Dogs With Anxiety Can Still Travel If You Prepare Them Properly

Anxiety is often treated as a reason dogs should not travel, especially by air. For many dogs, anxiety is assumed to mean they are poor candidates for international travel.

That assumption is incomplete.

Dogs with anxiety can still travel successfully when preparation is thoughtful, gradual, and centered on trust rather than control. This post explains what anxiety really means in the context of travel and why preparation matters more than labels.

What Anxiety Really Means for Dogs

Anxiety in dogs does not mean they are incapable of adapting. It means they are sensitive to uncertainty, unpredictability, or unfamiliar environments.

Dogs with anxiety often rely more heavily on:

• Familiar routines

• Predictable patterns

• Clear cues from their human

• Consistent environments

When these elements are present, anxiety does not automatically prevent travel.

Why Anxiety Is Often Misinterpreted During Travel

Travel environments introduce:

• New sounds

• Movement and vibration

• Confinement

• Disruption of routine

When preparation is rushed or incomplete, dogs may appear overwhelmed. That response is often labeled as “travel anxiety,” when the real issue is lack of familiarity.

The dog is not failing. The system is unfamiliar.

Why We Chose to Travel With Coco Instead of Boarding

One of the primary reasons we chose to bring Coco with us on an extended stay abroad was to protect the relationship and trust we had already built.

When Coco was a puppy, she experienced separation anxiety. She followed me everywhere and struggled to be alone. Despite having dogs my entire life, this was new territory, and I spent a great deal of time seeking advice on how to “fix” it.

What ultimately resolved her anxiety was not intervention or correction. It was time, consistency, and the relationship we built together.

Through shared routines, interactive games, and predictable departures and returns, Coco learned that separation was safe and temporary. Over time, her confidence grew.

Today, Coco is comfortable being alone. She engages with enrichment toys when I leave and shows a level of confidence that would have been hard to imagine early on.

Because of that history, leaving her in a boarding facility for an extended period would not have supported the trust we worked intentionally to build. Traveling together was the more responsible choice for her.

Preparation Matters More Than a Diagnosis

Dogs do not need to understand flights to travel successfully. They need to understand patterns.

Preparation focuses on:

• Early carrier familiarity

• Practicing calm confinement in safe environments

• Repeating routines that mirror travel conditions

• Reinforcing predictable cues of safety

This preparation process is outlined in What It Takes to Travel Internationally With a Dog.

Familiarity Builds Regulation

When a dog has learned that:

• The carrier is a safe place

• Movement ends with reunion

• Their human remains calm and predictable

Then travel becomes another version of a familiar routine, not a threat.

This is true for dogs with and without anxiety.

Why Sedation Is Not a Substitute for Preparation

Anxiety is sometimes treated with sedation rather than preparation. Sedation suppresses behavior but does not build confidence or understanding.

For many dogs, sedation:

• Removes coping tools

• Interferes with self-regulation

• Replaces trust with suppression

We explain this approach in more detail in Why We Don’t Sedate Dogs for Flights.

What We Focus On Instead

Instead of trying to eliminate anxiety, we focus on:

• Reducing uncertainty

• Increasing predictability

• Practicing calm routines repeatedly

• Helping dogs succeed in small, controlled steps

Daily structure and trust-based routines are documented in Coco’s Life on the Ground.