Tips for Long Haul Trekking with Your Pack
Tips, tricks and helpful thoughts from our pack to yours.
In the last month, our pack moved from Bend, Oregon to Durango, Colorado. This was a 16 hour drive, riddled with ups and downs, as all long drives tend to do. Fortunately, we are well equipped with supportive aspects for the dogs. Granted, we have 3 dogs traveling and somewhat living out of a Toyota Tacoma pickup with a camper on the back.
So here are three tips and tricks for the road that we found helpful during our excursion. Keep in mind, not all dogs travel well and we are very fortunate to have 3 very well-traveling dogs, as it is nothing new to them. We have traveled a lot, and have lived out of our truck many of times so this is also a safe place for them.
Tip 1: Potty breaks are important, obviously, but incorporating exercise and off leash access can be a game changer.
For us, we are lucky that when we drive across the country, we are typically in the western states which means an abundance of dirt roads every so often, and or exploring national forests. This is crucial for our dogs, it allows them to potty without a leash on and to run around and get all of their wiggles out. Often, we have found that if you Google dog parks as well, some gas stations have dog parks incorporated into them which is also very helpful. We also bring along frisbees and balls so that when we get to a potty break spot, we can play with them. It breaks up the trip for everyone and can be a huge moral boost for you and the furballs.
Tip 2: If the human's need to be comfy, dogs need to be comfy.
This is important for travel. For our dogs, we have the entire back seat for them. We have a protective cover across the seat, and we also have a pass through in the truck to the camper so they can explore in the back as well as lounge on the back seat. This is so important for our dogs, and most others. In our experience, not allowing dogs to have some space to move around is sometimes stressful for them. There can be pros to kenneling dogs on trips including safety and comfort, but for us, we found our dogs do better with the freedom to move around. We are lucky enough to have room to allow the three dogs to move around if needed, and to move away from each other if one of the dogs is feeling stressed.
Tip 3: Water, Water, Water. Plus snacks and food.
This one is the most important, and we have made the mistake of slacking on this aspect in the past, which is not okay. As humans know, we get extremely thirsty and dehydrated while traveling due to just breathing our own air and not engaging in self care as much as we may need to. For us, we have a rule of thumb: if we need to stop for anything, gas, food, coffee, or whatever it may be, we stop and give our dogs water, snacks (from Triumph of course), and food. Our dogs do not eat much on the road, but they drink a ton of water. We carry a 2-gallon container in the back and their water bowl right next to it so that it is easily accessible and available for the dogs.
Lastly, have fun! If you're bored, pull over for 5-10 minutes and throw a ball, take a walk, or even swim in a river. I think the biggest thing we have learned over the long miles is that it's okay to take breaks, take care of yourself, and acknowledge that you and your dogs are allowed to be comfy and take time for self-care.
