My husband travels for his job within a 3 state radius by car and since I am not able to go back to work after my surgery for a few more weeks I am planning to ride with him for a few days. We will be taking the pups with us.

I know that interstate rest stops are not ideal places to let the pups out to do their "business" so my question is where else do you let them go when you are travelling? Unfortunately, they are not "pee pad" trained, outside only. If we HAVE to stop at a rest stop what should I look out for or where should I avoid taking them? Open to any suggestions. Thanks!

I would just stop somewhere safe, where you can have them on leash to let them conduct their business. It's not like most people can even see or notice when they pee, and their poop is not a huge amount. You can scoop it up in a bag and dispose of it.

Most of the rest stops we've stopped at have places for pets. We have found them to be generally clean. We do pick up after Tucker and use baby wipes to clean his feet after walking in that area. We also let him out when we stop for gas and follow the same routine. Be sure to offer water at each stop also.

Thanks for mentioning the need of wiping their feet with a baby wipe. I haven't done that but will in the future.

I'm curious about what dangers there are at highway rest stops. Since I plan to travel with my dog, it would be good to know. Are there diseases that dogs cannot be vaccinated against that are a worry? I would of course keep her on a leash.

We travel with Kodi quite extensively with our travel trailer, and give him a chance to relieve himself and stretch his legs whenever we do the same for ourselves.

Once a dog has had all his typical puppy vaccinations, he should be pretty safe even in rest areas, but those are our last choice, just because other people aren't always good about picking up after their dogs. We tend to look for exits with easy on-off access, (a BIG deal when you are pulling a 30 ft trailer... no u-turns possible!) and then look for any place that has some nice grass or a mulched area. There are very often office buildings, hotels or industrial parks at interchanges like this, and any can work well. Shopping centers sometimes have grassy areas around them too. Even gas stations often have a strip of grass or mulched area in front of them. Since we ALWAYS pick up after him, we don't do any damage to anything, and no one seems to mind. (if anyone is around, we ask, but often there is no one) Obviously, if the area is less populated, it's even easier... the edge of any road will probably have enough grass or dirt to make it adequate for a small dog to find a place to relieve himself!

Rest stops and truck stops are the worse places. I have to really pay attention in these places. I have to constantly be watching as there are all kinds of nasty stuff on the ground. Cigarette butts, old food, chicken bones, plastic bottles with urine in them, even used rubbers...........ewww gross. I travel all yr every yr, and I have seen it all. One more reason I pee pad trained Gabby. So,......try to find areas that are well maintained, and not used so much. Good luck with your travels.

I think a lot of it depends on where you are. When I drive anywhere it's always through areas where this is no cell phone reception and in forested areas until you hit the next town. I wouldn't feel safe driving off a back road to go find a spot to stop. Finding spots to stop was tricky and were few and far between. I do like to give Brody lots of little breaks from the car. I'm thinking though that travelling on the US interstate system has more safe places to stop than driving through British Columbia.

He's not big on going in new places so I've never actually got him to actually GO at a rest stop.

When we are traveling, Kodi can be in the truck for 8 hours a day several days in a row. He learned pretty quickly to use any "facilities" offered, when he gets the chance!

Thanks for the suggestions. I will be sure to bring baby wipes for their paws, great idea and I'm sure they can be used for alot of other uses while on the road.
Wish us luck. They love to go with us around town when we have to run errands (okay, well Maddux loves to go and Jax puts up with it because he doesn't want to be left at home.) But this will be our first overnight travel with them. I hope it goes well because I would like to do more of it in the future.