Traveling in style means more than carrying fancy luggage. It’s more about being relaxed and confident that you have everything you need. And if your pet is accompanying you, then you must have a nice travel bag for your dog’s essentials.
At A Glance: Our Top 5 Picks for Best Dog Travel bag
- Mobile Dog Gear Drop Bottom Weekender Backpack
- KOPEKS Pet Travel Bag Kit
- Top Dog Travel Bag
- Loyalty Pet Products Travel Dog Bag
- Mobile Dog Gear Day Away Dog Tote Bag
Unlike many people, I always find that shopping is fun. And even when the amount of products on display is overwhelming, I still enjoy the selection process.
If you’re looking for the best dog travel bag, then read this review all the way to the end. There’s also a detailed buyer’s guide and the answers to all your questions about traveling with a dog.
The Best Dog Travel Bags Reviewed
Here’s a roundup of the finest dog travel bags. We selected them bearing in mind that the list should contain a wide variety of options and price points.
As you browse through you’d notice that there’s a bag type that fits every usage. Hopefully, this will help you in finding the right one for your pet’s needs.
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
 | Our Top Pick Mobile Dog Gear Drop Bottom Weekender Backpack
| VIEW ON AMAZON →READ REVIEWS → |
 | KOPEKS Pet Travel Bag Kit
| VIEW ON AMAZON →READ REVIEWS → |
 | Top Dog Travel Bag
| VIEW ON AMAZON →READ REVIEWS → |
 | Loyalty Pet Products Travel Dog Bag
| VIEW ON AMAZON →READ REVIEWS → |
 | Mobile Dog Gear Day Away Dog Tote Bag
| VIEW ON AMAZON →READ REVIEWS → |
1. Mobile Dog Gear Drop Bottom Weekender Backpack
This Mobile Dog Gear bag tops our list for a reason. It simply has it all.
This bag is the Mercedes of dog travel bags, as it’s thoughtful design includes storage, versatility, and durability. On top of that, it’s comfortable and easy to carry. This comes of course with a hefty price tag, but it’s totally justified. Here’s why.
The bag can be used in its regular size for the daily errands with your pet. But once you need it for a longer trip, the base can be extended and gives you plenty more storage space. And it’s not just an open barrel where everything stacks into a mess.
There are pockets, zippered pouches, and elastic-band hangers. The placement of these various storage spots is distributed all around the bag, so you can distribute your pet’s stuff as you fit. This is convenience at its best.
Speaking of convenience, we might also add a few things about comfort. Backpacks are among my favorite types of bags, as they’re much easier to carry.
In addition, they leave my hands free to care for my pet. The straps are ergonomic, padded, and adjustable to make carrying this large a breeze even when it’s filled to the brim with my dog’s travel stuff.
The Mobile Dog Gear bag comes with collapsible silicone bowls, a feeding mat to keep things neat, and two food carriers. It also has an identifier shaped like a dog-bone to mark the ownership of the bag.
A further demonstration to show that this bag is suitable for any dog and dog-owner comes in three cool colors. There’s the basic black, avant-garde red, and cool blue. Take your pick.
- It has plenty of storage
- Compartmentalized storage
- Made from a prime-quality material
- It’s a lightweight bag
- Easy to clean up
- Comes with plenty of add-ons
- The adjustable padded backstraps
- It’s compliant with airline requirements
- Comes in three elegant colors
- It’s a pricey bag
2. KOPEKS Pet Travel Bag Kit
This bag will work well for long and short trips. It has sufficient storage for all your dog’s needs, and you can organize it as you please. It certainly has sufficient pockets and zippered storage to allow that luxury.
It also has wide mesh pockets on the sides, where you can put the objects that should be readily accessible.
Also, these outer pockets could be used to store the items that you would rather not put inside—for example, a wet towel or a soiled blanket. The mesh pockets also provide visibility and efficient ventilation.
The bag comes with an impressive set of accessories. There are two large food carriers, a placemat, and two foldable food bowls.
The only thing that might not be a favorite for me here is the carrying style. There are two options, which are carrying it as a handbag or hanging it as a tote bag. But I find that these options work best when the bag and its contents are light.
This might not always be the case when you carry dog stuff. And after you’ve stuffed all your pet’s belongings inside, don’t be surprised when it feels heavy.
The Kopeks bag comes in three color options: Black, grey, and pink. It’s currently sold at a huge discount of around 50%, so this might be a good opportunity to buy a prime-quality bag literally at half price.
- Its structured storage
- It looks elegant and well-designed
- The large mesh pockets
- The closed inner and outer pockets
- All the practical accessories
- Its rectangular shape
- It comes in three different colors
- It’s moderately priced
- The oxford fabric might be a bit hard to clean
- More suitable for light carrying
- If the bag gets too heavy, it would be an extra load on one shoulder
3.Top Dog Travel Bag
The variation here is in the storage size and available compartments. This bag comes with the nice amenities of collapsible food containers and food bowls. However, the overall space available to store your dog’s belongings is smaller than the Mobile Dog Gear or the Kopeks.
It’s thus suitable for all those short trips where you need the essentials, and carrying a large bag would be overdoing it. If this is the typical activity for you and your pet friend most of the time, you should consider the Top Dog travel bag.
- Suitable for short errands and weekend trips
- It has both internal and external pockets
- The food bowls are foldable to save space
- The washable fabric
- It doesn’t come with a food mat
4. Loyalty Pet Products Travel Dog Bag
This travel bag with a cute logo is somewhat specialized. It’s designed with show dogs in mind, and it totally caters to every need that these cocky dogs might have.
The prime storage location is dedicated to grooming kits and supplies. These are as you can imagine the essentials of dog shows, fairs, and contests.
There’s a complimentary storage compartment for the other belongings, but it’s not terribly large.
The show dog bag comes in two color varieties, black and blue. Both having a lovely dog picture on the front pocket.
It comes at a fair price, considering all of its options.
- It’s a specialized travel bag
- It has sufficient space for travel essentials
- The main compartment can carry heavy, bulky stuff
- The side pockets are equipped to carry slim objects
- The front and back pockets are designed for flat items
- Its material is water-resistant
- It’s easy to clean
- It comes in two color varieties
- It doesn’t include any food accessories
- Its space is too limited for long trips
5. Mobile Dog Gear Day Away Dog Tote Bag
This bag is another variety from Mobile Dog Gear. And as expected, it has the same fine quality all over, from design to the finishes. But this one comes at a budget-friendly price, and it’s geared towards a different kind of usage.
This interesting bag with a cheetah pattern is made for short trips or light travelers who don’t pack up the whole house wherever they go. It has strategically placed pockets with varying sizes for sensible packing.
It also comes with a dog food holder, with the same cheetah print, that can hold up to 3 cups of kibble.
There’s a large back pocket made from a mesh fabric, and as we demonstrated earlier, it often comes in handy. You could want quick access to some items, or you could opt for separate storage of others. The mesh pocket provides a visible, ventilated, accessible storage.
Mobile Dog Gear are known for their attention to detail, and this is quite obvious in the handles. The short handles are sturdy and easy to carry, and the longer shoulder strap is padded and adjustable. This is a feature worth mentioning.
The bag comes in two other color variations, besides the cheetah that I clearly like a lot!
- The material and finishes are of prime quality
- It contains sufficient storage space for day trips
- It has a cute identifier shaped as a dog-bone
- It has a nice original print pattern
- The adjustable shoulder strap is padded
- It comes in three color varieties
- It’s a budget-friendly bag
- It’s not suitable for longer travel
- It doesn’t come with a full accessory set
Do You Need a Dog Travel Bag?
Pet owners know best the amount of stuff they need to carry with them as they take their dogs out. And if that outing becomes a trip, then the number of objects multiplies.
Here are some of the situations that should motivate you to get a dog travel bag.
- Visiting friends with your pet
- Taking your dog to the vet
- Going to the dog park
- Taking your dog to the sitter or dog hotel
- Weekend trips
- Moving to a new house
- Going to the beach
- Taking a kayak tour
- Camping trips
- Traveling across country
- Taking the bus with your pet
- Crossing the border and visiting another country
Actually, there’s more than this dozen. But I’m sure you get the idea. And there’s a nice reason that I haven’t listed, which is buying a dog bag as a gift for a friend. This is among the nicest things you can give to a fellow pet owner.
How to Choose the Right Dog Travel Bag?
We all want to be smart shoppers who buy the best products at the fairest prices. But here’s the thing, it’s more important to get the right product. That’s to say, the dog bag that suits your travel needs with your bet to the nines.
Here are a few pointers to look for, and as you browse through these options, keep in mind your own usage and specific needs. There goes.
Size
Size matters in most things, but in bags, it’s probably the most important feature. Interestingly, bigger isn’t always better. If you have a toy dog with few affects, then why carry the heavier and more cumbersome bag?
Furthermore, if you normally travel over the weekend, or for short trips, then a compact bag would be the wiser choice. The opposite holds true as well.
It’s worth mentioning that there’s another school of thinking about this matter. Several users aren’t sure when the need for more storage space would come up. Since most people wouldn’t want to purchase several bags of various sizes, then having a larger bag, would be a more practical solution.
A lot of dog owners also say that their dogs are seriously like babies. They need a thousand and one objects around wherever they go, including a toy, a chew object, and their favorite blanket. If you try to cram all these trinkets in a small bag, then good luck with finding what you need when you need it.
Compartments, Pockets, and Zippers
A bag that would only carry a laptop and a few books would need one large compartment and a pocket. That’s probably what an office bag would look like. But if you have food, water, toys, medicine, a leash, and a hundred little pet things, then you’d need compartments.
The best thing about having various storage options is keeping your dog stuff well-organized. And if you often use the bag, you’ll memorize where everything goes. This should make your life and travels so much easier, trust me.
Zippers are important when you want extra safe storage for objects that could easily spill or fall off a pocket. This ensures that you wouldn’t face any unpredictable situations, like the pack of dog treats accidentally falling on the expensive carpet of a hotel. There are many more examples where this one came from, and they’re all avoidable by having zippers!
Comfort While Carrying the Bag
Bags don’t have special transportation or magical powers that’ll make them float beside you. You’ll be carrying the full weight of the bag plus all of its contents.
That’s why an ergonomic set of straps is essential. You can carry the bag on your shoulder, as a tote, as a backpack, or as a handbag. This is a matter of personal preference. But in all of these cases, a wide padded strap is always a huge plus.
Being adjustable is also important. In fact, small changes in the length of the handles or straps can contribute to making the loading of the bag much less stressful on your body.
So how do you know that a bag type is comfortable to you? Mostly from experience. After all, you must have carried tens of bags at different occasions. And here’s a nice suggestion, if the specs say ‘ergonomic’, then keep it under consideration.
Compliance with Airline Rules
Not all bags can be used in air travel. There are certain rules that a bag should follow to be compliant. You don’t have to use a checklist and make sure that they’re all verified in your bag. The ones that can be used for airplanes would be labeled as such.
There’s also the matter of permissible weight. Make sure that you don’t overpack because then your handbag would be treated as luggage. And if it’s really heavy, you’d pay more for the extra weight.
Pro tip: you might not need this option right away, but eventually, we all need it. It’s a good one to have in a travel bag.
Ease of Cleaning
This bag would be carrying food, treats, water, towels, and a multitude of stuff that would need cleaning. You could also be taking this bag to the dog park or the beach. In these and similar situations, you’d want to clean up the bag as soon as you return to your house.
A travel bag that you can throw into the washing machine is certainly good. The alternative is a bag that can only be washed by hand or one that would lose its form once it touches the water.
The bag should also dry up quickly. A machine-washable canvas bag would be great looking, and you certainly wouldn’t have to hand wash it. But, it would need air drying, and it would take forever till it becomes usable again.
Material
Most travel bags are made from synthetic materials. While this might make them seem to be all equal in quality, that’s not the case at all.
Some materials are more durable, scratch-resistant, and free from toxic additives than others. Choose a prime quality fabric that’s also sturdy, flexible, and has a known fact sheet. It should also be water-resistant and machine washable.
Degree of Water Resistance
We’ve already established that this bag would come in close contact with water on more than one occasion. We haven’t mentioned rain though. And yes, it’s a thing.
If you’re walking your dog and carrying his belongings in the bag, then it starts to rain, the contents would be a mess in five minutes. That’s why a waterproof bag is always a plus. If you can’t have a fully waterproof material, at least get a water-resistant one.
Accessories
Some specialized dog travel bags are really thoughtful. And they come with practical accessories like food and water bowls, dry food pouches, or hooks to attach the pet’s leash.
When you compare bag prices, bear in mind the inherent cost of these accessories.
What Should You Pack in a Dog Travel Bag?
Now that you bought a nifty new bag, what exactly should you put inside it? Here are a few suggestions, and feel free to add some more.
- Food, with sufficient amounts to last throughout the trip
- Water bottles for a suitable amount of time.
- Food and water bowls
- Medicine
- A first aid kit
- A grooming kit
- Food supplements
- The dog’s harness or leash
- Collars
- A bag of treats
- The dogs favorite toy
- Dog shampoo
- Dog wipes
- Dry shampoo
- Paper towels if cleaning is required
- Your pet’s paperwork
- Disposable poop bags
- A foldable dog mat or bed
- The dog’s favorite blanket
- Your own belongings
The last point in this bullet list is often missed. You can get one bag for your pet’s, as well as your own personal belongings. Just make sure it’s well designed and contains plenty of compartments, pockets, and zippers.
In Conclusion
I believe that you didn’t need to read all the way till here to find out my top pick. It was pretty clear all along that I favored the Mobile Dog Gear Drop Bottom Weekender Backpack.
It has the right design, storage, size, and accessory set that anyone might need. It’ll suit both long and short trips, which is a huge plus. On top of that, it’s a backpack, which makes carrying a heavy bag, no trouble at all.
The only con for that bag is its price. And because of that, I’d like to suggest another great bag which is the KOPEKS Pet Travel Bag Kit. It has pretty much the same perks, but it comes at half the price.
The only thing remaining now is to plan your next trip with your pet friend. Enjoy!
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Forrest is a lover of dogs, the wild outdoors, deep mysterious conversations… and coffee. He is the owner of several websites, including Canine Weekly. He resides in Austin, Texas.