Pampered, by Chloe

Mommy and Daddy often spoil me, but today really took the cake.  It has been so hot, as many of you know, and with my fur being longer and shaggier than Dexter's, I tend to be uncomfortable in the heat.  Today, Mommy helped make me feel better by taking me for my very first haircut.

I think it was tougher on Mommy than on me, since she had to leave me alone with a stranger, but I really did not mind.  Mommy stayed in the store and watched most of the time.  The ladies complimented me on how well I behaved.  It felt so good to get a little trim.

They put cute little bows in my hair once I was all trimmed up.

AND

Mommy paid a little extra to get my nails painted!

I felt so special and pretty.  I even posed for a few pictures when we got home.

But let me tell you, all this pampering has me pooped, so I am going to take nap.

Love,
Chloe

Travel Tips

Hello friends!  I am hoping some of you can help me out.  We are having a bit of trouble traveling with Dexter.  When we first got him, and he was the only dog in our house, he traveled just fine.  He wanted to sit on my lap in the car, but other than that, he did great.

How that we have two dogs, traveling is more complicated.  Chloe does great, she sleeps in the backseat, she never fusses if we leave our room without her, she does get scared when pottying in a new place, but otherwise, she is a breeze.  It is Dex that is the issue.  He now gets very excited in the car, almost agitated.  He paces and jumps and claws, it is awful.  On our most recent trip, we bought a calming collar for him, and it worked like a charm.  He spent most of the drive sleeping in the back seat with Chloe.  The only time he got agitated was when we went through a drive through for lunch, and that was only because he wanted our french fries.  He was an angel;  I thought we were home free.

I could not have been more wrong.  The trouble was once we checked into the hotel we were staying at.  He would totally freak out when we would leave the room.  His excessive barks could be heard throughout the hotel.  And when we returned, he had totally detroyed the plastic tray that serves as the bottom of his crate.  It was awful.  I am at such a loss as to what to do.  We really want to be able to continue taking them on trips with us, but if his behavior continues like this, we just cannot.  It is not good for him to be getting this upset, and it is really stressful for us.

So, friends, do any of you have any suggestions as to how we can handle this behavior, and how to make traveling with the dogs more enjoyable for all of us?