Nuts to get a new dog now, right?

[VickieP]

Ewwwwww

Ain't that the truth...they've never been in the car with you AFTER ice cream.

..

Then they've never rode in your van, it makes automatic stops at McDonald's for ice cream!

[mitch5252]

Ewwwwww

Ain't that the truth...they've never been in the car with you AFTER ice cream.

..

Then they've never rode in your van, it makes automatic stops at McDonald's for ice cream!

But at my age, I am still trainable...I now know WHEN NOT to stop at McDonald's, based on the occupants in my van.
And there is only one.

Has anyone realized that this new (and funny) member of the Forum is only one letter away from LOCO??? I love it. (sorry, Lois. Please don't be offended...you can only tease those you feel can take it.)
..

[Bethers]

And someone recently said they missed the Vickie and Mitch bantering. Sure hope whoever it was is reading this.

[VickieP]

And someone recently said they missed the Vickie and Mitch bantering. Sure hope whoever it was is reading this.

Be careful what you ask for, right!

[mitch5252]

Be careful what you ask for, right!

I often wish that you would disappear, but THAT never works...

..

[Sandersmr]

Late to this discussion (and not really sure I want to jump in after Mitch and Vickie) but I have 2 that share my TT with me. But my 2 are almost 200 pounds of dog combined - well not so much since the old man has been losing weight. When Mark is with me, we have a very full house. Mark is 6'6", Oscar is probably about 85 pounds now and Jasmine is 95. Did I mention the TT is a 16' trailer with a dinette converted to a double bed and a 32"wide bunk. There is very little floor space and the dogs can literally take it all. Jazzy get relegated to sharing the double with Mark. She thinks she can share the bunk with me - NOT! Oscar just picks his spot on the floor - all winter it was right in front of the ceramic space heater. Just ask Beth - she met them!

But I love my guys and love that they love traveling. There have been a couple of times that they got left at home when Mark was home as well, but we have also been some really cool places. Oscar loved the snow at the Grand Canyon, they both loved the doggie park in Cottonwood, AZ. They both will get to go with me tomorrow to the Dutch oven gathering.

[Lopo]

I'm just now catching up, and love it! Loco, huh?

The sad part is that my dog that sounded so perfect was, in fact, just not what I had been lead to expect. I felt so sad for the little guy, and sad for me, that until a month ago he had spent his entire life in one of those awful awful puppy mills with 4 other dogs in a small kennel with him, win lots of kennels all stacked in a dark barn, the ones above pooping on the ones below. He was still petrified of people, and I hope someone can rehabilitate him, but I know I'm not up to a challenge like that.

So, still looking for the right doggy for me. Now of I were in Mexico this trip, there would be plenty to choose from at every Pemex station!

[retiredhappy]

Go to your nearest 'kill' shelter and rescue one that is going to be put down. Or go to an SPCA, where I got my Baxter. He had been rescued from a 'kill' shelter by the SPCA.

[drsolo]

I thought having a dog was a requirement for RVing? Its not? Well my dogs were the main reason I got my 17' conversion van and fitted it for RV traveling. I simply could not leave them home I would worry. Well, I do leave 2 of them home, one doesnt travel well, he screams and grumbles non-stop. The other is deaf and nearly blind but buddy with the screamer. So they stay with daddy or I have someone takes them into her home with her pack of "guest" dogs. The other 3 travel extremely well and one of them is 16+ and needs a lot of care.
I pulled everything out of the van and rebuilt around the cages http://weloveteaching.com/RV/shelf4van.jpg. They are so smart. I open the cages, they hop out and wait for me to attach them to their flexi leashes and then jump out the door http://weloveteaching.com/RV/0428021506a.jpg. I sit in the open doorway and keep an eye on them. When I am staying someplace I set up the X-pens for them with food and water and leave them outside to sniff around.
I have a Galaxy tablet where I can locate a veterinarian if I need one. I can also find "day care" if I need to leave them for more than an hour or so. Amazingly, while in the van and in their crates they dont make any sound at all until they hear me "beep" the alarm system off. The van must be well insulated because even then they arent loud enough to bother anyone.
I have no shower in my van, just a portapotty, and I usually shower in the campsite facilities. But been thinking about being able to wash the dogs, my old one gets the runs the first couple days on the road and I have had to sneak him into the restrooms to clean him up, not ideal. I got this little tent already http://tinyurl.com/mfwe9zz and been thinking about getting a little electric tankless water heater. But since my dogs are small I think I will stick with heating water in my coffee maker or even in the microwave and using a hang up water bag that I can hook onto the ladder on the back of my van.
And BTW, I use disposable potty pads in the dogs crates. Nothing to wash except the dogs.

[drsolo]

...that until a month ago he had spent his entire life in one of those awful awful puppy mills

Puppy mill dogs require a lot of work before they would be good travel companions. They are usually not potty trained, not well socialized to humans or dogs. The best "ready to go" are adult dogs from breeders, ex-show dogs or those who have been thru the foster care program of a purebred dog group. These dogs are vetted and retrained before being allowed to go to forever homes. I have done this for one of the Papillon rescue groups.

[Bethers]

And I take the difficult to train dogs - cuz they are harder to place Peaches was a year scared of the world after I got her. Some on her can attest to that. If you met her now you wouldn't have an inkling. Potty training (so far) has always been fairly easy for me. Knocking on wood lol But Peaches did pee inside out of fear a few times. Never got mad at her for that - she couldn't help it - and then would hide because I'm sure she was abused for anything she did good or bad before I got her.

But, you have to have the time and patience and at the time I got her I knew I had the winter ... had no clue it would be 3 or 4 years before she really was people socialized - but after 1 year she wasn't terrified any more.

Good shelters will help match you to a dog that will fit with you. I volunteered at one and ended up on their board of directors. (Ingrid, I was with the Ozaukee Humane Society - while we merged with the Wisconsins HS.) They did an excellent (and still do) job of finding the right dogs to fit the right people's lifestyles. People sometimes argued, but couch potato people don't get the dogs that need really active folks, for example. Anyway ... you'll find the right one for you when the time is right.

[BirdbyBird]

Not all rescue dogs "fit" the RV life style (or any specific environment...like living with small children ) and it is a kindness to allow them to be adopted into an environment that meets their emotional needs better and gives them the best opportunity to grow and to heal emotionally.

The rescue group that I got Remi (the small Havanese) from told me that they often look for someone that understands/has experience with dog training AND already has trained, well socialized dogs living with them. The specific 15 pups they had rescured had all come from a Puppy Mill reject auction....and are the puppy miller's "throw aways." The unsocialized/tramatized, puppy mill reject can learn a lot of what living with humans and being a "good dog" means from other members of his/her pack..... It still can be a slow process. After 6 years, Remi continues to demonstrates improvement in his confidence level in small ways...but can still experience small anxiety attacks. By now though I can usually predict those environments and situations that may still trigger that primal survival fear in him and can take steps to either minimalize or completely prevent his exposure to those situations.