Travelling with Dogs
I have been requested by a member to post a short article on travelling with dogs for those that are soon to travel or have not travelled with dogs before.
As with most things in life, compromises need to be made and it is not as easy as chucking the dog’s bowls and a few tins of Pal in the back of the car and whistling up Rover et al.
Before setting out, you need to do a bit of research; one of the first items is to purchase one or more of the up-to-date books on dog friendly parks and other areas you can stay with your dog. ‘Travelling with Dogs’ is one we bought a couple of years ago. Next search the net on the places/regions you intend staying to see what the local travel industry has to say – in many cases you can do a ‘search’ within their websites.
Some of the limitations that travelling with dogs brings are that if you are travelling in station country you will see many warning signs about 1080 Baits. This poison is injected into meat baits and dropped by air to provide coverage of several baits per square mile. This is to help eradicate dingoes and feral cats. It does not affect native animals, which have a built-in immunity. The baits are usually laid by government agencies such as the Agricultural Protection Board or Conservation and Land Management etc – not the local Station owners, but the station people will know when baits were last laid. These baits remain active until the next reasonable rainfall – and should your pet ingest one there is no antidote and, I am told it is a horrible death.
They do not usually drop baits near water close to the public roads – or so I am told. If you have a UHF radio with a scan function then let it run in scan mode and you will pick up the channel(s) that the stations you are passing through operate on. Give them a call and ask about the 1080 baits situation – and, if you want, ask about local places of interest - or where you could park for a day or so. If you are out-and-about in these ‘bait’ areas keep Rover on a lead and watch him very closely – or train the dog to only accept food that is given and not scrounged – do not ask me how! Muzzling is an option – if you pet will accept them. Ours just ripped them off.
National Parks are out-of-bounds, certainly in WA and I think in most states. This means you may have to board your pet or find some loving couple who are staying around for the period you are away – it is not easy.
In caravan parks that do accept dogs there is often a good behaviour ‘bond’ to be paid up front and in almost every case the dog will have to be kept on a lead ‘at all times’. This is not a lot of fun for Rover and he will require extra exercise to keep him happy. In addition, wherever you go please carry a supply of ‘poo’ bags to clean up after he has done his business.
Having said all that, travelling with your ‘fur family’ is a great joy, and they really do love to travel and see new places. You only have to watch the frenzied ‘sniffing and piddling’ that goes on as soon as Rover jumps out of the car somewhere new. Have the dog checked out by a vet before leaving and when travelling you should stop every couple of hours for a run and drink – this is good for you too - though drink only coffee or juice!
If the weather is cold – buy or make some winter jackets for them and let them sleep in the vehicle (or the van) if it is very cold.
We have successfully travelled with two large dogs, our aging cross Lurcher (Heinz 57 varieties) bitch and our daughters huge Black Lab which we baby-sat for three years up on the farm. Now our daughter’s circumstances have changed and she can again have her beloved dog with her on her five- acre block in the Perth Hills. We felt it would have really upset the dogs to split them up after so long together as they were very close – so, last Wednesday we very sadly said goodbye and left with a tear in our eyes.
Now, every dog we meet gets whistled-up, patted and played with – some people probably think we are a bit odd, but who cares – enjoy your travels.
Grumblebum and the Dragon
