Both Nick and Mindy always traveled well. They love to ride in the car.
Nicholas always treated the car as ‘his’ property. If a stranger aproaced the car, (or pickup at times) he would bark, snarl and it was obvious that attempting to do anythign was going to result in a fight. I never was concerned about people breaking into the car if I had him there. I am absolutely certain that if I left the car unlocked, windows open a couple of inches for circulation and him buckled in the back seat that I could leave the car in the worst neighborhood in town and find the car completely untouched 6 hours later.
Mindy was always a different sort of rider. If the car was parked, she was asleep. On the other hand if I was driving and she could lean against the window and watch the world go by, there she was.
When I adopted Nick he was exhibiting some rather obvious reactions to beef products. He would get a tear stand from the inner corner of his eye down the side of hus muzzle. In reward for being such a good travler I would stop at truck stops or gas stations and look for dried turkey or ham in amoung the dried beef sticks. This wasn’t always as difficult to find as it sounds. Caledonia, MN is the ‘Wild Turkey Capital of MN’ and most of the gas stations in the area have some variety of turkey strips or chips. It’s a little bit more difficult in the Metro area, but the bigger gas stations and the truck stops tend to have something. That said beef sticks don’t seem to bother him all that much these days. Either he grew out of the issue with age, or it was a reaction to something else. Beef sticks are now a once a month or so treet, at the most. I’m inclined to think that the amount of salt in them is a good week’s supply for a dog of 22 lb.
The first indication that anyone else had that either was going to be a really good travler was when I took Nick to my folks place while he had a pickup on one of the turn around or old driveway sections. The tail of the pickup was down and one day he just hopped up into the bed of the pickup and curled up behind the driver’s seat like it was the most natural place for a dog to be in a pickup.
I’m not sure if this was a good thing or not, but for a long time I drove a pickup with a canvas and wood cover over the back to help with wind while driving and so I didn’t have to tie things down if I stashed them in the back of the pickup. Since it was never really a good idea ot have the two dogs in the front of the pickup, they would tend to ride back there. On reflection I don’t know that it was a good idea for them. If the pickup had ever been in an accident, there really was no restraint for them there.
In really cold weather they did get to ride up front. Early on for Nick I picked up a ‘seat belt harness’ for him to wear. This looks a bit like a dog sled harness but is made more of nylon strps with a broad loop for a seatbelt to go through to restrain the dog. I realized that it wasn’t doing much for Nick the day I snapped his lead to the d-ring on the harness to let him relieve himself, and as a car went by he slipped completely out of the harness. It was time to find a different restraint for him.
While the best restraing for a single dog is a dog crate, having two dogs in the front of a pickup makes this a bit difficult. The solution I ended up using was a seat belt clip lead. Essentially it’s a fairly short lead, about a foot to a foot and a half, with the clip of a seat belt in the loop. The only problem I found was that the clip was not a perfect match for any vehicle I’ve ever driven. However in pretty much every case I was able to use the loop to run a seatbelt strap through for restraint. Again if you are driving with a single dog, use a dog crate. If you have a back seat that you can fit two dog crates into, use them. The seatbelt restraint should be a last ditch solution.
Both of my dogs learned early on that they ride in the back seat of the car. Now a lot of people say ‘Sure, but the moment you get out, up into the front seat they jump. Right?’ Nope. Even without restraints if they get into a car with a back seat, these two go there, and stay there. When I had to go to my mom’s funeral, a friend dogsat for me, and she was absolutely stunned to see that it didn’t matter if it was my car or hers, they did exactly the same thing.
I drove a stick shift when I had the pickup. On some of the longer trips during the winter, when Mindy was tired of staring out the window, she would lay down on the seat and rest her head in my lap. I often ended up having a hand on her neck or shoulder when not shifting.
Rest stops are your friends when driving with dogs. Unfortunately you ususally only find them on freeways these days. As a result, choose gas stations wisely. You want a place where you can walk your dog after you’ve taken care of your own business. Actually, before if possible. A gas station that does not have a stretch of green for a dog to relieve themselves in is a place to avoid. Most truck stops have them. Be good traveling citizens and pick up after your dog as well. Pretty much every interstate freeway rest stop has at least one area for you to walk your dog in. Most have one at either end of the car parking area. Your dog could spend hours investigating the scents of all the other dogs that have visited those areas.
If your community has a lake or stream that is dog friendly, go. Mindy loves the water. Unfortunately it has a bad result on her ear infections, or I would take her to the lake daily during the summer. We have a few more 40+ degree days coming up though, perhaps she will be up to a swim next week. we’ll see. Nick isn’t quite as enthused about water. Then again his paws are not really made for swimming as Mindy’s are.
The only time I’ve had issues with traveling with the dogs has been related to visiting my siter’s place. As a result of Nick being high strung, he’s not welcome. Mindy is well loved, but when they have had dogs, she has had that issue I mentioned before about other dogs. I also don’t tend to want to have them in the car for very long (multi-day) drives.
As a result I have had to use sitter’s at times. When it comes down to it, there are three varieties of dog sitters. People you know or who sit for one or two dogs at a time. Vets who have a boarding system as part of their support system, and people who’s business is dog sitting in volume.
Because of Nick’s nature of being a one person dog, I’ve never really been comfortable with leaving him with a friend, or ‘family sitter.’ He might do OK, but I want to see him spending time with them first. Mindy could be with anyone of course.
The one vet I’ve left Nick and Mindy with commented that Nick apparently didn’t like their system, and mand that known by peeing on the handler’s foot when he was out for a walk.
We have a couple of boarding houses for dogs in the area. I’ve only used one of them, and them only a few times. They have had a great time with both dogs. Fortunately both Nick and Mindy are comfortable sharing a stall there.
