Flea markets, especially those held outdoor, can be a blast for you and your furry friend. Regardless of the location, though, you can call ahead to see if it’s OK to bring your pet. Then grab any of the cool pet strollers out in the marketplace today, pack it in your vehicle along with the dog ramp for easier transportation means as needed (great for helping with large dogs, for instance), a dog leash and pooper-scooper paraphernalia for those necessary times and water bowl.
In case your dog gets hungry while out adventuring with you, be sure to take along some dog food, treats and place to rest, like any of the awesome large dog beds available at malls and local stores all over today for nap time.
Flea Market Etiquette with Your Dog
Observe basic etiquette for yourself and your dog while out and about, strolling the flea fest by:
1) Paying close attention to walkers. You don’t want to run into them with your pet stroller. Allow plenty of room for passers-by, and alert those wanderers who may be absentmindedly wandering by a bit too close while gawking at wares with a gentle, "Excuse us!" call.
2) Sellers do not want pet hair all over clothing and other fabric and hair-clinging products. So as you pass by with your furry friend, steer clear of magnetic attraction opportunities that could leave hair all over their merchandise.
3) As strange as this may sound, not everyone likes or feels safe around dogs. Even the smallest of dog can cause complete panic from some who maybe have suffered a poor experience with a dog in earlier years. So don’t "force" Fido on everyone. Dog lovers will seek you out to "Oooh!" and "Aaah!" over your pet and attempt to pet it.
4) Do not let people feed you dog anything. Sure, a small bit of cookie, cheese or other goodie is tempting, but you don’t know where that food has been or what’s in it. It could make your furry friend very sick. If you really feel a need to let others feed your pet, carry a long a small container of dog treats and hand them out to others who in turn can then feed them to your beloved pet.
5) Offer plenty of break times so that Fido can stretch legs, get a drink of water from the water bowl and container of water you’ve brought along, and take potty breaks. Clean up afterwards, especially the droppings, and throw any paper out.
6) Allow plenty of time to load and unload all of our pet’s accessories. You don’t want to rush to the location, hurriedly unpack and dash off to flea market finds, or you may forget things like dog treats and the pooper-scooper supplies. Same thing on the way back. You don’t want to get caught in the rain trying to break down and re-load everything. So allow plenty of time.
For more tips, check with the instructions that come with your pet stroller. And search online articles, too. For example, you can find tips for making a nice First Aid Kit for Pet’s that you should bring along on all trips.
And last but not least, enjoy your adventure. Should you run into troubling issues, jot notes about them for future reference. Then go over your notes during a calm, rested period to see how you can improve your next visit.
Here’s to your flea market adventure success!
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