With more pros bringing new furry companions onto tour, “pro pickleball puppies” are becoming a heartwarming trend, much to my delight.

Anna Leigh Waters has Archer, Parris Todd has Prince, and Hannah Blatt travels with an adorable French bulldog named Arlo.

To help him adjust to life on the road, Blatt made sure Arlo became comfortable with traveling while he was still just a puppy.

“He’s been flying ever since he was a few weeks old, so traveling is routine for him. He gets excited anytime we get in the car or get on a plane and end up somewhere new. It’s his favorite thing,” said Blatt. “He tries to get in my bag when I’m packing, too, so he always wants to come.”

Naturally, Blatt picked up a few early lessons while traveling with a pet.

“It can be tough traveling with your dog. It really all depends on your pet and their behavior in public. Also make sure they’re well trained and potty trained. Arlo doesn’t bark on the plane, so he’s very quiet and patient,” explained Blatt. “It’s really about understanding your dog and knowing if they’d be able to travel well. I got very lucky because he’s very relaxed when we travel.”

“Honestly, the toughest thing about traveling with him is sleeping. I feel like I don’t sleep through the night because Alro likes to sleep in the bed with me and he takes up space,“ she added. “Every time he moves, he wakes me up, so the sleeping arrangement isn’t something I thought would be a challenge.”

“Having a dog while on tour is an additional stress,” she said. “It’s nice having Grayson watch Arlo when I’m playing and vice-versa.” 

“It really depends on the weather, too. Some places, like Florida in the summer, it’s too hot for him to be outside all day. We have to be careful of that,” emphasized Blatt. “But for the tournaments he can’t go to, I’ll either have a friend or my parents watch him. If we’re gone for more than a week, though, we’ll bring Arlo with us. It just gets too expensive to board him and I don’t want to leave him for that long.”

“Arlo definitely has “Little Big Dog Syndrome” because he’s gotten territorial when he’s met Meesh’s big dog,” she said. “I think it’s funny. He’s used to getting all the attention and being the only dog around.”

Still, despite the challenges, Blatt admitted, “I’d bring him to every tournament if I could.”

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