Bone Voyage Travel Bag: www.bonevoyage.com

11. Fido Friendly Magazine: www.fidofriendly.com


 

Susan Sims: Hey everybody this is Susan Sims.

Nicholas Sveslosky: And I'm Nicholas Sveslosky. We're your hosts for "Travel Tails" on Pet Life Radio. As editor and publisher of "Fido Friendly Magazine" we know travel.

Susan Sims: Yes we do, and we can't wait to share our years of dog travel experience with you during our podcast each week

Nicholas Sveslosky: well I hope it's dog travel. What were you thinking?

[laughter]

Susan Sims: I don't know I'm just ready to travel anywhere.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah I know, get out of Idaho, it's cold.

Susan Sims: It is.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well, on today's show we're going to be talking about some of the travel accessories you can have when traveling with your dog, and why it's important to be prepared when traveling with Fido out and about.

Susan Sims: I know, and I'm really excited to talk with our guest today. She invented a revolutionary product to help make traveling with your dog a breeze, so you want to stay tuned because this is going to be a really fun show.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, no, I'm really interested to get more in depth about this product, and I think it'll be a great interview. I've also compiled a list of some of our favorite travel accessories for 2007 that we'll talk about a little bit later in the show.

Susan Sims: Oh, good. Is this like our top 10 list?

Nicholas Sveslosky: This will be like a top 10 for travel accessories so everybody can be well prepared when they hit the road with their dog.

Susan Sims: Alright, I love it. OK, we're going to take a quick break and when we get back we will visit with our first guest, so sit and stay. We will be right back with more "Travel Tails" on Pet Life Radio.

[radio break]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Pet Life Radio, this is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims your host for "Travel Tails." A little bit before the break we were talking about the importance of travel accessories and how they can be helpful when traveling with Fido.

Susan Sims: I know, and there’re some fun accessories and then there’re some really neat products that are actually good and helpful and also safe for your dog. So joining us today is the inventor of Ramp4Paws. You may have seen other ramps that help your dogs gain easy access to your car, your truck, or your SUV, but the owner and inventor of the Ramp4Paws, Cathy - okay Cathy you're going to have to help me with this last name, it's Traunick?

Cathy Trauernicht: Trauernicht, that's it Susan. [laughs]

Susan Sims: Yay! Well you're here and you're going to tell us what makes your great Ramp4Paws different from anything else that's out there.

Cathy Trauernicht: Oh, thanks so much for giving me the opportunity. I love talking about this invention. There's an old saying, you know, that mother is the necessity of invention. Well, about 11 years ago our Labrador, who was nine years old at the time, sprained her front legs twice jumping out of our station wagon.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, wow.

Cathy Trauernicht: And when you think about a dog coming down out of a car, they're landing on concrete, or some other sort of paved surface, and it's very unforgiving. So, their shoulders get jarred and their legs are hurt, so we built her a ramp out of wood, and she would not get in or out of the car without my putting that ramp up.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Cathy Trauernicht: She knew instinctively that she needed help. So, over the years I thought, "How can I make a ramp that would be popular with people? I can't just ship wooden ramps all over the country."

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: There might be extra shipping costs.

Cathy Trauernicht: That's right, that's right. I worked with an engineer for about eight years. We watched other ramps come on the market, and we knew that those ramps were heavy and cumbersome, and didn't fit easily inside the vehicle. Particularly for a family who's got the car loaded up to go on vacation. So, we worked and came up with a design that rolls the ramp up into a cylinder form, and then it unrolls when you need to extend it to use it for the car.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, that's great. So, does it lock into place when it's unrolled?

Cathy Trauernicht: Yes, yes.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Making for, I'd imagine a sturdy ramp.

Cathy Trauernicht: Oh, yes. Well, it holds dogs up to 160 pounds, that's 1-6-0, and we say that the dog's weight and the height of the vehicle are really what should drive a customer's decision as to whether or not they get a ramp.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Right.

Cathy Trauernicht: Some people think, "Oh my dog is still young, they jump in and out of the car." That's not really the issue because those dogs, even the young ones can be hurt jumping in and out of SUVs. Sometimes people have even told me, "Oh my dog doesn't like to jump in my car." Well they're trying to tell you-
 
[laughter]

Cathy Trauernicht: -instinctively that's a high range for them to go.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Right.

Cathy Trauernicht: So, if your dog is, I would say a medium weight, maybe 35 pounds and up to 160 pounds, and if you have a vehicle that is a station wagon height or an SUV height they need a ramp. It doesn't matter whether they're young or old.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well Cathy I think I'm one of your clients, because I've got my Toyota Tundra, and I've got my little lab Tasha about 55 pounds, and it was always my dream to have a dog that could just jump in and out of my truck. This is really good to hear, it gives you a different perspective on how it is for the dogs to jump from that height.

Cathy Trauernicht: Right

Nicholas Sveslosky: It was my dream to have a dog that I could say, "OK lets go!" hit the truck, and jump in and she does that, but on the way out what I've been doing is, I'll catch her when she jumps out, so I've become the ramp. [laughs]

Cathy Trauernicht: Right, well Nicholas you said something interesting. You said it was your dream to have a dog who could just jump in and out, but that's for your convenience, is it not? As an owner you just want the dog to come and go effortlessly.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, no, you're absolutely right.

Cathy Trauernicht: But it's really the dog you have to think about too.

Nicholas Sveslosky: No, no, you're absolutely right.

Susan Sims: What I like about that, you have such a great website that we'll direct everybody to at the end of our conversation, but what I really like about it is that it's so different from anything out there. You even have a video to help people, because you know what's interesting people don't really think about that. They think, "Oh I'll get a ramp, the dog will walk right up." But that's not the case is it?

Cathy Trauernicht: No it's not. Dogs don't initially just walk up a new surface. They learn to come down a ramp before they learn to go up. I will say Labrador is a little easier to deal with because they just follow food wherever you put it.

[laughter]

Cathy Trauernicht: But for the more difficult dogs there is a way to train them, and I worked with an agility trainer to come up with a series of steps that work with the dogs. I've put these instructions in the instruction brochure, and we attach an instruction brochure to every storage bag that each ramp comes in. So, when people get their ramp I advise them to take the instruction brochure out, and read the instruction on how they should deploy the ramp, because you have to unroll it and roll it a certain way. And then there are instructions on how you train your dog to use the ramp.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Good, about how heavy are these ramps?

Cathy Trauernicht: Well, we make two sizes, the larger one is 15 and three-quarter pounds, and the smaller one is only nine pounds. The larger one is for use with station wagons, most SUVs, and small trucks. I say most SUVs because there are two SUVs, the Volvo and the BMW where the back doors split in half and the lower portion actually folds down to rest on the bumper, and that adds several inches to the height. So I say that my ramp is not suitable for the BMW or the Volvo SUVs with that extra height. Also, pickup trucks with that rear cab door that folds down in the same manner on top of the bumper, it adds several inches, and makes the ramp too steep, I think, for the comfort of the dog. So some of the companies make smaller trucks, so when someone is trying to decide whether or not their vehicle is too steep for the ramp, they should get out a measuring tape and measure from the ground to the top of the bumper. If it's 31 inches or less my long ramp is just fine for them. If it's over 31 inches I say that would be too steep. And you can get one of my smaller ramps for vans that have sliding side doors on the side; they're lower to the ground, so I make the smaller ramp for that particular vehicle.

Susan Sims: So, for my van, I have a Ford Windstar, and we have taken the middle seat out, so that's kind of like their kennel on wheels when we travel, so that's the type of ramp that we would use?

Cathy Trauernicht: Yes, you would get the smaller ramp.

Nicholas Sveslosky: How long does it take to unroll these ramps if you have your dog in, and you got to your destination, how long does it take to unroll the ramp?

Cathy Trauernicht: Unroll it? I would say maybe a minute or so, or maybe even less. If people go to the website and watch the video they can watch me unrolling the ramp. And there's a particular way to do it. I don't want people to pinch their fingers, and so I go slowly when I unroll the ramp, because I pinched my fingers at the very beginning when I wasn't paying attention.

[laughter]

Cathy Trauernicht: But it really doesn't take long, it took me maybe a minute to get it out of the storage bag and unroll it, it doesn't take much time at all

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, good.

Susan Sims: Wow, I just love the product, and I want everyone to copy down the web address, it’s ramp4paws.com, and that's the number four so it's ramp-4-paws.com, and they'll be able to see the video and the demonstration right there. Really, hands down I think it's probably one of the most unique products that we've seen this year.

Cathy Trauernicht: Oh, thank you so much Susan I really appreciate that.

Susan Sims: Oh, you're welcome.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well, how long ago did you invent the product?

Cathy Trauernicht: Well, I've been selling it for a year. I worked for about eight years with an engineer to get it right.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, wow.

Cathy Trauernicht: That included time with the manufacturer too. We had to make the steel molds. These were made with polypropylene and polycarbonate.

Susan Sims: Congratulations, and I think that was one of the reasons why we wanted to get to talk to you as soon as we could, and I know that people are out there shopping for Fido, and this is a wonderful gift as well. It's something that people could really, really use, so Cathy thanks so much for sharing all this great information, and everybody listen out there, please take a look at the ramp4paws.com website, and take a look at the demonstration. I think you'll be sold on this idea. If this is something you've been thinking about getting for your pet I think this is where you need to head. So, Cathy thanks again.

Cathy Trauernicht: Thank you Susan. Thank you Nicholas.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Thanks Cathy.

Cathy Trauernicht: You're welcome.

Susan Sims: OK, listen we're going to take another break, and when we come back we'll have our top 10 travel accessories of 2007. So, sit and stay we'll be right back with more "Travel Tails" on Pet Life Radio.

[radio break]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Pet Life Radio. This is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims, your host for "Travel Tails." A little bit before out last break we were talking with Cathy Trauernicht, the inventor of Ramp4Paws, and if anybody would like to go to her website, that is ramp4- and that's the number four -paws.com

Susan Sims: Yeah, Cathy was a lot of fun, and she had such a great idea, making a ramp that can help your dogs enter and exit the vehicles, and it's also easy to store. This is different from anything that's out there. So, even if you're not in the market for one of these ramps right now, do yourself a favor and just go ahead and take a look at her website, and look at the video. I think it's really impressive.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, made me feel a little bit bad about how I was thinking about Tasha. She dashed my whole dreams, but in a good way. It's good to be conscientious of your dog's well being. You've seen Tasha. She's just such an energetic lab that once I bring out the tennis ball she's already five feet off the ground springing. So, I don't think too much of her jumping in and out of the truck, but she made a pretty good point. I think over time, them continuing to hit the concrete coming from that high up of a sitting position probably does have an effect on their joints.

Susan Sims: Well, I would think so too. Even young dogs, it doesn't have to be an old or infirm dog to use the Ramp4Paws, because accidents can happen. Your dog could be a young pup, and be excited and be looking the wrong way and fall off. I think it was a really great product that she invented, and I'm out the door, I'm going to buy one right now.

Nicholas Sveslosky: There you go.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: I love the enthusiasm you display Susan, it's terrific. [laughs]

Susan Sims: Thank you. I'm out of money, I'm buying everything.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Well I'm on your list right?

Susan Sims: You're at the top of my list.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Excellent, I like to hear that. Tasha always gets the goodies that fall from that too. That was a great gift, and we discussed earlier that we were going to set up the top 10 travel accessories. So, if everyone is ready I will run down the list, with Susan's help, of our top 10 travel accessory picks for 2007.

Leading off number one, of course, is Ramp4Paws. We were discussing this a little bit earlier, about what a great outfit this is for your SUV or even your smaller car, just to get your dogs in and out. It curls up. It doesn't take up too much space. It's lightweight. And the dogs can get used to it with some of the helpful videos that they have. That's a great travel accessory that we love to share with everybody.

Our second one on the list is important for going in all types of conditions. You never know what you're going to be faced with, so it's best to be prepared, but Country Dog & Friends has a wonderful first aid kit. This one, Susan I know you have this, it just has everything in it, doesn't it? It's chock full of everything you need.

Susan Sims: Yes I do. They sometimes call it the big red box, because it's a lunchbox size with a real easy carry handle that you just grab and go. We keep that in our car, and it's packed with everything that you would need for emergencies. We've used that Country Dog & Friends for a number of years. We really have not had to use it, other than we had some tweezers that we had to take out some splinter/thorns from the dogs paws, but, knock on wood, we've been really lucky, but that's one of my favorites.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, one of my biggest things is the ticks. Thankfully Tasha has never had one, but I've seen what they look like, and it always worries me, if I take it out is the head going to stay in there, is it going to get infected? Am I going to have to go take her to surgery? Not that far extreme, but if it stays in there then it can get infected and I don't know if they're still running it, but they also have a tick removal tool, don't they with that Susan?

Susan Sims: Yes, they have a free, when you order on the Country Dog & Friends website, they are offering a free tick remover when you order your kit. That is good to have. That reminds me, I actually did use that. We were at Lake Havasu; we were on a house boat.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Wait, was it we as in you and your husband? Or just Greg?

[laughter]

Susan Sims: My husband, and-

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK.

Susan Sims: Well, yeah, he did the tick removing, well anyways, but I supervised.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, good.

Susan Sims: OK, so that was number two. What's number three?

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well, number three, is probably one of our most important ones, because it's with you wherever you go. You're going to be going into a little foreign territory when you go out of state, or cross country, or wherever you end up. 1-800-Help4Pets is a service that's 24 hour help, that if your pet is lost and they have this tag, they just call this number, they check the ID on the tag, and they will be able to tell the person that's taking care of the pet if they can bring it to the vet office where the owners are located. They'll call you on your cell phone. It's just a great service. I know Tasha has her's at all times, and it's very important even when around the house, because the other day I let her out in the back yard, thinking nothing of it. Then all of a sudden I hear barking in the front, and I thought to myself, "No way could she be in the front." I went out, and sure enough she was barking in front. Somehow the gate was open. So, you never know when your pets can get out, so it's always good to have some sort of tag like this available. I think Maddie and Zoe have that as well, right Susan?

Susan Sims: Yeah, out two dogs have theirs. In fact I think I'll probably need replacements, because they're in and out of water, and they're running around. I remember when we first got the tag, I was one of those pet guardians who didn't have collars on my pets when they were indoors, thinking they didn't need them. Then one day, same thing happened, the gate was open, and we never think that's going to happen, but it did, and next thing I know the dog is out in the front. It's really important; I guess that's just another safety precaution you should take, beyond having the 1-800-Help4Pets with the collar. Make sure you keep the collar on your dog while they're inside too, just incase they do a little Houdini and get outdoors.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, some dogs are just very clever like that.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Number four on our list is Kurgo's Zip Line Harness. This is a strong web strap that attaches to the two rear passenger side handles just above the window, and it creates a tether run for your dog to run back and forth in the back seat. So, it gives them a little bit of mobility, but also the security of keeping them well strapped in the car. It fits around their chest, and it's a good harness.

Number five on our list is Soggy Dog. What they have, is a water, sand, hair, and odor repellant durable, machine washable cover that fits snugly around your car seats. This is really important on any trip that you take. You love your dog, but you never know what they're going to get into, whether it be the ocean, or a lake. If they come in that smell is pretty much going to stay within your seats. It's good to have something that covers your seats, other than a sheet which I did for a very long time before I got wise.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: You realize that that smell comes out a lot easier if you can just take it out and throw it in the wash.

Susan Sims: I know. I always felt sorry for our guests, because we would put the dogs in the van, and when it was time to pick someone up from the airport or something we'd go to take them in the same car, even though we'd cleaned it up they'd get in kind of smiling politely, but like, "My God what's that smell? Don't they clean their car?"

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, I know. I'm one such passenger that's traveled in your vehicle and been in the back seat.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: I come out and I feel like I'm a fur-ball because I've got all this hair.

Susan Sims: OK, OK, moving right along. [laughing]

Nicholas Sveslosky: But Susan you've done so much better since then. [laughing]

Susan Sims: Well, thank you so much.

Nicholas Sveslosky: The covers, they work miracles, so definitely a necessity when you're traveling with your dogs so much.

Number six on our list, we have OC K9 orthopedic memory foam pet beds. These are just great beds. They're extremely durable, and they're vet recommended to significantly reduce some of the pain that's caused with arthritis, compressed spine injuries, hip dysplasia, or anything that your pet may feel uncomfortable with a non-supportive bed. This just supports the pet perfectly, and helps them sleep really soundly. That's a great-

Susan Sims: Those are good, because those are easy to put in your car. Depending on the size of your pet, with one or two of those for us, that just is perfect to take a long trip, and have the dogs be comfortable on that when they're sleeping.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, no these work really well, and they've got some great videos on their website, ock9.com where you can check them out, and see how the beds function, and how the dogs warm up to them. They just really enjoy them. So, that's number six.

Number seven is K9 Top Coats, and these are really great products, especially when you're up here in Idaho and it's cold, or you're somewhere in the snow. These are really high quality body suits. They're lightweight. They have lightweight arctic fleece, or waterproof rain suits. They're extremely comfortable and durable for the dogs that are going to be out there in the elements.

Susan Sims: I love these, I love these. We have two red coats, and so when we put them on it's kind of like a Body Glove if anyone out there surfs, or knows about the wetsuits that surfers wear. Last year when we were in Colorado we hadn't been used to that much snow, so we were in [xx] and we immediately put their red suits on, and we're walking around town, and we're getting all kinds of glances. The dogs ran in the snow, and they were having great fun. Especially this time of year it's really festive. [laughs] I had to take them off later in the day because it warmed up, but it was great fun in the morning, and I'm sure they appreciated it.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, I'm sure you got some oohs and aahs off of that one.

Susan Sims: Yeah I think so.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Well, right now on FidoFriendly.com we have out current issue, the November-December issue, which actually profiles that trip. It shows a couple pictures of Maddie and Zoe in their suits looking so cute as can be when they're out there in Colorado. They look really cute, and they also look really warm, so very effective product, it's really good. That was number seven.

Number eight is our Easy Dog Harness. This is really neat because it has a chest pad that actually forms to your dog's chest over time, and for a snug fit, it gives you a lot more control over your dog. They also have a detachable swiveling seatbelt attachment that if you're going to be inside the car you can just hook them up. It’s another way to secure Fido inside the seat of your vehicle. I think it's just getting more and more evident that we do need to buckle our dogs in. It's just the safety for us to be able to drive around. It's cute to have their nose right next to your face, but it doesn't make so good when you're trying to navigate in traffic, so it's good to have them on lock-down a little bit.

Susan Sims: Yeah, it's for your safety as well. If you were in an accident they may come like a 100 pound projectile in your car, so it's really more of a safety restraint that you should have. I know a couple states right now have passed a law that it's mandatory to have your dog with a seatbelt. Probably more states will follow suit. That's a good product that you might invest in when you do a lot of traveling with your dogs.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, keeps them really nice and secure. Makes you feel a little bit better about driving, so that's a good one.

And then, number nine, Susan you're going to help me out with this one, because I know that Maddie is a stress case around certain noises. Number nine is Anxiety Wrap. What this does it it's like a little wrap that they wear around their body that maintains a certain amount of pressure, and it helps calm the dogs. Certain trainers will use this, vets will use it, and it helps lessen the anxiety and stress. I know that Maddie, with your 100 pound loveable lab, she really gets nervous around loud noises, right?

Susan Sims: Yeah, she's a big dog, and you wouldn't think, obviously I guess we project our emotions on our animals anyway and, you think she's a big dog and she's a little scary sometimes, but really, just any kind of fireworks will get her running and slinking around the house. Any gunshots, anything like that really terrifies her. So this Anxiety Wrap acts kind of like, if people are familiar with when small children get colicky, they'll bundle them up, swaddle them, to where they're tightly held in the wrap, and it goes on the different pressure points for your child, but in this case, for the Anxiety Wrap, it's the different pressure points affect the dogs in a calming way, so if you have a Nervous-Nellie out there, and they're nervous to travel. There are a lot of people who have that problem; this is really a wonderful product.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, it really helps calm them down a bit, and make them feel better about being in a new environment.

So, our last one for 2007, number 10 is our bone...

Susan Sims: This deserves a drum roll, so back up.

[drum roll effect]

Susan Sims: Number 10 is...

Nicholas Sveslosky: Thank you, I appreciate that. Much more effective.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: All right, what was I saying? [laughs]

Susan Sims: Oh yeah, number 10, and our number 10 is...

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK, number 10 is our Bone Voyage travel bag, and this is really good for any size dog, small, medium, and even the large dogs. It's basically your pet's luggage and bed in one, where you store everything that your pet needs in the top of the bag, and you can unzip it, completely take it off, and then the bottom is their bed, that you can just fit anywhere. Instead of having 20 bags for your pet you get one. It really cuts down the extra luggage that you have to take with you.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I love that, that's really wonderful for the smaller dog, and you can put product in there too, so you've got everything in one. So, if you keep everything packed and ready to go, you always have everything that your dog needs. That's kind of like their little kennel, you know, home away from home. It's easier too, so when you travel in your new hotel, they just curl up in their little Bone Voyage suitcase.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, makes it a nice, cozy fit.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I love it. Those are all great products, good job.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well thank you very much. All these are going to be available on our Pet Life Radio website, should you wish to find out more, and our January-February issue, which will be hitting the news stands mid-January, and some of our subscribers who will get that well ahead of time will have all of these products and all of their information within that issue. Stay tuned for the January and February issue.

Susan Sims: OK, that sounds good. We're going to take a quick break, and when we come back we will have our Fido friendly travel tips, so sit and stay. We will be back with more "Travel Tails" on Pet Life Radio.

[radio break]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Pet Life Radio. this is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims, your host for "Travel Tails." A little bit before the break we were walking through and talking about the importance of travel accessories, and we listed our top 10 that would make it much easier to get ready and hit the road with Fido. Equally as important of the travel accessories is your preparation. One of the things that go hand in hand with all the neat gadgets that you're going to get is what to do for preparation. So, this is going to bring us to our Fido Friendly Travel Trip. So, what we do before any trip, Tasha and I look each other straight in the eye, and say, "What do you need to do to have fun on this trip?"

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: One of them that Tasha always does, and she's looking at me now as I say her name is, "I want my food." [laughs] "I want my food, I want my toys, I want all this stuff." Probably the best advice that you can give is to make yourself a little bit of list. It could be the same list that you just use over and over again, but to have a list of all the items that you're going to want to bring with you, and for your dog. That way when it comes down to the day of departure you don't forget anything, and you don't have to wander around wondering where everything is. It's right there and ready to go.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I like that too, and I like to have things ready to go. Maybe not everyone would do this, but I like to have a lot of things in one place. What if there was an emergency and you had to run out, and you had to take your dog, and you had to kennel your dogs? All of a sudden it's like where's this and where's that? I like to have at least their medications in a place that I can easily access and shampoos and things like that, and have a ready go bag. That makes it easier when you have to run out the door.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, when you don't have to think about anything, which are the things that we like, is to not have to worry or think about what's being left behind. It's all there ready for us. It makes everything a little bit less stressful, and more enjoyable for the dog. They really pick up on any type of mood swings that we have, and if we're stressed or worried about something they sometimes feel like they did something wrong.

Susan Sims: Yeah.

Nicholas Sveslosky: It's good to be prepared.

Susan Sims: Yeah, always be prepared that's the Boy Scout motto.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That's right.

Susan Sims: And plus, if you win the lottery you're not going to be able to think straight anyway.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Good tip.

Susan Sims: Hey, Nicholas thank you, that was a good tip, and thanks again for all those great product run downs for 2007. If you would like to find out more about today's topics, or just about traveling with Fido, you can go online to FidoFriendly.com, just subscribe, or you can stop in your local Borders, Barnes & Noble, or PetSmart, and pick up a copy of "Fido Friendly" today. We would love to hear from you with questions or comments, so feel free to email us here at Pet Life Radio. Until next time, safe travels leave no dog behind. This is Susan Sims along with Nicholas Sveslosky for "Travel Tails" on Pet Life Radio.

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