# Road trips!



## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

I know some of you have taken your dog on road trips...
How long was the longest road trip you took your dog on?
How did you keep them entertained?

I looooove road trips! Especially if we get to go up north. I'd really like to go camping and i'm thinking we could even save some money if we camp in a tent rather than rent a room in a hotel up north.
We live in SW FL and it would take at least a few days of driving to get anywhere pretty enough to camp. Have you ever taken your dogs on such a long road trip?
Were you able to save money by camping rather than renting a room?

Please share!


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

Tbarrios333 said:


> I know some of you have taken your dog on road trips...
> How long was the longest road trip you took your dog on?
> How did you keep them entertained?


I put Bambi on and that keeps them quiet for a while.

 Just Kidding. That's what I tell kids when they see the TV/DVD combo in the Suburban. They give me this look like I'm nuts! :rofl:

My dogs travel in crates, so they just sleep.


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## Silvermoon (Apr 2, 2011)

We go on trips where we are in the car for 8 or 10 hours a day. I have more trouble with our JRT, Chopper, than our GSD, Mercury. Generally, they will watch out the window for awhile, then sleep. If the JRT gets too antsy, I give him a benedryl and that helps. The first couple of times we took Mercury, I gave him Benedryl, too. Depending on the vehicle we take, we have put him in his kennel, as well. I love traveling with my babies. My only piece of advice is to make sure they are in an unescapable harness or double collar type of system for when you get out at rest stops. Loud semi's, strange dogs, freeways, and not being near home can make for a scary situation if they pull out of their collar because they get spooked!!!! I also always stay in sight of our vehicle when exercising them- for both our safety!!

Have fun!


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

GSDBESTK9 said:


> I put Bambi on and that keeps them quiet for a while.
> 
> Just Kidding. That's what I tell kids when they see the TV/DVD combo in the Suburban. They give me this look like I'm nuts! :rofl:
> 
> My dogs travel in crates, so they just sleep.


:rofl: I think the pup would be much more interested in eating the TV.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Silvermoon said:


> We go on trips where we are in the car for 8 or 10 hours a day. I have more trouble with our JRT, Chopper, than our GSD, Mercury. Generally, they will watch out the window for awhile, then sleep. If the JRT gets too antsy, I give him a benedryl and that helps. The first couple of times we took Mercury, I gave him Benedryl, too. Depending on the vehicle we take, we have put him in his kennel, as well. I love traveling with my babies. My only piece of advice is to make sure they are in an unescapable harness or double collar type of system for when you get out at rest stops. Loud semi's, strange dogs, freeways, and not being near home can make for a scary situation if they pull out of their collar because they get spooked!!!! I also always stay in sight of our vehicle when exercising them- for both our safety!!
> 
> Have fun!


Great tips!


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

The longest trip I ever took with a dog was moving from Georgia to Reading PA. Poor Emmie was older and the trip plugged her up. The gas in the car was enough to peal the paint off the outside of the car (not to speak of our noses) and when she finally broke loose at the other end (at night while we were sleeping) I thought an elephant had snuck in the house and did his business on the living room rug.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Friend and I took two of ours (her one, me one) from central IN to the St. Petersburg area of FL many years back. Dogs did great on the trip and we had a blast. We made it a 2 day'er rather than drive straight through, and we stopped over and stayed in a cool hotel in the hills of TN where they had hiking, etc. It was nice for the dogs to get out after a day in the car and get to walk...us too. Got stuck in MAJOR construction traffic in GA the second day which delayed us several hours, there may have been an accident somewhere way ahead but we never did see anything so who knows. So the second day was a long day in the car too for the pups but they did fine.

I have found that with dogs used to cars, road trips turn into a lot of sleeping for them, occasional looks out the window and lots of potty and water breaks. I've taken Akira who is almost 8 on many 6'ish hour road trips (6 hrs to the destination, 6 hrs back). Several times she had done 6 there and 6 back in the same day (yes, it was a long day for me!).

SO and I are taking our boys camping (malinois and GSD) this weekend, a 3 day weekend for us. But that's only going to be an hr and a half or two hours there and same timeframe back, so not a long road trip.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

When Dena was around 8 months old we took a week long vacation to visit relatives and friends in Oregon and Washington. We stayed at two different motels/inns, and 3 different houses - all the houses had resident dogs. She was extremely well behaved, even from a young age, so it was a lot of fun for all of us.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

weber1b said:


> The longest trip I ever took with a dog was moving from Georgia to Reading PA. Poor Emmie was older and the trip plugged her up. The gas in the car was enough to peal the paint off the outside of the car (not to speak of our noses) and when she finally broke loose at the other end (at night while we were sleeping) I thought an elephant had snuck in the house and did his business on the living room rug.


I couldn't help but chuckle when I read this. :laugh:


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Rerun said:


> Friend and I took two of ours (her one, me one) from central IN to the St. Petersburg area of FL many years back. Dogs did great on the trip and we had a blast. We made it a 2 day'er rather than drive straight through, and we stopped over and stayed in a cool hotel in the hills of TN where they had hiking, etc. It was nice for the dogs to get out after a day in the car and get to walk...us too. Got stuck in MAJOR construction traffic in GA the second day which delayed us several hours, there may have been an accident somewhere way ahead but we never did see anything so who knows. So the second day was a long day in the car too for the pups but they did fine.
> 
> SO and I are taking our boys camping (malinois and GSD) this weekend, a 3 day weekend for us. But that's only going to be an hr and a half or two hours there and same timeframe back, so not a long road trip.


I'd like to head over to eastern TN and check it out; someone on the forum recommended it. According to some website it would be approx. 14 hours drive from here which isn't so bad. 
I also get stuck in horrific traffic every time I go through GA. Not sure what is up with that state! lol

Enjoy your camping trip! I'm trying to get my SO to not be such a pansy about sleeping in a tent :rofl:


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## LaceyBug (Apr 30, 2011)

I am also from the west side of Florida and the longest trip we went on was about 16-18 hours going up to the Pocono's in PA. Everytime we stopped for gas we brought them out to do their business. Our dogs are very well behaved in the car and will just sleep most of the time or I'd crawl in the backseat with them and let them lay on me and I'd keep them company. My mom in law travels with 4 spaniels (Springer,King Charles-Cocker, and 2 cockers) She gives them the doggy benadryl and they just doze off until she arrives here. Unfortunately I can not help with the tent or hotel seeing we always drove straight through with no stopping in hotels, we just switched driving. We were actually looking into renting an RV this year seeing it's like traveling in the living room and everyone would be a bit more comfy. If you are looking for a nice place to camp I highly recommend looking around in the Pocono's, it is absolutely gorgeous there with beautiful nature walks to bring the dogs on!


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## asja (Mar 22, 2011)

Last summer we took Bonni with us to Colorado from Virginia. We drove instead of flying so we could take her. We took the scenic route through South Dakota and Wyoming, and then into Colorado. We were gone over two weeks, and had a great time. 

She did not like going far from the car when stopping at rest areas. She felt safe in the car. Keep in mind, during the summer you can't leave your dog in the car, so one of us had to stay with her at all times. Some areas we had difficulty finding hotels that took dogs, but generally it wasn't hard. La Quinta Inns, Super 8, some Best Westerns take dogs. We had a bunch of AAA travel books, and they list dog-friendly hotels. We carried cold water at all times. 

Here's a great place for travel dog stuff:

Outdoor Gear for Dogs : Backcountry K-9

I love this squishy bowl for travel. I carry vacuum insulated bottles of cold water, and this bowl:
Guyot Designs Silicone Squishy Pet Bowl : Backcountry K-9

Bonni in Sheridan, Wyoming.










Bonni in Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming.










Have a great trip!


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Great pics asja your dog is gorgeous. I especially love the scenic pic and she is so cute doing a stay by the fox. 
Did she get to go for a swim in that lake?

I love Wyoming. I was in Jackson Hole/Yellowstone a year ago and I had a blast even though we didn't do much hiking.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Tbarrios333 said:


> I'd like to head over to eastern TN and check it out; someone on the forum recommended it. According to some website it would be approx. 14 hours drive from here which isn't so bad.
> I also get stuck in horrific traffic every time I go through GA. Not sure what is up with that state! lol
> 
> Enjoy your camping trip! I'm trying to get my SO to not be such a pansy about sleeping in a tent :rofl:


Buy an airbed! That was NON NEGOTIABLE with mine. LOL


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

My last GSD I had I took on the majority of my vacations. The longest would have been from Arizona through New Mexico through Colorado, through Wyoming through Utah and back to southern AZ. She just layed down in the backseat of the truck. We had gone on a 2 week RV'ing trip. It was great! A few days we did stay in an RV park but other than that, we just found places we liked and would stay a day or two or longer. And on her last road trip...we went from AZ to Oregon and stayed there for 2 weeks. Another great time.

With my new GSD we have taken her with us from AZ to Reno once and to Las Vegas twice. Both of those times we stayed at an RV park. Uschi also just sleeps in the back seat. We do stop and let her out to play and go potty just so she doesn't get bored. And we have also gone on a couple of overnight camping trips when she was a puppy.


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

Last year we skipped the big trip, but every other year I have packed my three in the car for our annual road trip from California to North Dakota. We also take several road trips each year that are shorter (around 2000 miles round trip). We all have a blast, in fact we have a road trip coming up next month.

I bring the ball thrower and lots of extra balls (just in case). I keep 8-10 gallons of water in the trunk along with a bowl. We make frequent stops so they can stretch their legs, get a little excercise, go potty and get a drink. For the most part when their in the car they pretty much sleep until we come upon a town, then they wake up and look around. 

When planning ahead I spend time looking for things that might be of interest to them and for places that are doggie friendly. 

Other things that I pack?? A battery operated fan, a large dark sheet (this is used if I must run into a store (only in the wee morning hours when the sun is just comming up) but don't want any part of the sun hitting the interior of the car....yes, I get some strange looks on this one-I throw it over the car and windows, but I'll never see these people again so who cares what they say about me  I also bring their First Aid kit. I'm sure there's more but this is off top of my head. Have fun.


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## asja (Mar 22, 2011)

Tbarrios333 said:


> Great pics asja your dog is gorgeous. I especially love the scenic pic and she is so cute doing a stay by the fox.
> Did she get to go for a swim in that lake?
> 
> I love Wyoming. I was in Jackson Hole/Yellowstone a year ago and I had a blast even though we didn't do much hiking.


That lake was a marshy, mosquito-infested swampy mess, so no, she didn't go swimming in that lake. But she did go swimming in Yellowstone Lake, and had a great time.


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## Alyalanna (May 28, 2011)

I've done multiple multiple day trips with my dog. Iowa to California on one trip. California to Washington on another. Last summer it was Washington to Iowa at the beginning of the summer and then back again at the end of summer and this summer is the same. 

My dog is old enough not to need a lot of attention/distraction on a trip. I usually give her a chewy treat sometime during the drive but for the most part she just sleeps. I usually stop every 4-5 hours to let her out, eat, drink, stretch her and my legs, and usually get gas as well. I've been thinking recently about the frozen peanut butter kong treats but that would only really work for the first day so it probably won't happen.

These days it doesn't seem like you save a ton of money by camping versus going to a cheaper hotel. Some of the state and federal campgrounds that I have seen have been $20+ a night and then I always buy firewood. Last summer I visited a couple of National Forest Service campgrounds that were about $12 a night but in one case there wasn't running water, in another case I could pump my own water, and in both cases there were only vault toilets which are always a joy. They also didn't have wood for sale in these campgrounds but I was able to gather deadwood and burn that, which you can't/shouldn't do in state/federal campgrounds. The National Forest Campgrounds are often more out of the way which is bad because it takes longer to get there but good because that means there are less people there.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Alyalanna said:


> These days it doesn't seem like you save a ton of money by camping versus going to a cheaper hotel. Some of the state and federal campgrounds that I have seen have been $20+ a night and then I always buy firewood.


I can not even begin to imagine the kind of hotel you're staying in for $20 plus a night, even the most ghetto hotels on the crappy side of town here are 30 or 40 a night....

We are staying at a really nice state park in the non-electric area (tent camping) for only $12.50 a night. Add in firewood since we can't bring it in and it is a MUCH cheaper "vacation" than anything else I can imagine...plus we're taking the dogs, so no dog fee's like at a hotel.

Also, most people camp for the camping experience, not to save money not going to a hotel....


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Rerun said:


> I can not even begin to imagine the kind of hotel you're staying in for $20 plus a night, even the most ghetto hotels on the crappy side of town here are 30 or 40 a night....
> 
> We are staying at a really nice state park in the non-electric area (tent camping) for only $12.50 a night. Add in firewood since we can't bring it in and it is a MUCH cheaper "vacation" than anything else I can imagine...plus we're taking the dogs, so no dog fee's like at a hotel.
> 
> Also, most people camp for the camping experience, not to save money not going to a hotel....


Hehe, I think that was in response to my question. 
I do love camping, but camping has got to be cheaper than staying at a hotel with fees for two dogs (usually $20 each!).
It just makes more sense to me since I don't need all the amenities the hotel offers. Why not cut some fees out and go camping! :wild:


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## Mom2Shaman (Jun 17, 2011)

10 hours with only a couple stops. They slept the whole way. I have tent camped and RV camped with the dogs. They love it all. Make sure you have ID of every type (license, personal tag, microchip tag) and use a harness or double collar during stops or on walks during the trip. Nothing worse than having a dog pull out of a collar and leave you holding all the ID. I have had that happen once when the dog got spooked and I won't give that the chance to happen again.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

pick a direction. load the car up with everything that's
necessary. have fun. you'll learn as you go.


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## Alyalanna (May 28, 2011)

Rerun said:


> I can not even begin to imagine the kind of hotel you're staying in for $20 plus a night, even the most ghetto hotels on the crappy side of town here are 30 or 40 a night....
> 
> We are staying at a really nice state park in the non-electric area (tent camping) for only $12.50 a night. Add in firewood since we can't bring it in and it is a MUCH cheaper "vacation" than anything else I can imagine...plus we're taking the dogs, so no dog fee's like at a hotel.
> 
> Also, most people camp for the camping experience, not to save money not going to a hotel....


Some people are more into camping for the experience but the OP did say: 


Tbarrios333 said:


> I'd really like to go camping and i'm thinking we could even save some money if we camp in a tent rather than rent a room in a hotel up north.
> 
> Were you able to save money by camping rather than renting a room?


which asks about price as well as camping. In Washington State (and several other states that I have been through) the camping fees are really rising. Right now in WA state campgrounds the current price is: *"Standard campsite: *$22 non-premium site, $25 premium site". And when you think about the cheapest hotel rooms being $40 a night it doesn't seem like much of a savings when you think about all the camping gear you have to buy (if you don't already have it but everyone has to buy it eventually and replace it). Usually I buy 2 bundles of firewood each night and that is usually an additional 8 - 10 dollars. You might be finding cheaper places to camp, and that is great, but my recent experiences have been that state and federal park campgrounds are getting pretty expensive and I don't feel that saving about $10 a night is a "MUCH cheaper "vacation" but that is just me.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Bianca has only been to Wisconsin and Missouri with me since I've only had her a few years, but she travelled all over with her previous owner (I think they may have mostly flown since her own worked for an airline.) So the longest she's been with me on the road is about 350 miles to St Louis. This summer we're going to Wisconsin again.

However my Golden, Ginger, went on almost every trip I did in the 10 years I had her which included most of the states surrounding IL plus trips to the Adirondacks in NY, Maine, the Smokies in TN, etc... The longest trip we took was around 1200 miles when we went to Maine (we took a slight detour to spend 2 days in NYC on the way up.) I can't remember if we took 3 days or 4 to get there. We stayed in a lot of different hotels/motels on our trips and some nice cottages/cabins as well.
You can see some photos of our trips here: Ginger's Golden Playground
(It's under the section "Golden News.")

I haven't been camping since I was a kid but we used to take our family dog along on camping trips... She was a 20 pound cockapoo/terrier mix.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

3 days. NC to CO. The dogs mostly slept. We slept in the car too but thats because we already had so much packed in, trying to get the tent in there too would not have been possible. The tent we have is a two room tent but yes, had we camped instead of stayed in a motel, we would have saved a great deal of money and been more comfy because we wouldnt have been sleeping slightly cramped in the Xterra or van whichever we're taking at the time. Road trips are fun. pray for no poo explosions that make you have to stop every 30 minutes though because one of them insists on not going potty first. (yes... we have had some issues with Riley doing this before)


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

The longest trip any of the Hooligans have been on is from Central Florida to Tennessee to pick up a friend then to California and back the same way. Mac celebrated his 3rd birthday in CA, Slider was about 11 months old. We came back with a 3rd GSD my friend bought who was about Mac's age.

None of the dogs got antsy, we stopped often for potty breaks, etc. stayed in motels, did some sightseeing. We dropped my friend and Romano off in TN and drove back to Ocala.

Slider and my friend from TN at the Grand Canyon


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## FG167 (Sep 22, 2010)

My friend and I each took one dog (both under 2 years old) on a roadtrip from MI to CO. The drive was about 19 hours. We stopped every 3 hours or so to potty the boys and play with the Chuck-It. Gus, her dog, is a bit of a worry-wart but Madix, mine, was totally fine. He slept or looked out the window the whole way. I did bring a couple of kibble filled kongs and a bully stick for the trip there and back but he was fine either way. We had a ball.





We are planning our trip back again this year. I'm not sure which of my two (or both?) I will be bringing but the dogs had so much fun with all of the hiking and activity and we had so much fun that I can't wait!!


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## asja (Mar 22, 2011)

FG167, is the dog on the left a Dutch Shepherd? Pretty!


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Great photos! Love the road trip stories.

FG167 I love those dog bags!


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## FG167 (Sep 22, 2010)

asja said:


> FG167, is the dog on the left a Dutch Shepherd? Pretty!


Yes, he is. Thank you.



Tbarrios333 said:


> Great photos! Love the road trip stories.
> 
> FG167 I love those dog bags!


Thanks! I ordered mine as is but I made the other one for my friend for her birthday


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## dogless (Jan 7, 2005)

We take Mattie on all our trips. She's 6 1/2 and has been on at least one vacation, usually two, each year since she's been a puppy. Just this past May we went from Michigan to Texas (a wedding) then up to Minnesota, then across the Michigan UP to home. We drove about 3600 miles. Trip was about 10 days long. Last year we took a 10 day trip to Maine (from Michigan) so about 10-12 hours driving each way that trip also. Later this summer we are going to the Michigan Upper Penninsula and Michigans west coast along Lake Michigan for a week. Mattie just sleeps in the car the whole time we are driving. We started her on driving trips from the day we got her, going from our house to our cottage up north, so she is a veteran at driving.

All our trips have been to places that we go see waterfalls, so every day is filled with hiking in to waterfalls, playing in the river and pools below the falls, then hiking back to the car, then on to the next one. We do this from morning to evening. So by evening, Mattie is WIPED out and we can safely leave her in the hotel while we go out to dinner.

She has been in about 30 different hotels around the country and we've never had one complaint about her. We bring sheets to cover the beds so she can sleep on the beds and we don't get hair all over them. 

Before the trips, I give her a bath and brush her several times to get out as much hair as I can so we don't leave a lot of hair in the hotels. We also leave several toys for her to play with in the hotels when we are out. 

We ALWAYS tell the hotel staff that we do not want any room service and we put the DO NOT Disturb sign on the door. We just trade the dirty for clean towels every day with the cleaning staff, and give them the full garbage and get new bags and TP and stuff. We usually switch hotels every couple of days so I don't need the bedding changed while we're there.

We ask for a ground floor room if we can, as close to the exit as possible, or go to Motels that have direct access to the rooms to minimize walking around with her in the hotels. 

Travel with a dog is fun if you plan ahead.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Dogless your trips sound like a lot of fun! I can't wait till the puppy is older so we can do some waterfall hiking as well. If we could find a nice off leash dog area with some rivers/pools to swim in for the dogs, I would be in heaven (especially if I could live nearby :wub!


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

asja said:


> That lake was a marshy, mosquito-infested swampy mess, so no, she didn't go swimming in that lake. But she did go swimming in Yellowstone Lake, and had a great time.


Interesting! I drove by Yellowstone lake a few times. I'm surprised that you were able to play with her there off leash. That is awesome!


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

There is no way its ok to let a dog off leash in Yellowstone. I've been there many times, not only is it against their rules but it would be very dangerous for the dog.


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