Long day's drive

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We are going to take Ned with us when we go to Tucson to visit my niece this week.  It is about an 8 hour drive in the car. Ned is a very good traveler but we have never taken him on this long of a trip in one day (plus longer trips are usually in our RV).  We will be staying in a hotel - another first for Ned.  I figured I would take his antler, a bone, a new nylabone, a couple of fuzzy toys.  He isn't crated anymore but sometimes  naps or spends some of the night in it.  Should we take it?  He will be with us 24-7 and go to my niece's with us.  He hasn't had an accident since he was about 5 months old, so do I need to worry about it in the hotel room with previous dogs scents there?  Should I be prepared with Nature's miracle?  We might all go out to dinner and have to leave Ned at my niece's with her little Pom.  I am sure they will get along but her house is NOT Ned-proofed i.e. she has this little baby gate to keep her non-jumping Pom in the kitchen area.  Ned will sail over it - I just know.  She also has an 11 month old.  Another first for Ned.
Advice?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I'd think it would be better to have the crate with you and not need it than to leave it at home and NEED it. We are having our monthly doodle romp on sat. Feb 13th, if you'd like to join us. We are in Chandler, which is north about an hour or so. Wouldn't that be fun?
And yes to all the things to take. Nature's Miracle for your nieces' home? Don't think you'd have enough for hotel room dog smells. :)

[GBK]

Hi Nancy, we do a 7-8 hour trip to visit my parents in Reno a couple of times a year. They both do the car ride without any trouble, we just stop about two times for everyone to go potty. Once we are there, my parents have a wonderful set up in their garage and that is where the dogs stay if we are gone for any length of time. If Ned is really good in his crate when you are gone, I would bet he would feel nice and comfortable in his own smelling crate at your nieces house. We used to take the soft sided crates with us wherever we went just so they had something that smelled like home, and I was sure that there would be no accidents in the night. If you feel that their house is not "Ned" proof I would hightly suggest his crate for when you go out to dinner etc. It is also nice if the bed you are staying in doesn't have enough room for you and the dog :) For us, only one can sqeeze on the bed, but the other one is happy to go to the crate. Hope you have a great time, and have a safe trip!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you. Maybe you are right about taking the crate. I wondered, but I am not sure we could close him in anymore, but if it was necessary, he would just have to lump it and he would be save - or their trash would be! I wouldn't need the Nature's miracle for my niece's - no rugs even if there might be accidents :)

[GBK]

Wish you were closer, I have a multitude of sizes you could borrow :) Sometimes you can get a nice cheap softsided one at Big Lot's if you have one close....

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Gina, you are right we should take stuff from home in case he feels strange. We never close the door on his anymore but if we had to we just would and if we don't it gives him as familiarly scented place.

[Chevy with Dave and Nancy]

We have taken our, now 11 month, goldendoodle with us on our commute between our home in Kansas and Florida. That's 1250 miles each way and an overnite stay at a hotel. Chevy does great. He travels great and when we get checked into the hotel (which is usually around diner time) we take Chevy out with us and do a fast food drive thru, that way he doesn't have to stay in the room alone. We take a couple toys and that seems to keep him happy. We also set the thermostat controls on the AC unit so the fan runs continuously. That way the fan mask other noises which might make Chevy bark. He's actually less trouble than our cat who also travels with us.

So far our dog hasn't met another dog or person he doesn't love, and we have several grandchildren who Chevy is exposed to. Hopefully you will find what we have....at first there's a lot of excitement and once that's over our doodle shifts into a much mellower mood.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you especially for the fan suggestion. I NEVER would have thought of that. I am sure Ned may not know to stay away from little 11 month old fingers and if he does get caught - I worry that he might snap at her! We figure if we need to we will keep him leashed by us when we are all sitting around and let him out back for a while to play ib the yard is pet safe.