Traveling with Dog Disasters

Occasionally, traveling with a dog is quite disastrous.  Like the one time that the RV door didn't get closed and our daughter found our dog ALL the way across the park.  She said we were bad parents.  I reminded her that SHE was still alive. Lucky duck.

Sometimes, traveling with a dog is quite hilarious.  Once while driving through New Mexico in a light snow, we stopped to get gas.  Hubby left the keys in the car and the rest of us got out to go to the bathroom (read "get snacks" for the kids).  Guess what? The dog got excited and ran to the window and placed his little bitty paw on the automatic door lock.  Here's what I learned from that little episode.

1.  Onstar considers it an emergency if a pet or person is locked in the car.
2.  When you call Onstar, they are very concerned about said pet and ask if they are ok.
3.  Onstar does not care about the fact that the car was locked because the dog stepped on the "lock" button while you were pumping gas.  
4. Onstar can even talk to the dog while they are unlocking the car and you are standing outside in 32 degree weather with no coat cause it's in the car.
5.  Gas stations in the middle of New Mexico do not keep the phone number for Onstar handy.
6.  When you have an Onstar account, you should put their number in your phone. 


I think that these are good tips for anyone traveling with a dog.  Number one being "Don't leave the keys in the ignition."

Also, please don't leave your dog in the car when it is very hot or very cold.  It's very dangerous and that is exactly why Onstar considers it an emergency.  

If you RV, please don't leave your pet in the RV during extreme temperatures if you aren't heating or cooling it.  AND never put your pet in a crate inside the RV while you are pulling it down the road.  You just never know what might happen.

One time we opened our RV up after traveling and found this:

The knife fell off the magnetic rack and landed point down in the floor.  That could kill a pet.  For real. 

If you have seen the movie "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, then you KNOW what can happen to someone who is riding in the RV while traveling down the road.

If you haven't seen the movie, click here to purchase it.  You'll love it!  It's very worth the 5 bucks.

Traveling with Dogs

Today is National Dog Day.  I'm not quite sure what that means, but any reason to celebrate is A-OK with me!

In honor of this auspicious holiday, this week's post will feature living in a RV with dogs.

Chip - our 6 pound miniature curly haired Rottweiler  (ok, so maybe he's a toy poodle)

Although, buying an RV didn't have anything to do with our dog, many people buy RVs just because they can't imagine traveling without their dog.  For people whose pets are like children, RVing is the perfect choice for travel.  After all, cruise ships don't allow dogs (I'm thinking it has something to do with the lack of grass) and few hotels do.  That means that dog owners have to spend BIG time money on boarding or find someone to come to their home for dog sitting.

For us, having someone come to the house to care for our dog has never worked too well.  I think it is harder on little Chip - maybe he misses us more because we are not there?  Having someone take our dog into their home is a little frightening to me.  Although Chip has never chewed up or damaged our furniture, what if he is stressed and takes it out on their pricey sofa???  Nightmare.  We have taken care of a dog in our home and the dog became so stressed that she began to have bloody diarrhea and had to be hospitalized.  When dogs get stressed, this is a common problem.  Chip does best when he is in a kennel at the vet.  I have a suspicion that he is very spoiled when he is there.  They all exclaim, "Chip, he is one of our favorites" whenever we visit the vet.  Either that or he is a little demon and they aren't telling me.

Best of all is when Chipperdoodle just travels with us.

Chip in the truck ready to travel.

Truly, since we live in our RV full time, it's no big deal.  He likes exploring new campgrounds and marking them. And then marking them again. and again. and again.  He loves the early morning walks and wakes us up early. Ok - full confession - in all truthfulness he wakes Scot up early.  I like to sleep through it.

I'm not sure he realizes that other houses DON'T have wheels.  He knows when we start packing up and begs to get in the truck.  He is ready to go!  We have found that it works best to keep his food and water on the floor in the back of the truck and restrict his access to the front seat.  We put his bed in the back and he rides great - until we use the turn signal.  Then he goes crazy.  I'm going to look into headphones for dogs.

Tomorrow, more tips for traveling with dogs.

What burning questions do you have about traveling with dogs?

Our First Road Trip

Well, we wandered.  We hit the road.  We mosied down I-10.  Scot is particularly impressed that we only went into one ditch (at the end of the driveway....we had gone 300 feet before we "ditched it."  I guess that is when it's good to have a "SUPER DUTY" truck.  Crisis averted.

Did I mention that while we "hooked up" it was misting/raining.  So, then we had to drive down the muddy 300 foot driveway.  If it was a comedy, we would've gotten stuck.  S-T-U-C-K.  If you've ever seen "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucy and Desi, - that kind of stuck.  If you haven't, you have truly missed out on a treat!

I took this picture for you.  This is the view out the back window.  Don't worry.  We have great mirrors that stick WAY out.  We can almost see all the way to the back.  :)

Then we got down the road.  We'd been gone maybe 20 minutes and Emily called.

Me:  Hello?
Em:  Um, I just wanted you to know that your trailer isn't there.
Me:  WHAT?
Em:  I think maybe your trailer was stolen.  It's gone.
Me:  Uh....no.  We just left with it.
Em:  Ohhhhhh!  Good.

We had horrible traffic and it was raining all before we got our of Houston.  (Houston is really BIG).  Scot was really pleased with how the 5th wheel pulls.  It's much better than pulling a trailer (less sway) and better than a motorhome (less rattling).

We stopped and got "The BEST Burger" (according to the sign).   I think that if they claim it's the best, I should definitely try it.  You never know when they are telling the truth.  It was yummy and we didn't hit a ditch on the way out.  Bonus.

Finally, we reached our destination, Frog City RV Park.  I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that we are in Louisiana.  I haven't heard any frogs, but I can hear the interstate.  It's not quite the same.

This state makes me laugh.  I have seen the funniest signs in Louisiana.  I sure would like to hear the stories behind signs like this:

Tomorrow we move on to Mississippi to see our kiddos.  I'm sure it will be an adventure!

No, we aren't crazy.

No, we aren't crazy.  Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that WE don't think we are crazy. Some of you probably think we are stark raving mad, but guess what....we aren't.  We are just following a dream.

I am starting this new blog to debunk some myths, answer some questions, and hopefully entertain the masses (AKA the 25 people who read my blogs).

So, here is our life in a nutshell.

We sold our house after living in it for 16 years.  We said good bye to 3801 square feet containing 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, 2 living areas, 2 dining areas, a kitchen, study, sunroom and workshop.  We said good bye to our LOVELY pool and backyard.  We said good bye to our 3 car garage.

We said hello to a 39 foot 5th wheel.  That's an RV that gets pulled by a truck.  So, we had to say hello to a new-to-us truck, too.  We now have 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living/dining/kitchen area.

We've gotten two reactions.  They are exact opposites.  Nobody really asks anything in between.

• Are you REALLY living in an RV?  (said in the "have you lost your mind" tone of voice)

OR

• I am so jealous!  You are my hero.  (said in a tone that makes me think they're going to ask for my autograph)

Then they ask questions like:

• How do you cook?
• Where are you parked?
• How are you faring in these cold temperatures?
• What did you do with all your stuff?
• What are you doing for ice?
• Did you ask your children about this?
• When are you taking off in this RV?
• Do you drive it?
• How long are you going to stay in it?
• What did you do with all your stuff?
• Don't you miss your house?
• Don't you miss your pool?
• What about your kids?  Where will they sleep?
• What did you do with all your stuff?
• How do you watch tv?
• How big is it?
• What will Scot vacuum?

So, I will attempt to answer these questions in the future.  Today, I will answer the one that I feel is the most important.

Yes, we asked our children.  We even asked our parents.  And other than the fact that my parents really don't want us to move away or leave, they are all supportive.

We spend hours and hours searching for an RV that would still give Madeline a place to "come home" and Michael and Mysie still have a place to come visit.  We finally found one that was currently being built and would be ready one week before our house closed.  Perfect timing.  :)

This was not a decision made in haste.  We did lots of research, lots of planning, lots of praying and over and over we found confirmation in our desire to eventually hit the road.

Right now, we are enjoying the "no mortgage, no utilities" lifestyle and plan to sock away some money so that we can eventually travel.  I think that we will eventually go back to a house.  We have put the money from our house away so that it is there when we want to settle down.

So, we invite you to wander this road with us.  For the next few months, we will let you in on all our RV secrets, dish out the good and the bad of RV living, answer your questions, and hopefully peak your interest.  Someday, maybe we can all travel together!!!!

Let us know what you want to know.  Ask your questions in the comment section and I will answer them.