So, in total the initial trip to Silver City New Mexico took roughly 1 day and 2 hours (though we had an epic detour in Oklahoma and then mountainous roads in NM that slowed us down further--so maybe 1 day and 8 hours.) I can't express to you guys just how worried and stressed I was about this epic road trip. I planned a lot, wrote lists, and in the end--I usually always forget something anyway but for once it wasn't anything terribly important at least.
Prior to the trip I got the car oiled and trip ready, got a water proof seat liner for the back seat, got Freya a tag silencer (omg that was an awesome idea!), got Freya the Kurgo Tru Fit seat belt harness, and got her health record just in case I needed to board her or whatever else. I initially looked up hotels but boyfriend changed the trip route on me last minute so that fell to the wayside but that's ok as usuall you can trust Motel 6 and Super 8s to be pet friendly and La Quinta Inns as well for that matter. But we drove straight through anyway, so it didn't really matter.
On the beach trip I picked up acepromazine (sp?) it's supposed to be a mild sedatives and I gave them it when we were in the hotel to keep them from barking like crazy. Since I used it that one time, I still had plenty to use for the epic road trip. Turns out, Freya didn't need them at all! For the 32 hours of the trip--Freya pretty much slept at least 31 hours on her own. I really don't think she was awake much at all. I was kind of amazed actually.
She wasn't keen on drinking water and I was quite worried but I guess she knew what she was doing. She drank like two or three sips every few hours as a result didn't go to the potty as much despite having ample potty breaks. Hey, what can I say? My bladder is the size of a kid it seems like cause I had to go at every possible chance--unless of course I managed to sleep.
On hindsight, I really wish I gave Cloud the sedative. That dog was the opposite of Freya--he stayed up almost the entire 32 hours of the trip. He would lay down for 5 minutes and pop back up and stare at the road a head of us. By the time we hit New Mexico--it seemed like he was hallucinating and barking at ...well nothing. It was kind of funny. He drank up the bulk of the water between the two of them as well.
When we got to New Mexico, google maps took us to a route that involved a mountainous road where parts didn't have guard rails. Needless to say, I had a border line panic attack.
My little girl isn't the most affectionate pup--when it comes to me. She will love on her daddy all day--clean his ears and anything else she can get to--but me? Yeah, totally don't get the same treatment at all. The most I get is a daily greeting when I get home or take her out of her kennel, but she also wants to greet everyone.
So it was when I was upset and crying and hyperventilating did her little head pop up (wish I took pictures--sadly, didn't.) She nudged my shoulder so I unhooked her and picked her up and put her on my lap. She licked some tears and just sat there with me.
Finally, we made it to our destination where Freya got to meet Cloud's sister and granddog before we put everyone away to sleep. I think Freya had a ton of fun playing with Lily. C3, the grand dog, tolerated her at least and she seemed to know when to go into submission. She's a smart little girl.
Freya also learned a lot about cacti while we were out there--don't worry, she didn't get hurt too badly. Cloud didn't get hurt too badly either, but man was he freaking out about his crate the entire time we were at the boyfriend's mom's house, which is when we gave him the sedative--it wore off too soon though.
I need to get the pics and vids from boyfriend's camera so that I can post what he has since I didn't take many pictures there for some reason (probably laziness/tiredness.) Will write more--about Arizona next entry. Also, need to find pics!
Stay tuned! I'm going to post pics later tonight:D. Have a Great Weekend!
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Freya's First Beach Trip
Freya had her first trip to the beach earlier this month and she did such a great job. The trip was about 4 hours away from home. I packed a towel, three bowls, Cloud's and Freya's foods in gallon size bags with the time for feeding (dinner/breakfast) on it, poop bags, anti anxiety pills for the car ride (just in case precaution), and it was all packed in a Books-A-Million bag that they used to give out when you joined as a member and it was the bigger bag.
Upon leaving, an hour or so prior, each dog was fed half of their meal. I never bothered giving them the other part of the meal as they both could stand to lose that little bit as much as I give them treats.
Freya did surprisingly well in the hotel atmosphere and I think that was partially to do with her being in her crate a fair amount of time. Otherwise, she would bark at everything. Cloud was the only one to bark twice--once was when I came out of the bathroom and the other because of someone talking. It was at the hotel that we gave them the medication as we worried about them barking--we considered going to the bar across the street but we never did.
Here is the view of road to the beach.
We got really lucky on the trip despite the fact it rained the first day that we arrived. But that was ok, boyfriend and I chilled in the nice hotel and relaxed and napped until dinner time. Sunday, we got nice clear skies.
Freya embarrassed me while we were at the beach because she cried so much and so hard when her "daddy" decided to go down a difficult path that I knew I couldn't go with her and with the bags and towels I was holding. She was crying in pain the entire couple of feet to the stairs, down the stairs, and down the beach until she decided to lunge to where her "daddy" was.
Surprisingly, she took to the water far better than her water dog brother of a Weimaraner. He hated the water so much. Little girl, on the other hand, was dying to be with her "daddy" so it didn't matter anyway....until the waves rolled in and scared her. I didn't mean for that to happen and picked her up as soon as it did--but guaging waves were not my thing apparently.
Beach day was the first and only time in her puppyhood that Freya actually didn't mind me carrying her. She was very tired and just wanted to sleep. I will definitely have to pick up a life vest for her before the next time we go to the beach or lake. She will enjoy it so much.
This is what she did when she left the water.
She loved to do the wiggle worm on the sand. It was funny to watch. Naturally, when climbing up the stairs moving away from her daddy--she started crying like crazy. Sigh...what am I going to do with her? I think I scared her because she was under the shower head of cold water they had by the bathroom. By the time we got to the car, she fell asleep immediately until we stopped at a gas station on the way home.
Oh the other thing I was proud about--other than how well she did in the water--was how she didn't drink the water like her brother did. Her manner of investigating things involves her paw and tapping it. It's quite cute. Cloud's manner of investigation involves his tongue and swallowing whatever it is--which is why he had a bad tummy ache and had diarrhea at the truck stop and I wasn't very well sure how to clean it all up. Freya did good at the truck stop and with all the people she had met that day--such a big and good girl!
Upon leaving, an hour or so prior, each dog was fed half of their meal. I never bothered giving them the other part of the meal as they both could stand to lose that little bit as much as I give them treats.
Freya did surprisingly well in the hotel atmosphere and I think that was partially to do with her being in her crate a fair amount of time. Otherwise, she would bark at everything. Cloud was the only one to bark twice--once was when I came out of the bathroom and the other because of someone talking. It was at the hotel that we gave them the medication as we worried about them barking--we considered going to the bar across the street but we never did.
Here is the view of road to the beach.
We got really lucky on the trip despite the fact it rained the first day that we arrived. But that was ok, boyfriend and I chilled in the nice hotel and relaxed and napped until dinner time. Sunday, we got nice clear skies.
Freya embarrassed me while we were at the beach because she cried so much and so hard when her "daddy" decided to go down a difficult path that I knew I couldn't go with her and with the bags and towels I was holding. She was crying in pain the entire couple of feet to the stairs, down the stairs, and down the beach until she decided to lunge to where her "daddy" was.
Surprisingly, she took to the water far better than her water dog brother of a Weimaraner. He hated the water so much. Little girl, on the other hand, was dying to be with her "daddy" so it didn't matter anyway....until the waves rolled in and scared her. I didn't mean for that to happen and picked her up as soon as it did--but guaging waves were not my thing apparently.
Beach day was the first and only time in her puppyhood that Freya actually didn't mind me carrying her. She was very tired and just wanted to sleep. I will definitely have to pick up a life vest for her before the next time we go to the beach or lake. She will enjoy it so much.
This is what she did when she left the water.
She loved to do the wiggle worm on the sand. It was funny to watch. Naturally, when climbing up the stairs moving away from her daddy--she started crying like crazy. Sigh...what am I going to do with her? I think I scared her because she was under the shower head of cold water they had by the bathroom. By the time we got to the car, she fell asleep immediately until we stopped at a gas station on the way home.
Oh the other thing I was proud about--other than how well she did in the water--was how she didn't drink the water like her brother did. Her manner of investigating things involves her paw and tapping it. It's quite cute. Cloud's manner of investigation involves his tongue and swallowing whatever it is--which is why he had a bad tummy ache and had diarrhea at the truck stop and I wasn't very well sure how to clean it all up. Freya did good at the truck stop and with all the people she had met that day--such a big and good girl!
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