Dogs

These are our two dogs who will be riding with us.

Buddy the Dog is the darker one, he is 10. Hank aka Pink is just 18 months. No clue for sure what either of them are. Buddy the dog has some greyhound and some collie features. Hank looks like a really tall fox terrier, but when he puts his ears down, it rounds out his head and he looks like a miniature pit bull.  Both are rescues. Both have their quirks and are complete opposites in personalities. They both sleep with us in the bed, which is why we need a king size bed.

Buddy is local, born and raised Minnesota. When he wants something, he puts his head on your leg and keeps moving around till he gets your attention. He is happy with a short walk each day, or a short run around the back yard. He likes things calm and routine and is terribly afraid of lightening, camera flashes and fireworks.

Hank was found in a swamp on Caye Caulker in Belize covered with mange and absolutely no hair. A friend who lives down there nursed him back to health, then sent him up with some other friends who had been down there to visit. He is totally New York. When he wants something, he is all over you, poking you with his nose, whining if you don't respond. To him, life is a grand adventure and he goes at things full speed. He has no fear, except fly swatters for some reason.

I don't worry much about Hank because he is so happy go lucky. But I worry about Buddy. On a trip up north, he didn't do too well in the hotel for the first couple of days. One thing I'm hoping, is that in the RV, he will be more at home. I do plan on spending time in it when we first get it, so he can get used to it a little at a time. Any other suggestions? Anyone else try this and did it work?


Caryl

We travel with a dog, an 18 pounder of the hypoallergenic variety. To tell the truth, it's not all roses and I am ambivolent about having him along. He's a happy, affectionate, friendly little guy. He's adorable and is a great people-magnet. Walking him keeps us from being bed slugs.

On the other hand, he has a touchy stomach and throws up frequently on the upholstery and carpets. He will move from the tile to the carpet to be sick. Yes, he has seen the vet. Nothing wrong with him. Just high strung. He is occasionally yappy if people get too close to our rig. When we would like to sleep in, we can't. He has kept us from going places we want to go for extended time when we can't find a good boarding kennel.

He's with us and he's is ours, and that's how it is for the foreseeable future. But if we were making the decision today, I am not sure I would want a dog right now.

Caryl, we have 3 rescues that go with us, a Westie, Yorkie and a lab. We would not leave home without them and we call the MH our "big dog carrier". The lab is 75 lbs and of course the one that is terrified of loud noises like gunshots, rain/thunder, fireworks, etc. She was a little skittish the first couple times out in the MH but now no problem. Remember to get her used to all the same habits as if you were home including leaving  them by themselves. We close up the curtains and turn on a radio to drown out outside noise and they are fine.
Also, we have used this laughing dog cd with quite a few dogs when they are anxious or afraid for whatever reason. We still use it with our lab now when it is raining hard and it calms here right down. I made a bunch of copies so it continues to play in our older cd player (no repeat button) for hours. It really was worth the $, good luck.
http://www.laughing-dog.org/
Curlew, most dogs we have had that have a touchy stomach when it comes to travelling etc is usually cured by changing the food brand. Worst case, get some of the expensive stuff from your vet just to try it. The best we have tried from the vet is made by Purina and called DCO, dual fiber control. It is made just for dogs with problems you describe. Once they settle down and get used to the new food start mixing it a little at a time to see what works, just a thought.

I travel with two cats.. So I also (now) travel with a Bissell Pro-Heat carpet cleaner and a steam generator for the tough jobs.  Works great.

Mavarick, is it a good sign that Buddy got up and left the room when I played the sample of the dog laugh?  ??? I will probably get it, Im looking into it right now though. I think it just may help. I know that since we got Hank, Buddy is a little better at displaying some of his phobias. I also use some  natural remedy drops called Anxiety TFLN. Our vet recommended them and even offered a money back guarantee. They do work, but I kinda think its the alcohol that the natural remedy is suspended in that works the best.

curlew, when Hank was in Belize, he and the other dogs would strip the bark off the coconuts and eat the strips. Now that he is up here, he does the same with tree branches and sticks, and pretty much anything else he can find to eat. Consequently, he throws up often too. Being in an RV would probably alleviate most of that because he would not be able to run unsupervised like he does in our back yard, which means not eating so many sticks. Otherwise I would have to follow John's lead and keep a carpet cleaner on hand... or just pull up any carpet and lay vinyl.


Caryl

Our Cavalier has a touchy stomach, the vet suggested adding pumpkin to his food.  It has helped a lot.  We make his food in a pressure cooker because of this allergies.  He eats better than I do. ;D

Mavarick, is it a good sign that Buddy got up and left the room when I played the sample of the dog laugh? 

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Maybe that's his way of requesting something a bit more sophisticated,  Or maybe just more alcohol, I mean anxiety drops! 

We have a 7 yr old rescue German Shepherd and, like Buddy, she doesn't do very well when left alone in hotel rooms.  But after having spent a little time in it, she does just fine when left in our trailer.  She has her own bed, the trailer has our smells, and she knows it's home.  So we think she probably doesn't worry as much about whether we're coming back.  At home she does know how to open doors with "L" handles (instead of knobs), so we had to put a protective cover over the screen mesh on the door so she doesn't inadvertently rip it up trying to open the door.  But that was cheap and easy to install.  It might be a good idea to start Buddy out with short absences - maybe starting with just a couple minutes -  and progress to longer ones to keep his anxiety level down.  All that to say, I think you're right that Buddy will likely be more comfortable in your RV than in a strange hotel room.

WWhen we went full time back in 2002 we had two female Shelties, both of whom got car sick going a few blocks.
We had the motor home parked in the side yard for a couple of months and we lived in it for three weeks or so before we headed out. At first every day or two we told them we were going out to the "little house" and we would spend the evening in it. Then after our stuff was put into storage and the house was being painted inside and floors refinished we moved into it and started spending nights.

When we started the engine and headed west they seemed a little suprised that the house moved but they settled down and were never car sick.
As we traveled they loved going for walks and having people want to pet then and tell them how pretty they were.

When they were 13 and 14 years old they both got so sick we had to have them put down. We still miss them.

We have a rescue dog from a pound in Lakewood CO that we got just before we went full time. I think he is a cross between a poodle and a garbage disposal, a disposapoo. I call him an Ethiopian monkeybeaver dog. I know he is Ethiopian because he is always hungry and he eats bananas and tree roots. I, too have mixed feelings about having a dog in an RV full time. He loves to run and I don't always find place for that. Right now, we are by the entrance to a state park as park hosts with no other campers within 2 miles of us.  Visitation is way down--maybe 5 cars a day, so I wait until the office staff goes home for the day and let him off leash for 20 minutes or so. He also gets to run when I go close the gates at 10 PM. He is the most people oriented dog I have ever seen. In dog parks, he ignores the other dogs and goes to the people. Sometimes, I think he would be much happier with a big fenced yard and 3 or 4  kids to play with. But, I assumed responsibility for him and try to make his life the best it can be.

[quote I think he is a cross between a poodle and a garbage disposal, a disposapoo. ][/quote]

;D ;D

Mavarick said:

[quote I think he is a cross between a poodle and a garbage disposal, a disposapoo. ]

;D ;D

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That's the kind of dog I would want, the problem is, what ever goes in, eventually comes out.

Not A Clue said:

Our Cavalier has a touchy stomach, the vet suggested adding pumpkin to his food.  It has helped a lot.  We make his food in a pressure cooker because of this allergies.  He eats better than I do. ;D

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We have a Cavachon which is a cross between a Bichon and a Cavalier and he has a touchy stomach. Vomits a couple of times a month all bile. Will have to try the pumpkin suggestion.

Vomits a couple of times a month all bile.

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My younger dog Hank does this also. I did some checking on it and found that its kind of a type of reflux condition. Its always on an empty stomach about an hour or so before feeding time. The condition is because for some reason some small amounts of food in their stomach are not digested and sit over time, causing increased production of stomach acid. The solutions are to give them canned or wet food, which digests easier, or to feed them more frequently with the theory that it will stimulate the stomach to work more efficiently.

What Ive done is to do about 30 minutes of "training" about 2 hours ahead of feeding time. Hank is very food motivated and I cut up Natural Balance dog food to use as treats...http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product.aspx?ProductId=156&product=Dog+Food+Rolls+-+Beef+Formula&ProductCategoryID=21&category=Dog+Food+Roll+Formulas+

He has not vomited since I started doing that. He is still working on "wait" (I think he needs remedial help)

We have an Akita who travels with us all the time and will be getting an Anatolia Shepherd also to travel with.  What we did with Kenji after getting a our TT, was to let him get in at home and explore a bit to help acclimate him.  Actually he was with us when we bought the TT and so he had a "pre-inspection", but we also were in and out of other TT's that day, so probably did not mean much to him.  Once we brought the TT home, we let him explore it, inside and out while we packed it up for our first trip with it later that day.  During the day we keep the blinds up so he can look out, especially if we have to leave him alone for a short while.  Also when leaving him a lone for a short while, we play soothing music and leave his Kong stuffed with a treat or a meaty bone.  So far it has worked well.

I travel with cats, but this holiday season I'm doggy sitting for my daughter.

I tell folks I'm hanging out with a cute big eyed blond at night... Photos, hopefully attached.
Alas, photo is too large to attach and I do not feel like resizing.

Click here for Dropbox photo

Spencer (Said blond) is on the left,  COMET, being a Cat, feels he deserves the center of attention.