When you go on vacation, the question of what you should do with your pet can be a bit tricky. Whilst taking them with you brings its own questions, leaving them at home had some of its own issues.

When considering whether to take your pet on a home exchange with you, the first thing you need to check is whether your exchange family accepts pets. If not, then you should talk to them and ask whether they would consider looking after your pet if you were to leave it in the house. If they agree, then you will need to assess whether you think your exchange partners will be able to manage to give your pet the level of care that it may need.

If however your exchange partners accepts pets and you are travelling only by car, then remember to make plenty of stops and take enough bottled water, toys, and reminders of home (familiar smells, objects, etc) in order to reduce the anxiety experienced by your pet.

If you have to cross borders, then it’s worth-while looking up getting your pet a pet-passport, but make sure that you do this with plenty of advanced planning (a minimum of 6 months before the time that you plan to take your vacations.) Also, you will need to research which airlines will cater for animal transportation.

The important thing to weigh up is the discomfort that your pet may potentially experience. Whilst travelling can be a stressful experience for an animal, leaving them for weeks at a time can make them feel disconcerted and depressed. It depends on your pet. There is no single formula - you have to make a judgement based on your journey and on your pets needs.

At least with home exchange you will have the opportunity to talk with prospective home exchange partners who will allow you to take your animal to stay with you in their home.