Most of us don’t travel with our dogs, and if we do, it’s usually a one-time thing. Often by car, rarely by plane. But there are some dogs out there ― or rather, owners ― that are more well-traveled than most. Instagram in particular is full of these traveling dogs, hailing from and traveling all around the world. Whether their humans go hiking in the mountains, fly across the ocean, or go on long road trips, their dog is there.
Due to the exciting lifestyle these dogs have, and due to the ample opportunity for great photos, the internet is a great place to be. People love following these canines on their adventures and travels, and many accounts have tens of thousands of followers. Even cats can be adventurous, and have become just as popular. And how great, too ― our pets prefer to do everything together with us, after all.
Jet-setter dogs
Some like it simple, some like a life of luxury. The latter type of traveling dogs usually get to stay in nice hotels, see amazing sights, and fly around the world to many different countries. Smaller dogs are usually more common here, simply because they’re easier to take on flights and carry with you.
One of the most well-traveled dogs out there may be Miami, the Chihuahua. His human parents are based in the US, but love to travel around the world and see as much as possible, staying in amazing locations while they do so. Miami gets to experience both the most stressful of airports, and the most pet-friendly of hotels, all with a big smile on his face. He’s been everywhere from Santorini and France to Italy and LA, and he doesn’t seem to be stopping, anytime soon.
Chloe is an unusually small French Bulldog who hails from New York City, and has been to five countries, so far. France and Italy are two of them, but she has a soft spot for Los Angeles. Django and Chloe (a different Chloe) are a Dachshund and Parson Russell Terrier with well-traveled parents. They’re from Brazil, though one was born in Portugal, and their travels have taken them from France to Arizona and Malibu. The fancily named Duke and Duchess of Parmaham are a couple of Golden Retrievers from Hong Kong, who have visited twelve countries throughout Europe, as well as Japan. The New York Doberman, Kota, has visited Austria, Scotland, and Germany, and now resides in the Netherlands.
Adventure dogs
While there are the more luxurious options when it comes to traveling, some traveling dogs and their humans prefer to keep it a little more rugged. In this case, we mostly see big dogs, strong dogs, dogs able to keep up with their human’s wilderness-wandering habits. Well, it’s probably more about the human keeping up with the dog.
Merci is such a dog, a chocolate Border Collie who hiked the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal with his human. They’re back in the US now, but still spend a lot of time hiking, including the Pacific Coast Trail. The Australian Shepherd Sora has been all over the place with her human parents, both of which hail from Portland, Oregon. They’ve cycled not only from Oslo to Athens, but then the length of South America, as well, all with Sora by their side. The French Bulldog Leia and her owner backpacked around Europe on a budget, documenting their whole trip on their Instagram account. Snupi is another dog that loves adventure, traveling from his home in Poland to join his owners traveling through Morocco. Since that first Morocco-trip, they’ve taken a sailing boat across the Atlantic, and been traveling around South America. Chapati is a dog adopted off the streets in Kochi, India, by a Ukrainian couple. Since then, she has joined them on their travels through more than fourteen cities throughout India, Thailand, and Nepal.
What makes a good traveling dog Instagram?
People love dogs. People also love looking at dogs doing things, whether it’s something cute, impressive, or just unusual. Instagram is the perfect platform for sharing travel photos and anecdotes, both for traveling dogs and adventurous cats. Some focus on the adventure side of it, putting effort into the captions and telling a story. Others focus on the photography, or capturing their photogenic pets in equally photogenic backgrounds and scenery. You could say that they appeal to different audiences, but what the audiences have in common is that they love seeing a dog ― or cat ― live their best life on the road. For most of us, these pets are even more well-traveled than we are.
As with any Instagram account, content actually
isn’t everything. Consistency is key, as is making sure to use those tricky
algorithms to your advantage. But posting regularly while traveling can be hard
work, and isn’t always doable, or something you have time for ― especially if
you’re off hiking through the wilderness. It’s good to see it as more of
keeping a diary, than trying to keep up with the fickle attention of potential
followers. That said, once you hook your audience, they’re hooked, and all
those photos you post of your dog suddenly become more than just the equivalent
of showing baby pictures to your politely interested friends.
Why we like accounts with traveling dogs
There is definitely a certain freedom in being able to just take off and travel the world with your best canine friend, whether it’s to a beach in southern Italy or the snowy mountains of Colorado. As an audience, we like to live vicariously through those able to live like that, and of course seeing cute traveling dogs is a huge bonus. Oftentimes, the photos are beautifully taken and edited, to create a nice, crisp snapshot of a real-life adventure. It can be a nice diversion, in the everyday grind of real life. Though, on the other hand, it could just be that people love seeing cute pets hang out in interesting places. And that’s more than enough reason, too.
