Vacationing with your dog
- Thread starter LostAndConfused
- Start date
We go to the Outer Banks every year, too, a bit further south than Ocracoke, just south of Cape Lookout on Bogue Island (Emerald Isle is the town where we stay). We rent a pet-friendly beachfront house and haven't had any problems with Riley.
We'll walk him for an hour or so in the early morning (very few people on the beach at dawn so we'll let him off leash to run). He snoozes during the day while we shop or do touristy things, then we'll walk/play on the beach again in the late afternoon and walk a final time before bedtime. That schedule seems to work pretty well for us - I don't even bring Riley's crate anymore, just make sure he has his bed.
Emerald Isle has a public beach, but very little public parking so most of the beachgoers are from the rental houses. Makes for a fairly empty beach at certain times of the day, which is pretty nice.
Pretty typical of late afternoon
ETA: Go to Ocearch (shark tracker) and look up Mary Lee. She's a Great White who has been cruising up and down the East coast. I think she actually went into the Ocracoke inlet a couple of months ago.
We'll walk him for an hour or so in the early morning (very few people on the beach at dawn so we'll let him off leash to run). He snoozes during the day while we shop or do touristy things, then we'll walk/play on the beach again in the late afternoon and walk a final time before bedtime. That schedule seems to work pretty well for us - I don't even bring Riley's crate anymore, just make sure he has his bed.
Emerald Isle has a public beach, but very little public parking so most of the beachgoers are from the rental houses. Makes for a fairly empty beach at certain times of the day, which is pretty nice.
Pretty typical of late afternoon
ETA: Go to Ocearch (shark tracker) and look up Mary Lee. She's a Great White who has been cruising up and down the East coast. I think she actually went into the Ocracoke inlet a couple of months ago.
We take our dogs most everywhere with us, unless we are flying somewhere like Mexico or vegas, or the cruise. And I would take them then if I could, lol.
During the summer we take the holiday trailer with us so we just have to find Gage friendly campgrounds. Which can be difficult because we have fond a fair number that don't allow rotties or mastiffs, which he is a mix of, lmao.
But I agree, for me it's not as much fun to go without them.
During the summer we take the holiday trailer with us so we just have to find Gage friendly campgrounds. Which can be difficult because we have fond a fair number that don't allow rotties or mastiffs, which he is a mix of, lmao.
But I agree, for me it's not as much fun to go without them.
We go to the Outer Banks every year, too, a bit further south than Ocracoke, just south of Cape Lookout on Bogue Island (Emerald Isle is the town where we stay). We rent a pet-friendly beachfront house and haven't had any problems with Riley.
We'll walk him for an hour or so in the early morning (very few people on the beach at dawn so we'll let him off leash to run). He snoozes during the day while we shop or do touristy things, then we'll walk/play on the beach again in the late afternoon and walk a final time before bedtime. That schedule seems to work pretty well for us - I don't even bring Riley's crate anymore, just make sure he has his bed.
Emerald Isle has a public beach, but very little public parking so most of the beachgoers are from the rental houses. Makes for a fairly empty beach at certain times of the day, which is pretty nice.
Pretty typical of late afternoon
ETA: Go to Ocearch (shark tracker) and look up Mary Lee. She's a Great White who has been cruising up and down the East coast. I think she actually went into the Ocracoke inlet a couple of months ago.
We'll walk him for an hour or so in the early morning (very few people on the beach at dawn so we'll let him off leash to run). He snoozes during the day while we shop or do touristy things, then we'll walk/play on the beach again in the late afternoon and walk a final time before bedtime. That schedule seems to work pretty well for us - I don't even bring Riley's crate anymore, just make sure he has his bed.
Emerald Isle has a public beach, but very little public parking so most of the beachgoers are from the rental houses. Makes for a fairly empty beach at certain times of the day, which is pretty nice.
Pretty typical of late afternoon
ETA: Go to Ocearch (shark tracker) and look up Mary Lee. She's a Great White who has been cruising up and down the East coast. I think she actually went into the Ocracoke inlet a couple of months ago.
This!
I LOVE bringing Jackson with me when he can. But I know if I'm going to be doing things that he can't do for more than 70% of the time, it's not worth it for him to just be left in the hotel, etc. I'll have him stay at my dads.
But most of the time, it's not an issue. I really enjoy bringing him to Gettysburg, it's very dog friendly. And the only time I leave him in the hotel is at night when we go to dinner. But during the dinner, we're often walking around, etc.
Jackson would rather be with me than be left somewhere most of the time, and he's so well behaved, and he's easy to travel with, so it's never been a big issue.
I LOVE bringing Jackson with me when he can. But I know if I'm going to be doing things that he can't do for more than 70% of the time, it's not worth it for him to just be left in the hotel, etc. I'll have him stay at my dads.
But most of the time, it's not an issue. I really enjoy bringing him to Gettysburg, it's very dog friendly. And the only time I leave him in the hotel is at night when we go to dinner. But during the dinner, we're often walking around, etc.
Jackson would rather be with me than be left somewhere most of the time, and he's so well behaved, and he's easy to travel with, so it's never been a big issue.
I don't know how much you talk to your dog, but I do a lot. I always tell my dogs where I'm going and for how long when I leave my house. I am really convinced they have a basic understanding. Yes, I'm leading up to something. 
I find that when I am away from home and have to crate my dog, if I just turn my back and walk away, he will start howling the second I leave. If I tell him something like, "Balto, wait here, I'll be back in 15 minutes." He will sit patiently and wait for me.
It sounds funny, but every morning before I leave for work I say, "Be good doggies, I'll be home at dinner time."
I think as long as you are staying someplace where a little barking isn't going to bother people, you'd be fine leaving him in a crate. I'm sure he'll love the Outer Banks!
I find that when I am away from home and have to crate my dog, if I just turn my back and walk away, he will start howling the second I leave. If I tell him something like, "Balto, wait here, I'll be back in 15 minutes." He will sit patiently and wait for me.
It sounds funny, but every morning before I leave for work I say, "Be good doggies, I'll be home at dinner time."
I think as long as you are staying someplace where a little barking isn't going to bother people, you'd be fine leaving him in a crate. I'm sure he'll love the Outer Banks!
I hate vacationing without the dogs, its just unnatural for me to be without a dog lol I am anxious and I worry about them back home.
I've taken Maddie on several vacations with me, camping, hiking, hotel stay at hocking hills... and the drive to FL. We didn't really stop more often because she was with it... when we stopped for gas I walked Maddie and let her go to the bathroom while my Dad went in and went to the bathroom, and then when he was done he walked her while I went in and went. It was a nice trip.
Take some water with you, your own tap water in gallon jugs if you can. They can get loose stool from new water (you too, by the way) And towels even if towels are provided where you go, I always need towels for the dog! There are so many uses for a good dog towel :rofl1: I took a blanket for Maddie for the car, and then in the hotel I covered the end of the bed with it for her to lay. Plus it smelled like home, I think that helped.
I've taken Maddie on several vacations with me, camping, hiking, hotel stay at hocking hills... and the drive to FL. We didn't really stop more often because she was with it... when we stopped for gas I walked Maddie and let her go to the bathroom while my Dad went in and went to the bathroom, and then when he was done he walked her while I went in and went. It was a nice trip.
Take some water with you, your own tap water in gallon jugs if you can. They can get loose stool from new water (you too, by the way
) And towels even if towels are provided where you go, I always need towels for the dog! There are so many uses for a good dog towel :rofl1: I took a blanket for Maddie for the car, and then in the hotel I covered the end of the bed with it for her to lay. Plus it smelled like home, I think that helped.