Sunday, September 6, 2009

Tips - Vacationing with Your Dog

I hope you all have been having a great time this weekend. It's a long weekend and like many other people, we are away for a few days. I am seeing a lot of dogs in the hotel this weekend.


I wanted to post some quick, point form tips for you and your dogs to remember when vacationing with your dogs.


- Don't keep your dog on an extenda-leash when in the lobby ... it is a real pain in theass to be trying to carry bags and figure out where rooms are with a little dog running out in front and tripping people


- Don't let your dog go up to everyone and say hello. There are people who don't like dogs and who are afraid of them - RESPECT their thoughts, fears and opinions. It's not like I'm putting a spider on your clothing against your protestations and telling you not to swat at it because she's "friendly"


- You are in an unfamiliar place and your dog may not feel totally comfortable asking to go for potty breaks. Make sure you take him or her out regularly to set them up for success and not for housetraining accidents!


- Ensure you have up to date information with your current phone number ON THE DOG. If your dog gets scared by a bus's airbrakes or something going off that it's not used to and takes off, you need to ensure he or she will find their way back to you.


- MICROCHIP


- Barking dogs in hotels are just rude. If your dog is a barker when in an unfamiliar place, leave him at home until you've cleared that training hurdle.


- Remember, you are required to take the dog with you whenever you leave the room. That means you need to preplan everything you do to accomodate.


- HAVE FUN. You can get some good quality time in with your dog that will help you to strengthen the bond between you so go out, take your dog with you and have a great time!


Vacationing with your dog can be a fun and rewarding experience, but don't make it a negative thing for everyone around you. They are guests of the hotel too and have the right to enjoy their vacation just as much as you do.

6 comments:

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

GREAT post!!!

You missed one REALLY important point. CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG(s)!!! So many places don't allow dogs because of the poop factor. We should all be cleaning up after our dogs, all the time, no matter where we are. but if for some reason you don't think it's important when you areout in the woods, or the middle of the desert, at the very least clean up after your dog in public dog friendly places so we can continue to bring our dogs with us.

AND if you don't hink it's important to pick up poop in some of those wilderness areas check out this link: http://leavenotracecommunity.blogspot.com/2009/08/dealing-with-dog-poop.html

The Leave No Trace blog states, "City of Boulder (CO) Open Space and Mountain Parks estimates that 40 TONS (80,000 lbs) of pet wastes are left on open space lands (40,000+ acres) each year. This represents a 10 ton increase in just the past 5 years."

Thanks for the rant space!

GoLightly said...

It is sad that that has to be a constant reminder.

We just made a "PLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG" sign for a condo corp. One of the residents takes her dog out into the common area, leaves the poop behind, and lets her dog destroy the gardens.
Stupid, and selfish, some people are.

I took puppy Blaze to the Crown Plaza, at the DVP & Eglinton, a couple of times. Had a blast! Got a ground level suite, so going outside was easy-peasy, just walk out the back door.

Felt like Paris Hilton, I did;)
Except she'd have someone pick up poop for her.

Viatecio said...

Heck...I'd say just to leave the extendi-leash at home if you're going vacationing. They're way too cumbersome to be carrying around if you're playing the tourist part with stuff in your hands.

Or...you could just properly teach your dog to walk at your side...but that's too much work for a lot of people :(

Agreed with everyone else, great post!

LilliGirl said...

I might take my long leash if I planned an activity it would be good for but checking into a hotel with one? Hells to the no. That's hard on me, the dog and others. Mine go on short leashes then. :)

And yes, poop sucks. Though I have been pleased to see more and more people with baggies on their leashes. Perhaps that too can become fashionable. ;)

DogsDeserveFreedom said...

Great point ... I can't believe I forgot that one! *headdesk*


I don't know why people can't remember to pick up their dog's poop (perhaps they think they are important enough to have someone walking along behind them with a poop-bag just waiting for their dog to take a dump??). I totally should have remembered this because I had to do some fancy footwork on Saturday to miss the big pile someone had left on the sidewalk in front of the falls!

GSC ...

I'm going to go check out that link now ...

GoLightly ...

One of my favourite things is taking the dogs downtown! It took a bit of training to get them used to the TTC, but the results were totally worth the extra effort!

Viatecio ...

Teach your dog to walk at your side? Golly gee, that sure is a lot of work. Most people either can't be bothered or actually have no idea how to train this.

LilliGirl ...

I agree. I would probably always pack a long line in the dog's overnight bag (along with extra leashes and collar, toys and kong). Be prepared ...

jack said...

potty train chihuahua puppy
wow... find it interesting... hope it'll be beneficial for me and my friends...