Vacationing with your dog

We were going to do something in the Caribbean or Central America, but we've decided to go a different route. Now we're looking at East Coast Beach, either VA or NC. If we do those, my MIL & husband suggested bringing Hudson with. I'm hesitant to do it just because I don't want him crated in a strange place while we're out doing....things & I'm concerned that we'll have lots of things we'll want to do that aren't dog friendly and he'll spend most of the time locked up. If we don't take him, we will either take him to my parent's for the week or have someone come out to the house and watch him, the cat, etc.

Have you vacationed with your dogs? How did it work out? Would you do it again? Any tips/suggestions?

I've traveled with my dogs for a lot of things, including vacations, and as long as they are comfortable crated and I can find a place with a fenced yard, it's generally super fun and simple.

North GA Mountains and the Outer Banks in NC stand out as our fav destinations for vacays with dogs so far. Both had lots of options for pet friendly places to stay and activities to include them, while still having activities the humans enjoyed. Outer Banks is probably my top pick because there's more for the humans to do than hiking.

Thanks Stars. Outer Banks is where we were thinking for NC. We were actually looking at Ocracoke Island. Ever been?

I'd rather have my pets home with someone I know or at your parents house where you know they will be happy and well taken care of especially since you'd being doing lots of things and have to use crates a lot if you took him.

Thanks Barb. That's definitely how I feel about it. I mean, he is used to be in a crate during the day while we're at work, but I worry that being in a crate in a strange place would worry him.

Ocracoke is actually where we stayed on the Outer Banks! We'd take Maggie out on the beach in the morning and evening for good long run, and then she was content to chill in her crate in the house during the day while we went horseback riding, shopping, etc. Her schedule was a more relaxed version of a work day and she was generally only crated from about 10a to 4p or so, sometimes less. The island is very walkable, which she enjoyed.

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!

My family and I ended up taking a vacation with all the dogs last September (Macky, Keeva, Ollie - did not have Blossom yet). We went to Door County WI and rented a dog friendly cabin. Ollie was about Hudson's age as well.

It ended up being great! I think it worked because:

- not too far of a drive, about 4 hours
- cabin had some features for dogs in mind. The floors were decorated/stained concrete (with radiant heating!) so muddy feet and possible accidents were no big deal
- close proximity to the towns we wanted to explore made it easy to come back and let the dogs out
-we had a giant empty prairie behind our cabin! So we ran the dogs in it at least twice a day, which they loved
- we planned at least some dog friendly activities, like hikes

I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It certainly takes some planning ahead but we had a great time and loved sharing it with our dogs. If you can make it work, I'd do it!

We generally board Xena if going on a vacation for a few days or more. If it's just overnight or even 2 days, we may have a neighbor come in to feed/walk her and play with her a bit. She gets free run of the house when we're out, so the situation is different, though.

When we go to my in-laws place in Delaware, Xena comes with us. She travels pretty well now (she used to puke in the car even for a short trip to the park) and she settles right in at their place.

My vacations tend to be agility trials so the dogs always go with me. However last year I was in contact with a travel agent specifically trying to find a good vacation spot on the OBX where I could take the dogs. My dream was a rental house with a fenced yard but I would have done a hotel too.

I really don't like to leave them behind, I miss them terribly even after just a day, so they will always go with me whenever possible. Obviously whenever I take that vacation to Hawaii I've been dreaming about for a decade they won't be able to go. BUT my guys are also quite savvy in hotel rooms and strange places, so it's not something I'm concerned about.
Pepper, OTOH, is a different question. There are definitely times I would leave her behind and have her spend a weekend or whatever at my parent's house rather than take her with me. But she is just that kind of dog where it will depend on the situation, if leaving her is better or not.

So yeah, by and large they will go with me, but in odd situations Pepper will stay behind.

I have nothing helpful to add, but this thread just made me go look up cabin rentals that are pet friendly in this area. There's less than I would have thought but still a couple that are making me think about a weekend getaway this summer.

ETA: We would only take one dog though. And it would likely be Mu since she's the problem child and doesn't play well with others (and has the best recall). Lol

I'd say DON'T if the following apply:

- your dog has separation anxiety, or really any kind of anxiety/aggression problems that could cause an issue during vacation
- you want to do a lot of sightseeing, or are planning on all-day activities, like you want to spend an entire day on a boat, long fishing trips, day-trips to a nearby city, amusement park, etc.

Otherwise, I don't think it should be an issue. Especially if you're going to an East Coast beach, many are dog friendly (check beforehand), any small city is relatively dog friendly and you can eat at outdoor, dog friendly cafes, etc.

Most stable dogs adapt really well, especially if their people are with them. Going out to dinner and a play and leaving him crated, if he gets adequate exercise, is going to be no different than doing it at home for most dogs.

Even if you bring him to the beach or a park in the AM for plenty of exercise, and then crate him for the afternoon while you enjoy "dog free" time sipping drinks on a people-only beach, he's still going to ADORE being with you in a new place with fun things like beaches/hiking/water/etc.

You can look into a rental cottage or house instead of a hotel, too. Hotels aren't bad, but it's usually a little more stressful on the dog to hear so many people walking around and other dogs barking - and more stressful on you if he does bark a lot. VRBO.com is great for pet-friendly vacation spaces.

That's awesome. Do you happen to remember where you stayed/where you booked it? I'd love to be able to do a house/townhouse with a yard.

If you go to VRBO.com you can just select "pet friendly" and "with a yard"

Love vacationing with Abe!

Montana has been our latest spot and its always awesome.

I can always find things to do with Abe, a lot of places are super understanding when I say we are on vacation and have our dog can we bring him along.

My mom says we used Sandy Shores Realty to find our house on Ocracoke. http://www.ocracokeislandrealty.com/OuterBanks/VacationRentals/

I love vacationing with the dogs. I've found my go-to pet friendly campground/cabin rental resort in northern MN and go there at least a couple of times a year with various combinations of dogs. When we're tent camping I pretty much have to stay with/around them all the time. When we rent the cabin we can leave them crated if we want to go sightsee something without them.

I love taking T-Bone on vacation! We have been to South Carolina a few times and rent a pet-friendly beach house. We take her along since we mostly spend time at the beach, but she's fine if we do some sightseeing without her (usually only one day for a few hours) or go out for dinner/shopping. She's usually so pooped out from all the running around anyway.

Looks like we're vacationing in NC in August (Sorry Jess, no house sitter/Hudson sitter needed).

Now I need to get him collars, leashes & harnesses that are good in the water.

My opinion is that it's not a vacation if the dogs are with.
God, I'm mean. :rofl1:

That's my only contribution! Lol we don't go on vacations. If I did I wouldn't want to bring my dogs with unless I were going somewhere where I planned to be out and about exploring. And in that case, Juno is the only one I'd want with me.