Help! Tips for taking a dog and husband on a summer road trip?
My husband and I are from Ohio. We are finally taking our honeymoon and are planning a 2 week road trip to the Oregon Coast and back in July. We are trying to keep things cheap and fun so we are car camping the whole way- no hotels. We have an 8 year old sheppard/collie mix- she is about 50 pounds and a GREAT car dog!
BUT my husband has been extremely whinny about taking her on the trip. We found out that national parks do not allow dogs to leave the parking lot so there are several places that we will not be able to really stop at to hike around because we obviously don’t want to leave her in the car as that is unsafe. He is acting very childish lately because he wants to do things without being tied down to having to worry about the dog.
We are not able to leave her with anyone and I do not want to leave her in a kennel because I truly believe that dogs don’t know the difference between a kennel and being dumped at a shelter- you obviously can’t tell them that you are coming back. I don’t want her to be stressed out the entire time- I would not be able to relax. Furthermore, she has a lot of skin problems and needs close supervision as well as a strict diet so I don’t trust anyone with her. Let’s just say a kennel is out of the question.
I’ve been trying to search ways to travel across the country with a dog and still be able to sight see and not feel like we are giving up a lot or missing out- I want to make my husband happy but be a responsible dog-owner too and he is just not getting that- to him I am being selfish and trying to make it my way or no way…. I just don’t want this to be a disaster where no one is happy!
Thanks for reading! Please give me any advice that you may have from road-tripping with a dog of yours!
drug the husband have fun with your dog
I know it’s not what you want to hear, but I think the best situation would just be to have your dog stay at a boarder. Do a lot of research on different facilities–visit them and see first-hand how the dogs spend their days. You might luck out and find a great place. I think you’re overestimating how your dog will react to this–you’ll come back when you do, and your dog will be happy to see you. No reason to bring the dog along and end up not enjoying your honeymoon because you’ll be worrying about her the whole time. Your honeymoon is supposed to be a time of relaxation and fun, and you shouldn’t have to deal with any extra responsibilities (dog included).
lose the whinny husband and just take the dog :O) just kidding :O) i have not gone camping in the u.s before but in canada dogs are welcome in provincial parks, they must be leashed, and sometimes the swimming areas, there is a separate area for dogs … and i also know that in canada if you want to camp in july you better have reservations … do some research before you go, pick out some private campgrounds which tend to be more lenient, in canada they seem to be … that is the joy of the internet, you can research and make reservations before you go, campsites that will welcome your dog and make your husband happy … and i have never heard of not being able to bring a dog hiking ?!? why would you have to leave the dog in the car for that ??? the dog would find that great fun … i do not think you are being selfish, i think you just want to include all family members … and if some things can’t be done because you have a dog with you, then do something else … i have camped quite a bit with my dog and never any problems … the provincial parks did have more rules but private campgrounds can be fun too … i brought my dog to fiddlesticks woodland park where we rented a treehouse for a few days … when we arrived i told the owner of the park that i had a dog and what were the leash rules and she told me there were none, she did not believe in them :O) i love that woman :O) that was a great vacation … i hope you can convince your husband to bring the dog and he can be happy about it …