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?

We Went on VACATION! by Dexter and Chloe

Hello friends, it is the awesome dachshunds here.  Sorry we have not talked to you in a while, but we went on a vacation with Mommy and Daddy to help celebrate Mommy's birthday!

We went for a long car ride to Erie, Pennsylvania.  We liked riding in the car, it is so fun to look out the window.  It was only about a 2 hour drive.  When we first got to Erie, we went to a place called Presque Isle.  We gave Mommy and Daddy a bit of a scare there, because I (Dexter) slipped out of my collar and took off running.  I finally caught up with the rest of my family, and Mommy and Daddy decided we needed to stay in the car.

After that, we drove a little around town, and then we got to our hotel.  Boy oh boy did we have fun jumping on the bed.  We stayed in the room while our parents went to dinner.

The next day it was really rainy, so we once again stayed in the room and snoozed while Mommy and Daddy went out and about.  They came back with treats for us, so we were pretty excited about that.

The third day, we checked out of the room and headed for home.  We made a couple of stops, again, we had to stay in the car, because us doggies are not allowed in most stores.  But then we headed for home.  We slept most of the way, but then Mommy and Daddy stopped for lunch and we woke up.  We decided we wanted to ride in the back window for a bit.  It was so fun, we felt like we were surfing.  Mommy was there to make sure we did not fall though.

All in all, we had a great trip.  This was my (Chloe) first vacation, Dexter told me it would be fun, and he was so right.

So, when can we go again Mom and Dad?

Look at what we got!

We went to visit my family this weekend to help celebrate Hubby's birthday, do some Labor Day celebrating, and see my sister's new house.  Of course Dexter came with us, and was in his glory because he finally got to meet his Rottweiler cousin, Champ, and they are now best buds!

While we were there, my parents gave me and Hubby our anniversary gift a little early, since we do not get home too often.  Being that this is our first anniversary, the traditional gift is paper, so we got a gift card to buy some books, and then, we got this:

Isn't that awesome?!  We played it today!  The game markers are little dog bowls.

Instead of properties, you buy dachshunds.

And you can add different dog toys to your doggies.

This game is perfect for us!

Even the card they got us was so perfect!

So, even though our anniversary is a month away, we got to start celebrating early.  I love it!  Thanks Mom and Dad, you know us so well!

We had a great weekend, Dex had a blast, but now it is sinking in that Summer is pretty much over.  At least Hubby had a great birthday!

More cousins- by Dexter

What a weekend I had with Mommy and Daddy!  We went to visit Uncles Denny and Paul in Ohio.  Also, I got to meet my cousins, Seamus and Una.  They are whippets. 

Uncle Denny was afraid they would try to push me around because they were so much bigger than me, but I actually ended up pushing them around a little.  Mostly I played with Una, Seamus sort of kept to himself.  But we all did talk and play, and I had a blast!

We did hit a couple of bumps in the road.  I lost a tooth at Uncle Denny's house.  Mommy kept it, and when we got home, the Doggie Tooth Fairy came and brought me a chew toy.

Also, on the ride home from the visit, I got a little car sick, at least that what all Mommy thought it was.  But the next day, I was sick again.  Mommy thinks I probably licked something up off the floor that my tummy was not used to, because I did not act sick, I wanted to run and jump and play.  I seem to be ok now, so Mommy is letting me play more, and today, I get to eat my regular food instead of boring rice and hamburger.

So, what did you do this weekend?

Time to myself- by Nora

Well, I finally had some time to myself, to recuperate in peace, and have the run of the house. Mommy and Daddy went on a little trip at the end of last week/beginning of this week, and they took Dexter with them. I know they think I was sad that I could not go, but really, I was relieved to have some time to myself.

While they were gone, I spent lots of time sleeping on Daddy's side of the bed, sitting in the windows watching the birdies, and eating lots of the yummy new food Mommy bought me. It was nice and peaceful, and helped me feel back to my old self. After seeing all the ridiculous stuff my brother had to do, I am GLAD I did not go.

Once they got home, I realized I had been just a tiny bit lonely, and was happy to see them. Usually I play coy and act a little aloof, but not this time. I came downstairs and welcomed them home right away. That night, I cuddled up so close to Mommy's face she laughed and said she could not breathe. I just missed her so much!

Come the next morning, I got to really play with Dexter for the first time since my surgery. I was fun, and truth be told, I had missed him too. But don't tell him I said so.

My first vacation- By Dexter

Last weekend, Mommy and Daddy filled up bags full of stuff, loaded the car, broke down my crate, and declared we were going on vacation. I was not sure what it meant, but they seemed excited, so I figured it must be a good thing!

We rode in the car for a little while before they decided to eat lunch. Their lunch smelled so yummy, and I really wanted some, but I behaved myself as best as I could, because I did not want them to change their minds. Next thing I knew we were off again. I slept a lot in the car, and got out a couple of times to stretch my legs, and finally, we drove up to a big building. Mommy and Daddy took everything out of the car, and into the building, including me. They told me this was where we would be staying. It looked pretty cool inside, and I liked snuggling on the bed with Daddy!


After eating dinner, Daddy took me out to potty, and I decided to impress everyone by walking on a leash. Mommy was so happy! Then I went to bed. I fussed a little, because I was scared, but the excitement of the day won out and eventually I fell asleep.

We got up early the next morning, ate, and got back in the car. Mommy wanted to visit some places of something called "historical significance". The first place was called Antietam. It was really windy when we first arrived. My ears were flapping in the wind!
Antietam is the site of the bloodiest one day battle of the Civil War. We took a tour of the battlefield. Here are some pictures from the tour.

This is me and Daddy with a cannon at the welcome center.
This is me smelling flowers at the Dunker Church.
This is me sniffing out Johnny Reb in the cornfield.
Me hiking to Georgians Overlook, and walking so well on my leash I might add.
Mommy and me crossing Burnside Bridge.


We had a great time, and Mommy was so happy that I was well behaved, I got a special treat, just a little biscuit, but it was peanut butter flavored, one of my favorites!

Then we drove some more, and ended up in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It was hard for us to do much there, because not all of it was stuff I was allowed to do, and Mommy refused to leave me. She did, however, get a picture of me planning an attack of my own, living up to my coloring of Brown.


Overall, it was a great day, but I was beat. When we got back to the room, I slept like a log!

The next day, we went hiking at Swallow Falls Park. I got to walk on a leash again, but Mommy and Daddy had to carry me for parts with steps and rough terrain. Also, they carried me out onto parts of the actual falls. They are crazy!




After that, Mommy and Daddy wanted to go to some places I was not allowed to go, so I went to the room to nap. When they got back, they had bought me some new shirts. here I am modeling one of them.
Also, my Mommy has a blogger friend, Baxter's mommy, who loves doxie stuff, so she took a picture of this doxie wine bottle stopper for her. Baxter, be sure you tell your mommy about it. If you ever go to Deep Creek look at the Bear Creek Traders!

So as you can see, this was another busy day. The next morning, we were up super early again, to pack everything up and check out. Before we left Maryland, Mommy and Daddy took me to do something called geocaching. We found the cache, and got our picture taken!
As you can see, my first vacation was busy and exciting. Mostly, I was just happy to be with Mommy and Daddy, but now, I am really happy to be home!