Linda and Regis travel...
Enjoying the gifts of the day with two dogs
Jumpy Dog
Dart doesn’t like noises. We spent all day yesterday at the RV dealer while they installed the equipment to allow us to tow the Jeep. (regis the editor here. when someone says it will take “most of the day”, be sure to ask if that is a 24,12 or 8 hour day! on the plus side it was the first time I paid for 10 hours of labor and actually got 10 hours of labor!) The coolest place to sit was where the technicians would pull off sheets of plastic to put over the seats in the incoming RV’s so they didn’t mess up the RV’s when they fixed them. Dart DID NOT LIKE when they pulled the plastic off the role. He hated it. Life was good until a technician pulled off a sheet of plastic.
To make his little life worse, we came back home today with the dinghy in tow which means all of us rode in the motor home on the way home. Dart gives a new meaning to “not a happy camper”. Every noise bothered him. It took him at least two hours to stop reacting to EVERY sound. When we stopped for gas, he bolted to the door of the RV to escape. Eventually, he was reasonably satisfied with a setup Regis put together. Regis put his dog bed between the driver and passenger seat and he sat in the passenger seat while I drove. Dart became reasonably settled and gave us hope that he would become accustomed to this new situation.
I plan to try using Adaptil to come him down when we start on our cross country trek. I hope that works to reduce his anxiety until he gets acclimated to the sounds and movement of the motor home.
As far as driving the motor home with the dinghy, it wasn’t bad. I find the motor home reacts to wind (sometimes from passing vehicles) more than the 5th wheel did. I find it easy to tow the dinghy rather than the 5th wheel. Although driving the motor home takes getting used to, I think the advantages of the motor home outweigh the disadvantages of the 5th wheel for our style of camping. If we didn’t move around a lot, a 5th wheel would be better.
Here is our one picture showing we drove through orange country. It sure makes you want a glass of orange juice as you watch these trucks drive by. The picture is a bit blurry, but the truck is filled with oranges.
Once we got home, Regis had to run to a dental appointment. Meanwhile, I brushed Dart and gave him a badly needed bath. When Regis came home, he was horrified on Dart’s behalf. He felt that Dart was tortured enough on his motor home ride and it was particularly cruel to make him undergo a brushing and a bath in the same day.
Now, we prepare for our cross country trip. I may not post again until we get going. We hope that will be in 1-2 weeks. We have a list of things to accomplish before we go and it depends on how quickly it happens. I hope soon. I’m ready!!!!!!
Linda and Regis travel... 
Aw, poor little man! He needs a Bedlington to keep him company and tell him things will be OK ;). Last weekend I brought Elvis to an agility trials and he was BEYOND thrilled to be there. He wouldn’t allow me to keep him in a crate, he wanted OUT to go meet everybody! Maybe I can get him to run agility someday without reacting to the judge and the people outside the ring.. Shelties!
Have a good trip —
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