Hitting the road with furry friends

Hitting The Road With Furry Friends

Here is our experience, how we did it and our recommendations!

Having a pet is like another child. A fur child. We have had our dog/s for over 6 years and our kids have grown up with them. Grown to love them and have a special bond that we all adore. So, now you’re leaving on your epic road trip with your family and want to take the dog!! You can’t possibly leave your pet at home. It’s heartbreaking right!?

Our 2 border collies (Gypsy and Barney) travelled in the back of our Mazda BT50. The canopy fitted had windows we kept open so that they didn’t get hot. Once we pull up to a dog friendly caravan park, our dogs had to go onto a lead which we really didn’t like doing. Although there are loads of pet friendly parks around Australia, most do not offer an off leash area nearby or the beach out front of you caravan park/campground is not dog friendly. In addition to your kids wanting to head down to the beach, what do you do with your dog? It is park policy that you cannot leave you dog at your caravan unattended.

If there were activities we wanted to do, we would put our dogs into a pet sitter. We personally found it really hard to put full trust into a sitter and if there house/yard wasn’t up to scratch, we’d spend the whole time worrying about our beloved dogs.

Where did they sleep?
Our dogs mostly slept inside our van at night. One in the foot well (he would put himself there) and they other under the foot of our bed. We carried a stretcher that we would set up under the awning and they would chill out there. We had some comfy dog beds too, like in the picture above.

TRAVEL AUSTRALIA BUDGET SPREADSHEET

Let us tell you. Although the idea of having a dog on board is amazing, it definitely comes with its challenges. You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place and it really is a very individual decision. For us, it didn’t work. With three young children and 2 dogs, our challenges of travelling with dogs was far outweighed by the benefits. Although we loved having them with us, in all honesty it was hard on us and our dogs. Our Border Collies were active and smart and travelling really wasn’t for them.

Our advice… If you want to experience ALL that Australia has to offer, we recommend leaving your pooch with family or friends. For us, we loved having our dogs with us but it was the restrictions we didn’t expect. National Parks do not allow dogs to enter, so yes, you can pop them into a kennel but that is added cost and stress on you and your dog. Visiting a cave or wildlife park is a real challenge and you tend to skip it due to your dog situation. We aren’t a fan of leaving our dogs tied up in the back of the ute while out exploring, nor leaving them tied up at our campsite. There was lots we missed and many National Parks we were unable to go into.

Dogs don’t have a perception of time and they DON’T forget you. You’ll get the same reaction from them when you return if your away for a week or for a year!

So, what did we do with our dogs and where are they now?

We left our 2 dogs with Justin’s parents as they live on 2 acres. Then came our decision to travel for another year so they went to stay with friends on a vineyard. While with them, unfortunately our Barney boy was hit by a car and died. Shortly after, we picked up our Gypsy girl and travelled with her for a few months. She was on three legs (due to cancer and an amputation) and while running after waves at the beach – her favourite thing to do – she busted her only back leg. Dislocation and torn ligaments, she would never have made a full recover and would have been in a wheel cart, not a good life for a dog and we were advised to put her down. A very very sad time for our family!

Moral of the story, do what you feel is right. We are simply giving you our experience and hope this gives you an insight into travelling with your pet.

If you’d like more information or inspiration head to www.caravanningwithpets.com.au