A friend once commented to me that hunting over someone else's dog is like dancing with your sister. After several "dances" with other hunters' dogs, including some very capable canines, I now understand what he meant, and try to take my own four-legged partner along on hunting trips whenever possible.

That attitude forces me and like-minded hunters to drive to destinations that we'd normally fly to just to have our favorite four-legged companion along, and I am seeing more portable kennels containing hunting dogs on airport carousels each autumn.

No matter how or where you travel to hunt, getting your own dog to the destination doesn't have to be an ordeal. But you do need to prepare both the dog and, if you drive, the vehicle for the trip so that both can do their job when you get there.

For example, while cleaning rabbits at the end of a successful day, a battered sedan pulled into the parking lot of the state wildlife area I had just hunted. A faded Carhartt-and-orange-clad guy got out and introduced himself as a fellow cottontail hunter looking for places to work his dogs and saw me cleaning rabbits.

When I asked about his hounds, which I could hear but not see, he walked over and popped open the trunk of the ancient Chevy Caprice. Inside were half a dozen beagles baying their hearts out from a bed of old blankets and fresh straw.

"Rust holes give 'em plenty of ventilation," he joked, adding that every now and then he'd lose a smaller pup through one of the larger holes!

EXERCISE RESTRAINT
Granted, that was a radical case, but losing dogs from the vehicle they are being transported in represents a real threat to hunters and their hounds. I once had a golden retriever, which had never shown such an inclination, suddenly jump from the bed of my moving pickup truck. At 35 miles per hour, the pup did a roll when she hit the pavement and had the wind knocked out of her, but otherwise seemed fine. When I got her checked out by the local veterinarian, he said I was lucky.

"Most dogs that jump -- or fall -- from a pickup truck bed only do it once," he said. "The fall either kills 'em," he explained, "or scares them so bad they never come close to letting it happen again."

Since that incident, no dog of mine rides in an open bed without being confined to a crate, let alone a leash.

A dog that wants to exit a vehicle will go to extremes to do so, often exhibiting agility and acceleration you won't often witness when the same pet is asked to get off the couch.

Crack a door or open a hatchback and a dog that wants to escape will, and when traveling with your canine partner you -- and anyone traveling with you -- must anticipate each situation in which a dog can get out.

In SUVs, bars or grills made for the purpose may be used to separate the passenger cab from the cargo area, where the dog may be confined and will not be tempted to jump out every time a door is opened. Better yet, place a crate in the back and allow the dog to travel in its familiar kennel, which will help keep the animal calm during the ride.

Having the dog travel in a crate also helps contain any accidents that may happen along the route, a familiar -- and fragrant -- consequence of traveling with pups or dogs that are not used to being transported by vehicle. Most dogs drool and may vomit or empty their bowels when first introduced to over-the-road travel, which causes them to be motion sick.