Vacation with Stanley - Advice?

[Casey]

Hi, all!  We are bringing Stanley (our 6 month old goldendoodle) on vacation with us next month. We are driving, and we've rented a dog-friendly home.  

Stanley is a pretty easy going dog, but this will be our first vacation with him.  Anyone have any advice or tips to alleviate some of the doggy stress that might accompany being in an unfamiliar home?  

We are bringing his crate, favorite bed, toys, etc. And, we plan to stick around the rental home for the first couple of days to be sure he feels OK.  But, we'll have to leave him crated in the home a few times when we go to dinner or out for an event.  

We will be doing a lot of hiking on the trip, so Stanley will be getting a LOT of exercise. I figure that will probably help to keep him relatively calm. A tired, exercised dog is a good dog :) 

Thoughts? Suggestions? 

[Barbie]

Ooh, a vacay sounds fun! May I come as Stanley's nanny? (j/k)

Have you seen this thread: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/vacation-tips-for-puppies ? It provides lots of good tips and information on traveling with a Doodle.

[Casey]

Perfect! Thank you!  I figured someone had already asked the question; I must have used the wrong search terms ;)  Good advice in that thread. 

Casey

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Walk him through the home and to his potty spot first thing.  Limit his space in the home to where you are.  Bring baby gates, and ex-pen or child corral to block doorways.  When traveling be sure to offer him water periodically.

[Wendy and Myla]

We travel with Myla all the time, usually in our motorhome.  We have found that when dogs or kids have a good time, they always want to go again!  When we first started travelling with Myla, we really paid attention to her signs.  We had no idea when she had to go potty or when she needed water.  We very quickly learned that she will come up to me and nudge me when she has to go potty and water we offer every time we stop.  When she was young, we stopped often while travelling and let her run and play catch.  Now we know her routine and go from there (she can actually go a long time without stopping).  Because Stanley is so young, I would stop often and really make it a fun trip.  At the house you are staying at, just make sure you make his "den" exactly like home.  It's so great that you are doing lots of hiking and activities with him - as you say, a tired dog is a good dog.  Have a great time!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

On travel days consider taking him other places than rest stops. Our vets have always suggested this. Too many potential
unhealthy dogs at rest stops.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I'm sure most of the standard advice is in the other thread.  I just wanted to point out that you need to be careful with the amount of hiking if he doesn't normally hike with you since he is just 6 months old.  Just like they don't suggest jogging with a young puppy I wouldn't suggest all of a sudden starting to hike for miles and miles at his age.  His bones/joints are still developing and you don't want to do anything to hurt that.  Also his paw pads might not be all that tough yet so you don't want to all of a sudden put a lot of wear on them.  And depending on where you are going, watch the heat.  Even sand at the beach is really hot this time of year.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Just one thing we learned about leaving them crated in the vacation home when you leave.....try it a few times leaving just for a short period like 10 minutes...and then 20. This gets them comfortable that you are coming back.  Also I know when we go to the beach house there are lots of new sounds that they aren't used to and they will bark.  We turn on the TV to drown it out and it it's not too hot we close the windows and turn on the fans.  Have fun.

[Casey]

Thanks, all! So many great suggestions. We will take them all into account. 

We live near a mountain and preserve in Arizona, so he's been on plenty of puppy-friendly morning hikes - before it gets too hot :)  It won't be anything new for him ... except it won't be quite as hot as it is at home! We are going to a cooler spot in Colorado. I appreciate all the insights from you lovely people!

Let me know if you folks think of anything else! 

[BG and Gavin]

Here is a list I prepared years ago..http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/taking-your-doodle-on-vaca...

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I was going to suggest a fan or noise machine to mute unusual sounds. Have fun.