Dog-friendly Road Trip

Want to know the absolute BEST thing about having a dog? It sure is my favorite...dog hair! It covers your couch and blankets, comes with you on every outfit, even ends up in your lunch at work! Boy is that fun stuff. Anyway, it's just about the only thing we did not solve for taking our dogs on our road trip. Please let me know if you have solved it in your pet-filled homes.

On to the things we have deciphered and reconciled for the question, how to live with animals in a small space?:

First, all members of the family (furry and not) must get along swimmingly. The photo to the right is our dogs, about a week after we adopted Zena, on the way home from cross country skiing in the PA Poconos. They were already stealing our hearts with their silly, adorable relationship. And by the way, proof we had just picked her up from the shelter - her arm is still shaved from the IV during her spay surgery. Anyway, our compact living situation includes two humans that love dogs unconditionally, a loyal AF dingo, and a loving family clown. We're a weird bunch but we're great at tolerating each other in confined settings.

This is definitely something to consider when adding members to or transitioning to a smaller living quarters. Also, notice the seat cover in this pic to attempt to combat the dog hair - doesn't work so great when they get moody and decide to crawl under it. Thanks guys.

Okay, second I would say is another necessity to consider - food! When we got Ratchet, we attempted to free feed him to save us time and stress and make him more independent. That backfired when he just decided to never eat...that's a story for another post though. Since we've gotten Zena, Ratchet has had just the right amount of competition for food, and Zena isn't too much of a pig so she can tolerate waiting for and coaxing Ratchet to eat...most of the time. Because of this, our dogs are on a sort of flex feeding schedule. This is particularly convenient for traveling so they aren't bothering us that it's meal time a half hour into our next leg of driving. Note: we have tried food and water in the car and every single time it becomes a mess we regret, so that's out. We plan to just feed them their daily portions whenever we are eating during the day. So whether we are making tea and eggs, grilling up some burgers, assembling a salad, or snacking on nuts as we roll up to a campsite we can just throw down a bowl of food for them to eat. Also, our pups both eat Adult Select Formula Bil-Jac which kinda looks like rabbit feed pellets but is super soft and airy. We are thinking if we run short on food storage space we could store it backpacking style and just blend it before storing, then add warm water to feed them. That part will be a learning process but the stress is off with timing!

Next is the sleeping arrangement...I wish it looked like this every night.

Unfortunately, it does not. We have a queen sized bed currently and these pups are awesome at taking up small human sized areas and/or anchoring down the covers and let's not forget stretching out their legs so they're ALL poking you in the back. Yup that's cool, right? No Ratchet. So for the truck we also have approximately a queen sized bed space; this was something we planned because we know we do not want to be crammed every time we go to sleep. So our sleep setup is a foam mattress that will lay on a platform in our truck bed (I'll put some pics in another post) and we can all still spread out similar to how we usually do...the actual best part? A truck bed has sides! That means animals (or probably people) can lean against them and not be too close to an edge that they'll fall off (or get pushed off by another member of the family). Bedtime silliness. Overall, we're putting out this little camp bed and a blanket for them and hoping for the best!

On to my favorite...exercise! Everyone knows, a tired dog is a good dog. Our dogs are both around 2 years old, which for most dogs means they are high energy and may or may not have calmed down since puppyhood. In order to combat the squirmies, runners, zoomies, all that destructi ..I mean FUN behavior, getting our dogs out to run will be very important. Luckily, 'surprise suprise!' we are outdoorsy people! Our trip is mostly centered around hitting National Parks (which are surrounded by National Forests) and new-age dog friendly towns. We plan to have them with us just about all the time except when we hit the slopes in Colorado. Also even more luckily, Ratchet and Zena are pretty chill car ride buddies; we often forget they are with us after the first 45ish minutes. The car will be packed so that they have the full backseat of our extended cab F-150 which allows for a seatbelt for each of them and plenty of space to stretch out (or just lay on top of each other cuz that's what normally happens). So the plan is to be hiking at most of our stops, and then take quick breaks in parks we may stumble upon and this should be plenty to keep our dogs happy and healthy during the journey.

Finally, supplies we have gathered for the dogs. Since we are minimalists, we have not/try not to accumulate too much even when it comes to spoiling our dogs (we're more likely to cook for them than buy them designer stuff). They both have a couple clothing items for the cold, including a hoodie for each and a canvas coat from Duluth Trading for Ratchet. Also, they do have one backpack that either dog can wear when we are hiking for a longer time span. Neither dog will even begin to tolerate booties so we gradually toughened up their paw pads and use protecting and healing salves when we are out on harsh grounds (read: another reason to love coconut oil). They have their little camp bed (red one in the pic above) which came with a stuff sack so it's even small enough for backpacking. We use Soresto collars for the 8 warmest months of the year and then I make a homemade, non-toxic bug spray that we use the other months if we are going to be out in a forest. Food and training treats are always on the list along with bowls and a treat carrier. We got a massive roll of poop bags that we keep in the truck separate from our home stash. And finally, their leashes and gentle walking tools. I'd like to think this is a basic dog supplies list, we will see how necessary everything is when we're shorter on space.

Overall, we are ecstatic to be traveling with our dogs! We think it will make the whole experience a lot more interesting and continually remind us to take time to appreciate the natural lands and not just be focused on getting to our destination. Our dogs are our kids, they are part of our family and we wouldn't have it any other way. Cheers to all the pet-friendly spots out there and all the humans making an effort to let their animals see the world alongside their owners.

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