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Chloe’s digs: A consistent set-up for a small dog in a hotel room

It occurred to me this morning that I’ve told you in a number of posts how I pack for Chloe, but I’ve never shown you what the stuff we’ve packed looks like once we settle into a hotel room. Here are some photos from our current hotel (I’ll be writing more about it later, after I’ve had a chance to explore thoroughly).

Please note how Chloe is not currently lounging in her crate

What you see is a 24″ long Midwest crate, with a cover, three comfy pads, a fleece throw and a water dish. On top is Chloe’s tote (this particular tote is L.L. Bean’s Adventure Tote, in a size Large) and her yellow food kit. Usually, I put her food and water next to her crate, but our room in this hotel is trapezoidal — so her meal station is on a different wall:

The patterns of the carpet and our oilcloth spill mat have been fighting all day

No, Chloe’s not in her crate — instead, she’s sacked out on the bed, occupying most of the throw blanket:

If this post had an audio track, you'd hear her snoring

The grey sheet is ours — we put it on the bed as soon as we arrive in a hotel room, to protect the sheets. All of this gear fits into Chloe’s suitcase, if we’re flying. If we’re driving, we heave her tote and crate, plus another tote to carry her soft furnishings, into the back of the car.

I think it’s important to have a consistent set-up in the hotel rooms we stay in with Chloe — it keeps me and my husband sane, for one thing, since we always know where to find her food, toys, treats, leash, water bottle, etc. I can’t verify this with Chloe, but I suspect it’s helpful to her too. I do know that she does a circuit of a new hotel room, once we’ve set it up, locating her crate, food station and door bells, and when we say “Crate!” to her, she knows instantly where to go.

12 comments

  • Jessica

    I was looking into getting one of those smaller wire folding crates for traveling but I wasn’t sure what size. The one they have at home is one of the huge ones. Its nice to know that Chloe fits in the 24 inch so that is probably the one I will get for the weiner dogs. I couldn’t use an open tote like that though or the dogs would help themselves to the food. It has to be under lock and key.

  • Well, see, that’s the beauty of this particular tote, Jessica — the top zips closed, so I put Chloe’s treats and chews inside and she can’t get to them. It’s open right now because it’s on top of her crate, and she just…can’t…quite…get to the top of her crate.

  • Edie

    You are frighteningly well organized. It’s a good thing I know that you are a kind, relaxed person; otherwise I would be very worried to meet you.

    I have the same oilcloth in another color on my dining room table.

  • Deb

    We are purchasing a folding dog “playpen” — no wires, folds down to 14×21, easily packable in a suitcase. It has a zippered screen top, two doors, is basically 8-sided (almost round) and are hoping that this provides a nice “condo” for Choli when we can’t take her with us (dinner, museums, mostly). It’s 36″ in diameter, which should give her a water area, toy area, and sleep area (Choli is only 5.5 lbs.) I’ll let you know how this works out.

  • Dana

    Do you just pack her crate into a suitcase? Wondering for my upcoming trip…we are not staying in a hotel, but with family that have other dogs and I want Rubi to have her “own space.”

  • Deborah Marshall

    Hi again, I keep finding more and more relevent posts, fantastic. I was wondering if anyone has a solution for taking frozen raw food, specifically Darwins on a plane trip? Tia is a very picky eater and Darwin’s is the one raw food she will consistently eat. She tends to turn her nose up at canned food and forget dry. Unfortunately you can’t go to the local pet store and buy it. I was wondering about a way to wrap it or what to put it in so that it is still frozen in my suitecase by the time we reach our destination. I will be flying on a red-eye from Portland, OR to Philadelphia with one plane change in Minneapolis arriving in Philly by 10:30 am. We will be at my mom’s for a week and I want things to be as familiar for her as possible. Any help would be most appreciated. Deborah and Tia

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