O&C

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Flying with Chloe

Ultimately the decision was made to take Chloe with us to San Francisco! We had an incredible time and it was a blast having her there with us! I couldn't have imagined the trip without her being here! This post is all about how we did traveling with a dog!

Preparation

I spent a lot of time researching traveling with a dog before we left! I asked fellow pet owners at puppy playtime and Google searched more times than necessary. I made sure that I knew what we were doing just in case anything went wrong. The one cite that I read every post before leaving was Dog Jaunt, it is all about traveling with a small dog! It was perfect and it was just what I needed, somehow Mary Alice made sure to answer every single question I came upon and more that I hadn't thought of! If there was one cite that was essential to making this trip the success it was it was definitely Dog Jaunt!

Mary Alice has a great list of what to bring with you and it was a wonderful guide! I did edit it to what I thought we would honestly need on a five day trip, but it was invaluable! We used the SturdiBag in black, size large, since that is what we had previously when we traveled with our now much larger dog, Oliver. It turns out we made the right choice with a carrier since that is the one she uses with her dog, Chloe!

We also had made reservations at a hotel that was dog friendly and allowed dogs that were under 15lbs. In the end we stayed at a friends house which was much better for our first time travels, especially since she had a dog and we didn't have to worry about running her outside while we were in the hotel!

The Flight

Going There: We got to the airport with a little less than two hours before our flight which ended up being perfect. We checked in curbside and there was no fuss over the dog other than the $100 fee for her to travel in cabin with us. That is the way to go if you are traveling with a dog in cabin, easy and they just breezed us through! Security was easy and we got more attention by those saying she was cute than from the TSA. I carried her through the scanner without her collar or leash and stuck her back in before moving towards the gate. We got on the plane and I gave her a Kong stuffed with peanut butter when we were taking off and I think that was a key to the easy flight we had! After that she fell asleep in her carrier and the rest of the flight was a breeze! My mom and I split up when we landed and I went with our friend and we tried to find some grass for Chloe. We went to one of the animal areas and she wouldn't have it, she was smelling every other dogs markings and would go herself. We then waited until we got to grass at the house which was fine!

The Way Back: Let me preface this by saying that delays are the worse! We didn't check our flight before arriving at the airport which was a huge mistake. Our flight was delayed by an hour and a half! This is where we made the mistakes, we went to the club room and spent our time there. We talked about taking Chloe out of security again and walking around and letting her go to the bathroom but we didn't follow through. Mistake #1! Instead, we let her sleep and sleep, on the chair, in her carrier when we were told she was supposed to be in her carrier (apologizing is always the best way to go!). Mistake #2 was letting her sleep the whole time. On the flight there I had frozen peanut butter in a Kong for her, on the way back we had been running around all day and I meant to stop in somewhere and find peanut butter--not sure exactly where I was thinking--and fill the Kong. That never happened and was something we should have done. Mistake #3. Instead, throughout the whole flight she was visibly upset and uncomfortable, panting after we gave her water and shaking. It was horrible seeing her this way and we think her ears must have been bothering her, especially since she wouldn't eat anything. It turned out she was just completely unsure of what to do with herself and didn't have a clue as to what was going on and why. I just wanted the flight to be over! None of the calming methods we brought helped and I just felt absolutely useless! In the end we were just happy to be on the ground!

While We Were There

The greater San Francisco area is incredibly dog friendly and it was such a nice thing to have Chloe with us! Our friend that we were staying with had a dog but it would have been unbearable to not have her with us! We made sure to eat meals outside and the amazing California weather made that incredibly enjoyable! Then we were also able to leave her in the house with our friends Yorkshire Terrier, Bella! Where one night while they were blocked in with a dog gate, Chloe somehow ended up on the opposite side of the gate when we got home. We were shocked! Next time we will definitely bring a carrier for her, such as the PetEgo that is recommended by Dog Jaunt as being a bag that can easily hide the dog! Overall, it was a great trip and I can't wait for our next trip!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Traveling with a Dog

We are taking a trip to San Francisco for five days and I am faced with the decision to bring Chloe or to leave her home. I have such a hard time leaving her and I think it would be great for her to come! Oliver cannot come since he barks at strangers and that wouldn't be compatible at the hotel.

We have saved her a spot on the plane and have told the hotel that she is coming and have made proper arrangements. We got the health certificate from the vet today and have everything we need to take her.

Now comes the decision if we take her or not. Oliver will be staying at home with my grandparents who are currently staying with us and it will be easier for them to just have Oliver than have Chloe and Ollie which could be a handful.

Bringing Chloe means making sure that we either stay in the room with her, get a dog sitter, have her stay with the dog sitter while we go out to dinner or stay in a lot. Staying in isn't a great option since there are a few things that we'd like to do while we are there. We have been there before so we know the deal but it's just becoming such a hard decision. To take Chloe or to leave Chloe at home, what do you think?

Saturday, July 23, 2011

A Little Background Information

As a high school student, I cannot handle the responsibility of a dog by myself. In this case, the dogs are mainly my moms. But overall they are our family pets. Oliver was the dog that our family got after some rough family times, Oliver was a true comfort pet and was there for our family when we needed him the most. My mom needed Oliver throughout this time and due to this he has an incredible bond with my mom. He knows that she is in charge and their relationship is remarkable and incredibly touching.

Chloe isn't exactly in the same situation, she was a complete surprise from my mom for mostly my brother. My mom and I secretly went up before Christmas to see Chloe and pick her from two puppies, a boy and a girl. I knew that my brother would flake out with his responsibilities and that the responsibility would fall to either myself or my mom. Especially since my brother was the one pushing for Oliver, yet when he came he took no responsibility for what needed to be done at all. We visited Chloe and I could not wait until February for us to pick her up!

Oliver was the easiest puppy, he barely whined when he was in his crate and he didn't know how to bark until he was about 6 months or so. Chloe was the complete opposite. She would bark and whine in her crate the first week she came home and would claw at her cage to no end. It was really rough and we decided that she needed to be enrolled in puppy classes. Little did we know what a blessing these classes would turn out to be!

Yet before we had the classes, Chloe would have multiple accidents since you couldn't tell if she was sitting or if she was squatting. She wouldn't listen and the bad habits had to be stopped! My mom and brother were fed up with her and there were multiple "threats" by my mom to give her back or to get rid of her. I cared for Chloe more than anything and she shortly became my dog since no one wanted to keep her except me. Because of this, I am definitely closer to Chloe and feel that I am her mom. Where my mom is very clearly the mom of Ollie.

With that being said, I take Chloe to puppy classes every weekend. We take classes at Ahimsa Dog Training and we are incredibly happy with it! On Saturday's we go to Puppy Playtime to she can be socialized and then we start Puppy Jr. High a few hours after playtime! I can't wait to bump up her training and start practicing more throughout the week! Stay tuned for more updates on Chloe and Oliver's training!

Friday, July 22, 2011

I Bark

Earlier this week Chloe took a trip with me to an outside shopping mall. I love going there since Chloe can come along and if need be I can slip her in my purse until we get out of the store without much of a fuss.

I had some returns to make and I also wanted to stop by B&N to pick up the latest dog magazines, where I ended up coming home with four different issues!

We went to the first store and it was great, she said hi to all the people that came up to her and those that did not she didn't bark at. Chloe likes to bark when she sees people and they see her but don't say hello. This was big!

Then we made our way to B&N, when we walked in there was a fairly large dog standing while the owner was sitting down. We walked past and didn't cause a seen. I didn't see the dog so I got nervous but thankfully nothing happened.

Then we were in one of the book isles in the main part of the book store since that is where the magazines are. She was on a short leash, almost on my lap. The big dog walked by and Chloe starts barking. I get incredibly embarrassed when Chloe barks in a setting that is highly inappropriate. I think my face was thirty different shades of red.

I picked her up and the dog was gone so she was fine. I didn't realize how close she was to her threshold when we were in B&N and it was definitely a reminder to pay more attention to her body language while we were in public.

We will definitely be working on this barking at bigger dogs this week at puppy school. Thankfully we start Puppy Jr. High on Saturday so we can get all our issues resolved.