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  1. #1
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    Barley's first road trip

    It was only about 5 miles, but it was good practice!

    Later this month we're planning on a week long road trip with the pups so we wanted to start practicing having them in the car together. Most of our road trips fit the theme of "hike a bit, sightsee a bit, stop by a brewery" so we went with the same pattern today.

    First we drove about half a mile from home to a short flat trail where Thor could be off leash while we focused on Barley. Since he is about 6 months old we only hiked for ~30 minutes but he did GREAT! Wonderful leash behavior and only a little bit of barking. Oh boy does he love to bark when he gets excited and he was *very* excited to be out there with us. This is new to us because Thor is not a barker.



    My terrible blurry shot of them hanging out in the cab of the truck. We removed the seats a long time ago and turned it into kind of a 'den' for Thor. He treats it like a crate and loves hanging out back there. Bed, blankets, water bowl, toys, etc. And we wanted to make sure he was comfortable sharing it with Barley. He didn't seem to mind at all. Next week we'll try a similar outing with my car (a Subaru Outback) since the shared space is very different.




    After our little hike and short drive we visited a local brewery for lunch. Both pups were happy to gnaw on treats while the humans enjoyed their own treats. They also enjoyed pets from lots of people.





    Even though we were only out for ~2 hours, it was a big day for Barley! He snoozed peacefully on the drive home.



    Overall it was a big success. I'm looking forward to trying out the other car next week. I think we can definitely extend the distance and try for a longer ride to see if they get bored or annoying.
    Mighty Thor, "So Much Dog", born 1/6/2014
    And baby Barley, born 3/9/2018

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  3. #2
    Real Retriever Beth C's Avatar
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    I'm so glad that your short trip worked out well! It sounds like the two dogs will be fine in the car together. If you're like us, we like to take our dogs with us when we travel.

    We will be taking Lido on his first very short camping trip in a couple of weeks, since he'll have had all of his puppy vaccines by then. There's a cycling path that my husband wants to ride on, and there's a campground along the way. I'm going to stay there while he rides. We have a travel trailer, and thank goodness there's room for Lido's crate. I just didn't want to leave him alone for his first trip, so this will be a good trial run. It will only be for a couple of days.

  4. #3
    Senior Dog SamsonsMom's Avatar
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    How adorable! I love the puppies on the board right now. It just seems like yesterday I was doing all this with Asher. Trips around Cleveland to prepare him for the 12 hour ride to OBX.

    Way to go Barley! And what a wonderful big brother Thor is.

  5. #4
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    That’s a neat looking harness. Does it help stop pulling?


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  6. #5
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmathers View Post
    That’s a neat looking harness. Does it help stop pulling?
    It's the basic ruffwear harness. There is a front clip that you can use for the leash that is supposed to deter pulling, but I don't like to use it. I've been working really hard on loose leash walking with Barley (because I failed miserably with Thor - lesson learned). I like the harness because it gives me something other than the collar to clip the leash into in case he *does* pull, or want to chase after something, whatever. It's also something i can grab onto if I need to control him quickly.
    Mighty Thor, "So Much Dog", born 1/6/2014
    And baby Barley, born 3/9/2018

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  8. #6
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Fun! Presto got started with road trips very early on. In the first Saturday home he was in and out of the car for 12 hours and we've done that a few other times since then. He loves it, with and without the other dogs. The breeder also got them used to car rides early on, going to fun places. Presto complained a little at first when we first started, but now he's quiet. I can hear him singing as he chews his bully stick though.

  9. #7
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    Barley's first road trip

    Quote Originally Posted by MightyThor View Post
    It's the basic ruffwear harness. There is a front clip that you can use for the leash that is supposed to deter pulling, but I don't like to use it. I've been working really hard on loose leash walking with Barley (because I failed miserably with Thor - lesson learned). I like the harness because it gives me something other than the collar to clip the leash into in case he *does* pull, or want to chase after something, whatever. It's also something i can grab onto if I need to control him quickly.
    Thanks for the recommendation! I got what I think is the same one you have and it’s great. Diggity’s not so sure about it yet though! He bites it as I put it on and then rolls around on the ground trying to get it off. Eventually he settles down though. I’m sure he’ll get used to it over time.




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  11. #8
    Senior Dog SamsonsMom's Avatar
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    Simply adorable!

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  13. #9
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    Oh don't those yellow ones look so handsome in blue?

    Barley (and Thor) recognize their harnesses as meaning fun times ahead so they get super excited. It's hard to get the harnesses on since they are so happy wiggly!
    Mighty Thor, "So Much Dog", born 1/6/2014
    And baby Barley, born 3/9/2018

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  14. #10
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MightyThor View Post
    Oh don't those yellow ones look so handsome in blue?

    Barley (and Thor) recognize their harnesses as meaning fun times ahead so they get super excited. It's hard to get the harnesses on since they are so happy wiggly!
    Agreed the blue on yellow is a super color combination!!


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