The RV Life for a Dog

We are living the dream, so our Chippy dog is too.  His favorite thing is to sit here in this chair looking out the window hoping that some squirrel will come by and he can bark them to death.

Most of the time Chippy the 6 pound miniature curly haired Rottweiler (aka Toy Poodle) has free run of the house, but there are times when he needs to be crated.  Sometimes it is for his protection.  Once I ran a quick errand and came back and he had hopped onto the kitchen counter (he used the couch as a ladder) and ate a plate of almond pancakes.  Six pound dogs don't need to eat five almond pancakes.  So, I typically put him in the crate to avoid potentially vomitous situations.

Sometimes, it is for our neighbor's protection.  He barks less when he is crated. So if we are parked in an RV park where others could hear him barking, into the crate he goes.  

He has been crated since he was little bitty and it is his safe place.  

If he isn't feeling well, he voluntarily goes to the crate.  

If he's feeling guilty, he goes to the crate.  

If he needs a timeout, he is sent to the crate.  

Sometimes he even hides food in the crate for a later snack (that's where we found the rest of the almond pancakes).

Ray at LoveYourRV.com has this to say about crating your dog.

Many times the dogs will have to stay behind in the rig. Sometimes it’s because we are going shopping and they can’t be left in a sunny truck or it’s a hike in National park and no dogs are allowed. We have found the best way to do it is to leave them inside their kennels in the rig. This really made sense after the carpet eating incident. If they are in the kennels they feel secure, won’t be trying to see out the windows causing stress or if they fall an injury, and most important with beagles…. won’t eat stuff. When leaving the less fuss the better soon they will know the drill and if properly exercised will likely curl up and sleep till you return.

Now, when we lived in a 3801 sq ft house, there were plenty of places to keep a crate.  After all, that 1 extra square foot over 3800 came in handy!  BUT, in a RV, space is limited.  In fact, if there is unused space then the RV designer did not do their job (another post for another day....finding all the hidey-holes in an RV).  So, where would I put the crate?  We had to have that safe, timeout, bark-less crate and I really didn't want to trip over it in the middle of the night.

So, I found a hidey-hole.  Since there are only 2 of us living here, I took one of the chairs and put it in the basement (Yes, RVs have basements - another post on another day) and put the crate in its place!  (I'm especially proud of this discovery/idea).

If you are looking for a hidey-hole in your home, I recommend purchasing the Midwest Life Stages Folding Metal Dog Crate.  It has a door on the side and the end, perfect for odd spaces.  You can click here for the link to this crate.  

If you need help finding that hidey-hole, I am available for consultations.

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?

Logo

Our fabulous DIL made this logo for us!  Do you need a logo or a graphic designer to make something wonderful for you?  I can set you up.  Let me know and I'll get you her contact info.

Pitter Patter

If you have never slept in an RV during a gentle rain, you are missing out on one of lives greatest pleasures.  Best.sleep.ever!!!!

For real, you seriously need to put this on your bucket list.  You will wake refreshed and well rested.

In fact, I might be willing to trade with you.  You can sleep in my RV on a rainy afternoon if I can nap on a floaty in your pool on a sunny day.

Truly.

I wonder if I could record the sound and load it to iTunes and make money?  After all, someone videoed their fireplace and put it on Netflix and people really watch it when they don't have a fireplace and want the ambience of one.  I'm gonna try it!  I'll keep you posted since inquiring minds (like you) want to know.

Not wandering, but dreaming of a wander

Well, I have not posted because we are still not wandering.  We are in the RV parked in our friends' driveway in the hot, humid hub of Houston...living the dream.

It's NOT the dream we envisioned, yet.  But, it is a step in the right direction.

We CAN be mobile.
We CAN pack up and leave in about an hour.
We HAVE drastically cut our outgoing expenses.
We are just waiting for dream financing.

But, it has taken me months to realize that although I thought this blog would be about our wanderings, it can still be about PREPARING to wander.  Some of you might find it interesting.  I still get questions all the time about the "full timer" lifestyle.  Inquiring minds want to know.

So, I will resurrect the blog. You just need to read it, like it, follow it, subscribe to it, tweet about it; whatever floats your boat, or rather, rolls your wheels.  Do it!  We'll dream a little together.

What are you dreaming about?  What are you doing to make that dream come true?

Potty Talk

Um, uh, where do you go to the, uh, bathroom?

Not in the yard, not in the shower, not in the woods, not down the road at the gas station.  We, uh, "go" in the bathroom

We have a full bathroom.  It seems that some people have had some experience with some very old RVs.  And yes, some old RVs had "wet rooms."  Imagine one room with the shower and toilet together.  You sit on the toilet and shower.  Some people maybe thinking "How convenient!"  If you thought that, you are a different kind of camper than me.  You are the kind who sleeps on the ground possibly in a tent and uses leaves for tp.  Me?  I'm not that kind of girl.  I'm not even that kind of person.  I'm the "One step away from a Marriot" kind of girl.  My RV is something like a hotel room with wheels.

I have a separate toilet.  It even flushes.  It's even tankless.  (Impressed?  It's like a "green" thing.)

Where does the, um, "product" go?  Good question.  It goes into a "Human Waste" tank which is also called "black water."  I'm thinking it's called that because when it is all mixed together, it may or may not be black.  Every once in a while, Scot goes and pulls a lever and "whoosh" the black water flows through the tube-like hose and into the sewer.  If you have seen "RV", it is NOTHING like that.  IF it was I'd be doing some serious videoing.

If you have never seen RV with Robin Williams, you have totally missed out on a treat.  Here is the clip of the very funny Robin Williams trying to dump his RV.  

http://klipd.com/watch/rv/waste-dump-scene 

I'm am very excited to report this news flash!!!!  People have asked me what do you miss about your house?  My answer was "two-ply" toilet paper.  Because, you want to use special RV toilet paper that will disintegrate easily.  However, I'm not a fan of disintegration in my hand.  TRULY, not a fan.  So, you would not believe how excited I was when I found RV 2-ply tp.  I was soooo excited I even texted some friends.  It's the little things that make me totally happy.

Now, I have to come up with a new answer.  What do I miss????  I'll have to get back to you later.