Quote:
Originally Posted by wendyquat
We also starting taking our Cairn with us in the car when he was very young to get him accustomed to it and he traveled well until 3 years ago when we were hit from behind by a speeding car. While we weren't hurt it was very traumatic and since that time Tucker hates riding in the car. Thank goodness he doesn't get sick but he cowers in the floor of the car and won't even take a nap no matter how long the trip. We have tried meds from the vet but these make him a zombie and don't seem to relieve his anxiety. He does well on rest stops and in hotels but balks when it is time to get back in the car. Our children live 14 hours away and we make it a two day trip to make it easier on the dog. While I agree there are many nice dog friendly hotels like LaQuinta some are real "flea bags", (pun intended) in that they don't maintain doggy rooms like they do other rooms. Some profess to be dog friendly as is Residence Inns but their nightly pet fee is $100. Personally I don't consider that very pet friendly! You also have a problem with eating on the road. Sometimes it's too warm to leave the dog in the car while you go in a restaurant. MOST pet friendly hotels have an agreement that you won't leave a dog in the room alone and that can be a problem. My sister in law is of the opinion that a dog doesn't belong in the house so even though we would like to visit her in JAX, we do not! Tucker, at 7 1/2, has recently been diagnosed with diabetes and has to have two shots per day so we are pretty tied down with him but he is like a child to us and gives and has given us much pleasure but you asked and I wanted to point out a couple of things you might want to consider. Good luck with your decision!
|
Holy cow, you have had a bad experience. That had to be very traumatic for Tucker.
I don't know how cars are today. I think with my (former) Audi, you could not lock the car with the engine (& a/c) running. But our American cars, you can. We would sometimes stop to get a bite to eat and leave the car running with the a/c on. If we don't want to stop at a restaurant, what we do in the warmer months is one of us goes into the rest stop place and buys lunch, and we eat it outside at the picnic area with the dog. Or else we pack a lunch and do the same. Sometimes we do a drive through and eat in the car on the way. Or we stop for gas, walk the dog, pick up a subway or similar.
I still say... if you really in your heart want to have a dog, get a dog. The rest will work itself out. You could worry this to death and become paralyzed into doing nothing because of the unknown. But I have found that all these issues surrounding owning a pet can be resolved one way or another. And you can't beat the pluses of having a furry friend.