Snowbird dogs
 

Can anyone tell me how they handle coming to TV for a few months when they still have dogs that they have to leave at home? What do you do with them?

I cannot help with this one. Our family consists of my lovely wife, two cats and a dog. I would never consider coming to TV without my dog. I may have a different answer for the other combinations if you need help there :D

Dramamine!!!
 

We travel with two Puggles. Give them 25 mg of Dramamine every 8 hours, and they travel with us. Check out pet friendly hotels.

Ours went to our daughters house when we came down. To old to travel and blind. He loves it there the kids just love to snuggle

We travel with our german shorthair/chocolate lab mix as much as possible and stay at pet friendly hotels. He is actually a very good traveller. He really seems to enjoy new scenery.

Why not bring with? It's a great place, even for dog's. I couldn't relax if I didn't have my Gilda with me.

We bring our dogs back and forth with us from Canada. Our dogs love the car trip, arriving at their Villages home, watching geckos in the birdcage, riding in the golf cart, going daily to the dog park.

The Villages is very pet friendly. It would be a shame if you have to leave your dogs at home.

Our dog is big. She loves to ride in the car, but we have only taken her on short trips (3 hrs). Florida for us is 1200 miles. I hope to retire in November and I am wondering what to do. Are big dogs welcome in hotels. Should we medicate her, she is or will be 9 years old. What a dilema!!:22yikes::22yikes:

Traveling with Pets
 

I don't travel with dogs but, with my two cats!! I always take them with me if I am on trip that is longer than two weeks. Luckily, they love to ride in the car!

Of course, you have to find "pet friendly" accomondations. And, you may have to pay a little more for housing but it is worth it to have them with me.

There are many "pet friendly" hotels on the way to Florida. LaQuinta comes to mind but there are others. I always make hotel reservations in advance as some hotels only have one or two "pet friendly" rooms.

The problem is that there isn't just one dog, there are 2 labs, one is almost 100 lbs and the other is 64 lbs. Plus we have a Bichon. We have entertained the thought of coming down and renting for a couple months for a couple years before we buy. I doubt that there are very many property rentals that would accept my pack. :cryin2:

If your dogs are well-behaved and don't cause property damage, AND if you can come in the off-season months, I think you should be able to find a rental.

Go to The Villages 4 Rent, Rentals in The Villages and do a search for a Courtyard Villa (which will have a fenced yard) that allows pets. Use the "Search All Rentals" button on the left, then select Courtyard Villas, check the months you want and check "pets allowed". I just did this for the months of August and September 2012 and came up with LOTS of possibilities.

Please bring your dogs -- you will all be miserable without them and won't have a true idea of whether The Villages is for you.

Cynbod, we travel 1200 miles between MI and FL with an 85-lb dog. Been doing this since 2004. At first there were a handful of motels that take big dogs, but now there's lots. Best Westerns (most have been refurbished) and La Quintas, many Holiday Inn Expresses, but that's only a start. Google Pet Friendly ________ (whatever city/state). Once you pick a place, call to make sure there's no weight limit.

We have put our dogs in the car from day one and gotten them used to car travel. Our current golden was 10 weeks old when he took his first ride to Key West. We never medicate the dog. We give him the whole back seat for comfort. That's a priority. If need be, I mail a box of clothes down.

Maybe try a shorter trip with your dog and see how it goes? We drive 6-8 hours a day. Both dog's always did/do well.

For the past five years we've driven to/from Ontario to Florida with our fur family. It usually takes about 25 hours .. We do it over three days. We have a 70 lb dog, a small dog, and until recently, we also travelled with a cat. Plus dog beds, water bowls, litterbox, etc. We put most of our possessions in a torpedo on the roof cuz there is no room in the vehicle! We stay at Red Roof Inns which are known for being pet friendly.

We were going to rent for a few seasons, but we ended up buying a CYV in 2007 because we figured it would be difficult finding accommodation which would accept three pets. Even tho our dogs don't shed and are perfect angels, lol.

Good luck with finding a pet-friendly rental. I hope you're able to bring your dogs with you. Perhaps we'll see you at the dog park!

I think labsx is right that it would be very difficult to find a place that will rent to a couple and three dogs, especially a large and medium-sized one.

So, some suggestions. If possible, leave the dogs with a family member or friend who knows and loves them.

Another alternative would be to have someone watch the dogs in their home. Have them keep the dogs a time or two before you take a long trip so that both you and the dogs will be comfortable. I dogsit a household with a golden and a little dog in their home. During the summer, I watch these two for one month. I stay overnight every third day. While this is not the optimal situation, it does work. The dogs don't get too lonesome or depressed and the homeowners don't spend a small fortune on dog care. I don't know if this would work for a three-month absence though.

You could hire someone to house sit for you and pay extra to care for the dogs while there.

I really can't imagine keeping a dog in a kennel or any type of boarding facility for two-three months. That just seems too long to me.

Maybe your vet could give you some alternatives?

Thanks for all of the "stay at home" suggestions. I think having a pet sitter that could stay at our home would be the best solution if we could find one in our small community. I just know that I can't be they only one in this same situation. :shrug:

On the other hand, for the amount of money you would have to pay a house/pet sitter...you may be able to convince a homeowner to rent to you by offering them a higher than asked for pet deposit and rental fee. Especially if you were willing to visit during the off-season. It wouldn't hurt to make some inquiries.

My sister and her friend traveled from PA to FL with a lab and golder retreiver and didn't have a problem finding hotels that would allow them for a fee. Of course they had a place to stay once they arrived. I drove for many years with my two pomeranians and never had a problem with hotels. You just have to do research before you leave and plan ahead.

My husband and I traveled several times from PA to New Orleans (1250 miles) with a Great Pyrenees !130 lbs) 2 borzoi (Russian Wolfhounds) and greyhounds in the back of a Saturn Wagon. The only antsy one was me. We got out for the dogs to stretch their legs frequently and to potty and once, in Mississippi I think, when we piled out of the car someone asked us if we were on tv. It can be done and we did just fine. I took my dogs for short drives to get them used to the car and then off we went.
I am sure you can find someone to rent to you here in TV. I have a home I rent and if it were not rented already I would rent to you. You can at least try. There are many hotels that take dogs. DogFriendly.com® - Pet Travel Guides and City Guides for Dog/Pet Owners this website will tell you dog friendly places to stop, hotels/motels and dog parks near where you will be staying. We always plan our travels around what works for our dogs. Check out the website and see if you can make it work. I think if you are going to be gone a while you will have more peace of mind knwing your dogs are with you, at least I would.

Thanks for the offer to rent your home to us. :ho: Maybe when we are ready to come down and stay for those few months it will be available. Not planning to do these for at least 2 more years when I am retired. My dogs are not distructive, but the Labs do shed, especailly this time of year. Can I look you back up when we're ready?

I think I've finally found someone that's as nutty about dogs as I am!
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LABSX2 ... We're going to be in the same situation as you. Previously we've always travelled with our dogs. However now that my husband has retired, we're planning to take a Mediterrean cruise, drive around Italy, etc. It's a dilemma indeed.

So our solution is to find a live-in pet sitter because we feel our dogs are least anxious left in their own home. In a small town, that can be difficult. Our back-up plan is to place the dogs in the home of a care giver. We don't want to use a kennel or boarding facility, we want them to have lots of love and attention. All solutions will be very expensive, but we figure, that's the price you pay for having furry friends.

Bring them with you! I couldn't bear to leave mine for any extended period of time :-(. Last winter I drove from Chicago to Fla with my two dogs, plus my friends in the back seat of a Tribeca. I have a Jack Russell and a ShihTzu, my friend a small rescue. They travel in "doggy seats" which get seat belted in, and then a harness for the dog. Plenty of room to lay down, and they were all just fine. We stopped about every 3-4 hrs for a potty break and tried not to have more than an 8 or 9 hr day. LaQuinta hotels do not charge a fee for your
pets and were most accommodating! Can't wait for my Lifestyle visit in 2 weeks, and hopefully I will have some idea of where I would like to settle!

Dogs in The Villages :)
 

We never travel w/out our 23# dog. We stay at Pet Friendly Hotels and rent homes in TV that accept dogs. There are a couple dog boarding, daycare places around TV but not many. This is only good if you plan to leave them for a few hours now-and-then. We've been able to leave our fur child in the homes we've rented as he is not a "destroyer" and he's a non-shedding dog. Perhaps your home town has some dog boarding facilities but do check them out thoroughly before you leave your fur child at any of them.