Sadie and Coal Visit the Beach

[Ashley, Sadie and Coal]

Last night when we arrived home from our beach trip at 10 pm and unloaded the three kids and two dogs who were covered in drool and barf, my husband (who had stayed home "to work") said, "Yeah, I'm smarter than that..." He's only limping a little this morning.  So the car sickness has not improved with age... the Dramamine, the crates and the other things we have tried do not seem to help consistently either.  We have some meds from the vet which any sane person would have tried already... Obviously, we will try them next time.  

Our arrival at the beach began with me cleaning the kibble chunks out of their crates so they could sleep in them... As the sweat rolled down my brow in the 90 degree sun and people walked by with sympathetic-but-glad-that's-not-me facial expressions, I asked myself, "What was I thinking?" Then at bedtime, Coal, who has slept all night in his crate since the day he came home, whimpered and panted all night because he didn't want to sleep in the instrument of his torture.  Again, I say, "What was I thinking?"  I guess I was thinking that I couldn't bear to leave the little darlings so soon after returning from a nine day vacation without them. 

Anyway, on to the more pleasant part of our beach adventure....The beach house is located in a large neighborhood with lots of places to walk to meet tons of people and other dogs.  While cleaning up barf is no fun, being out and about walking with the barfers was a great experience. The pups both enjoyed the new sights, smells and sounds. We also had a crash course in socialization and training. These big 45 pounders hid behind my legs when little yapping dogs barked and lunged at them. They stopped and sat when we asked them, in order to let kids on bikes, runners and bigger dogs go by.  We received lots of comments, such as "Wow, what a well-behaved dog!" and "Is that a golden doodle? They are such nice dogs."  We enjoyed being complimented (and stereotyped) as we went on our daily adventures.... We were simultaneously impressed and frightened by the many other dogs and humans we encountered.  

Those who have followed along with the adventures of these two litter mate pups might remember that Sadie is a leash puller, but not a swimmer.  Coal is an avid swimmer, but not a leash puller.  After the surgeries and our family vacation, Sadie had really improved her on-leash behavior.  Well, that all flew out the proverbial window when we set paws on the sandy beach with the crashing waves. In such a situation, a curious doodle might ignore all of her training and drag her mom around like a plastic grocery bag flapping in the wind, while jumping and running in the sand and the waves.  For a girl who isn't a fan of swimming, Sadie sure did love the waves!  My wrist is still bruised, and the pretty, purple leash handle is shredded. Coal enjoyed his time as well, though no injuries resulted from his fun.  How does a dog naturally know how to jump waves? He's our little athlete...time for some agility training, I think. 

I'm guessing I'm one of the few DKer's who has (up until last Thursday) never used a poop bag.  Needless to say, I was duly initiated the first time I used the inside out bag (those things sure are thin) to scoop up the lovely pile of joy my precious puppy created.  The warm, mushy, stinky love offering that I then carried around until we made it back to our trash receptacle was just about the most gratifying experience one can have as a dog owner.  To put things in perspective, we live in the country, on a farm, in the woods.  At home, the pups use the pine needles for their business, and then we use a pitchfork to toss the piles deeper into the woods, so the up-close olfactory, tactile exploration was certainly a fun, new experience.  

Overall, our beach excursion was fun and we will take the pups again.  Right now they both have crashed on the floor in an effort to recover from their excessive, energy expenditures.  As for me, my next beach trip will be a tropical island paradise devoid of both puppies and children and only accessible by plane.  I mean, really, now I need a vacation!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Well. Coal and Sadie sure looked like they thought it was all worth it!  You sure made memories and your blog records it so well!  Such good looking doodles!

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

Believe me I know how challenging it is to take 2 doodles especially young ones on a beach vacation.   Like someone mentioned it will get easier.....I wish I had advice about the car sickness.  Your doodles are beautiful! 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I admit I would never attempt this alone although I do take two doodles to the beach on rare occasions. It will all improve I hope.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Ashley, I know this was a "hard" vacation at times, but it is just the cutest story ever!  You are one brave human and Doodle Mommy to do this vacation without your husband!  I think he had the best vacation actually.  I love your blogs about Sadie and Coal and they are just so darn cute too!  In overall it sounded like a great trip to the beach!

[Ashley, Sadie and Coal]

Laurie, I would love to join you all in Mexico if I could get away from my fifth grade classroom in October!

Lucy and Annabelle's mom, thanks for the helpful car riding info.  We traveled in the afternoon before their supper, and they ate a little yogurt before getting in the car.  We will keep trying the things you've mentioned, and I know it will get easier.  I promise we will go again! You are so right that we will be better prepared and maybe even have more training next time around.  So many things have already become natural that were hard work before.  I'm just glad we have DK for expert advice!

Camilla, Joanne and Miss Ellie~~ Thanks for the kind words. I sometimes feel like a lunatic... Luckily, that's okay with me! ;)

[Camilla and Darwin]

That is a task! I love the photos and I liked hearing about the adventure!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Geesh, you are a Good Woman!   You do need a vacation. I remember taking two toddlers to the beach, alone, and not being able to handle it, let alone two puppies and a car full of kids.  Love that your husband was ' Workin' so hard! HA.

I kind of envy you. I would love to experience this... once. 

[Miss Ellie]

Love the adventures of Coal & Sadie!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Please don't be discouraged about taking them with you.  They will get better and you will get better about it as well.  The more often they go with you the better prepared that you are and the easier it gets.  Are you feeding them just a little bit of food say an hour or more before getting them in the car and then just little bits occasionally during the ride.  Don't want their tummies too full or too empty.  If they were in their crates in the car, did you try covering the crate with a sheet or lite blanket?  It is so much fun traveling with them once you get a routine established.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

LOL...enjoyed this blog. Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a dog owner/mother :) The Doodle group is going to Mexico in October....no dogs, no kids. Come join us! You do need a vacation :)