Taking our dog on family vacation- Inlaws are not dog people.

[rakrzy]

I really need some advice on taking my dog on our family vacation to the beach. My inlaws are not dog people but we are determined to bring him. They need to learn to be around each other and i know he will have a great time at the beach, on the bay, and other adventures we have for planned for us. Im really just worried how he will do in the house. He is almost 2 years old, 80 pounds and STRONG and he thinks he is a small lap dog. Its not a very large house and he is still a very hyper puppy. He is a leaner and leans against people when he is excited which does not work well with my mother in law with a replaced knee and my grandmother in law who is very old and my 1 year old niece. He loves loves loves people so gets very excited and can sometimes be hard to calm down. we are going to have a lot of new toys and bones and im hoping that he will be tired enough from our activities to sleep most of the time. Any one have any advice about how to calm him down if he does get rowdy? Im 7 month pregnant so that also adds to my stress as im worried i wont be able to be as active with him as i would like.


the main thing im worried about is putting him in his crate when my husband and i are not there. He does well when everyone is gone but not everyone is going to be gone at the same time. He will be downstairs in his crate when my husband and i are gone but you can still hear everyone very well in the house. If he knows people are still at the house he will bark continuously. He has done it before and dont know what to do about it.


Anybody have any advice??!

[rakrzy]

Sorry i think i posted this in the wrong spot! My bad!

[bett]

get a thin cotton sheet and start using it now, as well as a t-v or a radio.

[smartrock]

I'm guessing the vacation is coming up soon so there might not be much time to change or train him or your relatives, but here are my thoughts. First, I think it's not the older/elderly humans that need to learn to be around the dog as much as the dog needs to learn to be around humans. A week at the beach is not going to be the ideal training grounds. I go to the beach a fair amount with my dogs and when we've had older folks around, my dogs end up being crated more than they normally would or out on the porch/deck if they are unable to be calm. However, we do try to make sure they get plenty of exercise before they are crated, so they're more inclined to rest. I also advise the oldsters that if the dog is out in the room, they should find someplace to sit and try to stay there for a while. I have a relative that just has to get up and try to maneuver with her walker without warning and it can make the dogs pretty excited. We haven't been able to train Grandma not to do that.

I'd wake up early, or get your husband or someone who can take him out early in the morning, and I'm talking 6 am, and let him run on the beach and swim and seriously wear him out first thing in the morning. Are you going to a beach where dogs can be off leash all day or at certain hours? Between running and swimming, hopefully he'd be tired out enough to sleep for a while when he gets back. You'll have to wait an hour or so after the exercise to feed him but maybe he can sit out on a screened in porch and dry off some while waiting for breakfast (give him some fresh water out there). I know a lot of beach houses have pretty open floor plans, but if there is a place you can confine him in his crate or with a baby gate where he can still see people, maybe he will just lie down and rest. If you know the floor plan and there are doorways where a baby gate could be used to block him off but let him be nearby, I'd take a baby gate along.

Again, I'd see if someone could take him out for a good exercise session later in the afternoon or early evening when most families are off the beach. I've trained my dogs to an e-collar so I can recall them if they run over to other families, dogs, or kids, but you can't do that in time for your trip, I'd guess. Maybe for next year...

When he's out in the house around the family, I'd either tether him to you or keep a short lead or "pull tab" on him so you can grab him easily. Have a bed or throw rug or towel in the living area that you can send him to. If you haven't trained him to go to his bed or go to his place, you could start working on that now. This is what I mean by pull tab Amazon.com : Dean and Tyler Simply Braided Short Pull Tab Leash, Black 8-Inch by 3/4-Inch Width With Solid Brass Hardware. : Pet Leashes : Pet Supplies You could make one out of an old leash, if there's one you don't use much any more that you could cut down and put a knot in the end.

Good luck with your trip and have fun!

[rakrzy]

Thanks so much Smartrock! all of those ideas are great and will really work well.

[smartrock]

Baby gates are great to put at the top of the steps upstairs inside the house to keep the dog or your niece from going down the stairs unsupervised. Likewise, if the house has outside steps that come up to an outside deck where you all might like to sit or watch the sunrise or sunset, putting the baby gate across the opening of those steps lets the pooch hang out with you without constantly calling him away from the stairs. Houses that permit pets might already have baby gates available but unless it's listed in the equipment the house has, you shouldn't count on it. Even if it is on the list, they can rust out and be pretty useless by the middle of the summer if they've been left outside. If it's on the list but unusable, the property management company should provide you with one you can use.

Sometimes I think it's easier to control your dog than it is to control your relatives in these situations. "Seriously, Grandma, can you stop swatting at him and yelling Shoo! Shoo! every time he comes near you? He thinks it's a game."

[Labradorks]

I really need some advice on taking my dog on our family vacation to the beach. My inlaws are not dog people but we are determined to bring him. They need to learn to be around each other and i know he will have a great time at the beach, on the bay, and other adventures we have for planned for us. Im really just worried how he will do in the house. He is almost 2 years old, 80 pounds and STRONG and he thinks he is a small lap dog. Its not a very large house and he is still a very hyper puppy. He is a leaner and leans against people when he is excited which does not work well with my mother in law with a replaced knee and my grandmother in law who is very old and my 1 year old niece. He loves loves loves people so gets very excited and can sometimes be hard to calm down. we are going to have a lot of new toys and bones and im hoping that he will be tired enough from our activities to sleep most of the time. Any one have any advice about how to calm him down if he does get rowdy? Im 7 month pregnant so that also adds to my stress as im worried i wont be able to be as active with him as i would like.


the main thing im worried about is putting him in his crate when my husband and i are not there. He does well when everyone is gone but not everyone is going to be gone at the same time. He will be downstairs in his crate when my husband and i are gone but you can still hear everyone very well in the house. If he knows people are still at the house he will bark continuously. He has done it before and dont know what to do about it.


Anybody have any advice??!

My advice is 1. don't take the dog, 2. take the dog, but rent your own place, or 3. board the dog where you are staying and take him for the day on your adventures then return him when you are finished, but don't bring him to the house.

It is one thing if your in-laws are not dog people because they don't like hair, drool, begging, and other typical dog stuff that is really minor in the scheme of things not to mention harmless. But, here you have a young, male, 80 lb Lab that is, in your words, STRONG, hyper, and hard to calm down. And, you know for a fact that he will bark continuously if you leave him in the house crated while you are not there.

On top of the dog half of the equation, you are far along in your pregnancy and concerned about having the energy to get him tired out. Plus, you are in a small house with your in-laws, you know that the leaning behavior will not work with your MIL due to her knee replacement, your grandmother in law is very old, and there is a one year old baby as well. Plus they are not dog people. I would not be tolerant of a dog barking continuously or being out of control and I AM a dog person. I can only imagine how they will feel.

My dog are very well-behaved but they are also big, excitable, and young. There is NO WAY I would house them in a situation like this. It's setting the dogs up for failure, it will be HUGELY stressful for you and your husband, and it will cause serious problems with your in-laws not to mention ruining their vacation.

If you are still adamant about making these people get used to your dog even though there are unavoidable issues that could possibly be pretty harmful, not to mention really annoying for anyone, you'll have to have your dog in control on a leash the entire time, in a crate, or possibly in an x-pen if there is room. If you leave the house and other people are staying there, you need to bring him with you. That doesn't sound like fun for the dog or for you if you ask me. But anything else would be just rude.

[Tanya]

I completely agree with labradorks. i would NOT bring the dog to live at your parents. This sounds like a recipe for disaster and likely lead to him not being invited ever again. Nothing about what you describe above leads me to think this will be anything less than a very very frustrating trip for everyone. If he has problems containing himself in normal situations at home it's going to be twice as hard in a new place with so many people.

I TOTALLY understand wanting to bring your dog everywhere, I am the same way. But I also respect others and what is best for everyone and SOMETIMES that means going without my dog (or as mentionned above, renting my own space).

If you are only open to suggestions on how to handle him at your parents - keep him on leash at all times. Short leash. ALL THE TIME. Make a point to go out and exercise him A LOT daily. every day. Find a quiet place to crate him not in the middle of all the hub bub. and be prepared to spend your ENTIRE trip managing him.

Find out if the beach is dog friendly (is this a private beach?) You woudl be suprised how many "public" places are not dog friendly.

[piccadilly]

If the dog is not comfortable in a crate at any time, I wouldn't bring him... not fair to the dog or the people that will have to hear him! I would definitely work on that though.

I bring multiply dogs when I'm traveling and if I'm not interacting with them, usually outside, they're crated. I don't expect others to adjust their lives, or feelings, because I have dogs

[arentspowell]

Based on your description I wouldn't bring him.