Help! Need advice on how to make a hotel experience enjoyable!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

First a little background: Winnie turned one year old in February and has always been a fairly quiet dog overall. She never whines or barks when she meets other people or dogs. I think she is in a stage of being a little more protective of us, though, and has recently started to do more "alert barking." I've been working with her on "Quiet" and she's catching on quickly. She'll let out a low "woof" to let us know she hears something, and then stops when I tell her "Thank you! Now, quiet."

So, I was not expecting the near disaster that we had at a hotel Friday night! We rolled in after dark, and basically went straight to bed. I now realize that was my first mistake- she had no idea where she was, and didn't get a chance to get accustomed to the sounds. She barked and barked at every sound that she heard! Sometimes just a low "woof" but several strings of out right "Danger" barking. Fearing we were disrupting everyone, I was just about to go sleep in the car with her when I got the bright idea of cranking on the AC. (Duh! Why didn't I think about that earlier?!). That was enough to drown out sounds, and we all slept the rest of the night. In the morning she was OK, but when I walked her, she was still "on edge." Her tail was down and she was nervously looking around- not her usual happy-go-luck self.

In July we are taking her with us on a 9 day trip to Colorado. 5 of those nights will be in the same hotel- which doesn't have it's own AC unit, by the way. My gut feeling is that she will adapt and get used to the sounds, but the fearful side of me worries that it will be a disaster! She will never be left in the room by herself- I'm just worried about sleeping...

So, I need your help! Here is what I've thought of so far: taking her for a walk around the neighborhood and walking her up and down the halls whenever we stop for the night, doing some training in the room so that we establish our leadership, and getting some "white noise" we can play on our smart phones if needed. We've also talked about taking another overnight trip between now and July. What else? Please give me ALL ideas you can think of! 

 

[DJ & Chance]

I've had Chance in hotels and he does fine if he has  opportunities to explore and be reassured that no "ghosts" are lurking in strange places. I start with a walk around the hotel grounds, with lots of sniffing opportunities.   I then introduce him to our room, play with him in that room, let him sniff, play some more, do obedience commands with treats, etc.  If he becomes obsessed with the noises outside or next door, I do what I do at home, which is to tell him "thank you" for bringing the "threat" to my attention and refocus him with a game or short obedience training. At night, I play some music on my iPhone that he is familiar with, at low volume.  

This sounds like a lot of work, but actually I find it fun and try to make staying in a hotel something that he looks forward to. I also always bring his favorite blanket and stuffed toy and a bag of his favorite treats.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing- I'm glad that it has worked for you guys! 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Just an update for you.... we are currently on day 7 of our 9 day trip, and Winnie has been doing awesome! Walking around the neighborhood and hotel property, training in the hallways, maintaining a leadership role, white noise at night (mynoise.net is a GREAT website), etc. have all been helpful. We've been at the same hotel for several nights now, and she has really settled in nicely. She lets out an occasional low "woof" in the morning if she hears a door slam, but other than that she has been pretty quiet. Yeah!

She has been such a great little traveler, and it has been fun having her with us. She has had the opportunity to do new things that we don't have at home- dine with us at outdoor cafes, romp on ski hills, etc. And, she has been quite the social butterfly-eliciting smiles wherever she goes. :-)

Thanks again for all of the suggestions! 

Enjoying the Colorado air and scenery....

[F, Calla & Luca]

Winnie and the scene are lovely.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Thankyou! We enjoyed the beauty of all creatures great and small...

[DJ & Chance]

Way to go, Winnie!  What a great photo.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Yeah, we were cheering her on, too! So proud of her! :-) 

[Becka]

This is a beautiful picture! I'm so glad you're having a good time--it's so great to be able to travel with your dog with relative ease.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Beautiful picture of your doodle! :) Glad you all are having an awesome time!

I definitely learned something from this post!

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

We took linoln on an overnight and we got stopped everywhere to ask about him and to take pics. he was much better than i thoguht he would be.
My question is - what do you do about meals! I donot think he would stay put if we ate at an outdooor cafe and he cna't stay in the room.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

We did a lot of carryout and also ordered into the room. We were fortunate to be high up in the mountains where it is very cool in the evenings. So, we could safely have her stay in the car a few times, too.

[Minda and Callie]

I know you are already on your trip and it's going well but I wanted to suggest for anyone in the future a sound machine (can find them in the baby section at target) and play white noise or ocean. It's not annoying even for you and drowns out the noise.