It’s impossible to completely eliminate the shedding of pet fur while traveling. Regular grooming and brushing can help keep pet fur manageable, however, and the following tips can reduce the amount of fur you’ll have to deal with on your next trip.
Use a shedding brush. Many dogs and cats have a soft undercoat beneath the more wiry top coat. The undercoat may be shed twice a year or more. Regular brushing may not extract the loose fur, but a brush designed to get at the undercoat can help remove it. Brush your dog or cat outdoors because a good deal of fur will be removed.
Avoid travel when your pet is changing coats. Most animals have a winter and summer coat. The shedding of the coat will be heaviest around the onset of spring, when the winter coat is no longer needed. Many will also shed in the fall, when the summer coat is no longer sufficient. Plan to travel during times when your pet’s coat growth is stable.
Bathe your pet weekly. This will go a long way towards ensuring your pet has a healthy coat free of irritants and pests, which can cause hair loss. Between baths, use allergen-reducing pet wipes to reduce that dander, pollen and loose hair that your pet will bring into the house.
Minimize your pet’s stresses. Travel is stressful on everybody and, just like humans, pets can experience hair loss in stressful situations. Give your pet the reassurance he or she needs to reduce or eliminate anxiety-related hair loss. Maintain your regular routine to give your pet a sense of stability, and bring some familiar items your pet enjoys from home such as toys or blankets.
Restrict your pet to specific areas. While this won’t do anything to reduce the amount of hair that is shed, it will limit the areas in which the shedding occurs, making cleanup easier.
Of course, it’s always recommended to take your pet in to the vet for a checkup before embarking on a trip, to make sure that he or she is in great health and ready for travel.