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1st trip with puppy

may help

Quote: Originally posted by millermicm on 05/7/2010

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We take our dog out last thing then he sleeps with us. He lets us know if he needs to go out during the night.

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surely you dont take him to the dog walk in the middle of the night if he needs to go out?

Is it just a case of cleaning up near the van?

The reason for this is we are taking our JR with us for the first time when we go away.

What do you do when you go out for the day/

We have 2 dogs a Great Dane and a springer.

we go out for a last walk before it gets to dark.if they needed to get up in the night i used a long lead and torch just so i knew if they went.!!!!!

we never leave them alone we have an awning and crates for them just like home. they love it. been taking them from being babies.

you are restricted though if you want to go places that dogs arent welcome.

Quote: Originally posted by GT60 on 05/7/2010

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What do you do when you go out for the day/

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Taken them with you and find a cafe where you can sit outside with them. You will find that most caravan sites insist that you do not leave a dog inside a caravan alone.

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Quote: Originally posted by SusieSu on 05/7/2010

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Hi gt60 - is your JR a puppy ?

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Hi SusieSu no he is errr "T" reg! That was when swmbo got him so he could come with me in my new T reg wagon and sit on the dashboard..

He never did see the inside of my wagon though

I think T reg was 1998 so he would be 12 but he thinks he is a puppy and acts like a teenager who has had a smell of stella ( thinks he can fight the world when we take him out)

Hate to think what he will be like on a club site and see's or hears another MUtt

We have just got an 11 week old black labrador and i have the same concerns about taking him away, at home he sleeps in a dog crate but this will take up all of the gangway in the caravan. I am thinking about getting a travel crate but not sure this will contain him

I think when he does come away with us there will be a couple of sleepless nights!! 

Hi, we've got two 4 year old mini schnauzer bitches and use a canvas (pets at home) crate at bedtime in the van and also have the same in the car for travelling. If you can start crate training your pup at home for toilet etc, when you first get her, you may find it handy to keep it going on the van too. That way too she'll have a "safe" place if she gets stressed out with her new location and have a familiar place to go to.

We find that our girls go into the crate on their own at bedtime - it also gives us peace as they're not constantly jumping on the bed through the night, which is what they used to do before we got the crate!

As for toilet, our girls must have bladders the size of a whale as they once went a day and a half without even peeing as they were too busily investigating their new surroundings to go.

I'm sure your little baby will soon get the hang of things and you'll wonder how you ever worried about it. Enjoy her!

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The last trip I took the kids swimming for 2 hours. When I came back he had managed to tear the PVC mesh, escaped and jumped out of a window I had left open for air. Causing chaos around the site. He now has a metal crate.

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We  have a six year old cocker and he always comes caravanning with us. However we were past the puppy stage when we first started vanning so I cant really comment on that.  I would think that once a dog is fully housetrained it wouldnt be a problem

We never leave our dog alone in the van, in a crate or otherwise.  He is quite happy in a crate at home, although these days he uses it more to escape from  our kitten than anything else. We have found we have less need of the crate as the dog has got older and calmed down somewhat! We dont take the crate on holiday. At night he just sleeps in his dog bed in the van with us. I realise that for tent camping it may well be different.  He has a short walk last thing at night, and again first thing in the morning and he is fine with that as regards toiletting. The headtorch is your friend here!  (Ever tried juggling a dog, a torch and a poo bag?) Obviously he has plenty of walks during the day.

We made up our minds from the start that when he comes on holiday with us, where we go, he goes. Has to be said, this isnt always easy, especially as regards days out with children. An example of this recently, we were in Galloway in May and I really REALLY wanted to go to Logan Botanical Gardens. Being a garden we didnt think this would be a problem dogwise.  WRONG!  He wasnt allowed further than the car park, and as it was a warm day we really didnt want to leave him in the car, even  parked in the shade. So we turned round and drove away.  The longest he is ever left alone is for an hour in the car if we have  a pub lunch or evening meal, even then we try to find the dog friendly option or sit outside. And never if the weather is too warm.  I think its just something you have to make your mind up  to.

Our dog LOVES caravanning, gets more excited than we do when we're  loading up and loves all the new places and new smells.  We're off to Ligwy Beach, Anglesey on Saturday for a week, so if you see a black cocker rockpooling or swimming, thats us!