I often think about the limits we put on our dogs.
- They only go for a stroll when we say it’s okay and usually on the end of a leash.
- We choose when and what they eat.
- Every time they signal a need to go out while we’re busy, they get called a mother-lovin’ fornicator.
It can’t be easy.
And being on vacation adds its own stresses. For Honey, at least
- gets dragged in and out of restaurants without once getting to order off the menu,
- has a camera continually stuck in her face, and
- has to listen to dozens of people talking about their deceased Golden Retrievers while stroking her fur.
The last one has her facing a kind of existential crisis. Honey thought dogs lived forever.
To make up for the things we want her to do, I try to build in activities that are especially fun for Honey. For every hour of mini golf, she gets to roll in stinky things on the beach. Quietly sitting under a restaurant table leads to a fast game of fetch. And going on the dolphin watching boat ride earns her hole digging privileges.
Dog want so much to please us. Which is why we can drag them along wherever we want to go. Few cats would put up with it.
So instead of always asking myself, “what can we get Honey to do with us next?” I need to remember to ask, “what would Honey like to do on vacation?”
Pet Travel Shout-Out
One of the best examples of someone who plans active fun that suits her dogs can be found at You Did What With Your Weiner. Blogger Jess has not been posting much lately. But the site is full of descriptions and great photos of hiking with her dachshunds, Chester and Gretel, in the Seattle area.
Anyone who has ever met a doxie knows they are scrappy athletic dogs. The only thing that makes them “lap dogs” is their size. But they have a big dog spirit in a small dog body.
I love reading about the hiking wiener dogs. And I really look forward to meeting the crew at BlogPaws in Salt Lake City. Go check them out and be inspired to have adventures with your dogs—no matter what their size.
What is your dog’s favorite thing to do on vacation?
Oh, I love Jessica’s blog! Because we enjoy hiking so much with our dogs, I’m often envious of all the fantastic hikes they get to go on. She has great pictures of their adventures, too!
When we travel, it’s often with the dogs, and there’s usually some kind of dog event that it’s planned around. Greyhounds in Gettysburg comes to mind. So often, we have a lot of pre-planned activities that involve the dogs. We try to have things to do that keep them active, and if we’re going to do something like sit down outside and eat, we definitely try to have them a bit active first, so that sitting down is sort of a recharge.
I suspect you have such good models because for every moment spent posing, your dogs get to do something they really like to do. 🙂
The Greyhounds in Gettysburg event always seems like so much fun. It makes me think there might be a market for a website that just lists dog-related events and festivals.
I’ve never heard of a mini-putt that allows dogs before – that’s fantastic! Mini golf is one of my favourite goofy activities and we never go anymore because we can’t take the puppy. You have definitely found a great place to holiday.
For the most part I think our dog just likes to be with us while doing something active. As long as we keep moving, she is perfectly content.
I had to laugh about the part she has to listen to people talk about their deceased golden while petting her.
This was so true with my bloodhound Fred who just passed. Anytime we went anywhere he was always being petted by other hound owners and that was always the first thing out of their mouths was about their dead hounds. I would just smile.
Now that Fred is gone I make it a point to never talk about him when I pet other hounds lol.
Wait a patient dog Honey is. I love that picture of her on the (mini) golf course. 🙂
Unfortunately, we haven’t traveled much with Bella for obvious reasons but we do (usually) attend every local dog event we can with her through the summer. We also take her to a local ice cream stand any Sunday in the summer that’s not rainy. (They serve doggie ice cream for the pups.) It’s good experience for her and, of course, a sweet treat for us. 😉 We’re hoping to do more with her as we work on her reactivity.
I used to hike a lot with Beau and live vicariously through YDWWYW now. Love that blog.
It looks like you’ve got a wonderful, dog friendly vacation spot Pamela. Where did you say that was? LOL J/K I remember.:-)
The few times we’ve been on vacation with both dogs we really didn’t do anything except walk on the beach, which they totally loved.
I’m glad you all are enjoying your well-deserved vacation.
Cali loves going anywhere that involves icy cold water to lay down in (she’s not much of a swimmer!) Honey is such a great little traveler!
Dogs get to go on dolphin watching boats and mini golf courses in Cape May. Can you see how green I am?
Yeah….. I think you humans often forget what we put up with to provide you companionship.
Buster usually insists on a nice hike after a few days of “confining” human activities. Ty, on the other hand, is happy to go where ever we go … as long as we slip him a french fry now and then. =) I’m so glad you guys are having such a great time in Cape May. You’re always welcome to go a guest post for Take Paws about your Honey-friendly travels if you’d like!