Camping with your dogs

Okay, I need to vent a little. I recently read an article in an RV magazine about camping with your pets. The man who wrote this article doesn't appear to be much of a dog lover at all. He wrote that the number of dogs allowed in any campsite should be limited to one or two because they are a nuisance.
Now, his article did have one or two good points. Not everyone cleans up after their dog. That is not good, no one wants to go out for a walk and step in or look at dog poo among other reasons. I also agree that dog owners should respect all other campers and do their best to keep their dogs quiet in the early morning hours. I have three dogs that I camp with and find it really annoying to be woken up first thing by a dog barking because it was put outside by itself and ignored. The author also said that he was threatened by dog owners when he approached them about cleaning up after their pets. Not all dog owners get defensive about this and someone should say something to them when they don't pick up after them. They may get angry about it at first and later may understand why they were approached and be more careful about where they leave messes behind.
I have found, in my years of camping, that there are campgrounds who prefer that you camp with out your dogs. Of course, I have never stayed at one of them, but there are also campgrounds that welcome dogs and don't even charge extra for them to stay. These are the ones that I enjoy staying at. One such campground, Dean's Creek RV Resort in Redway, CA, even has a man everyone calls "Uncle Cookie". Uncle Cookie is a groundskeeper at the campground who always has dog cookies in his pockets and it is fun to watch all the dogs get excited when they see him coming. They know he loves them and has a treat for them.

I guess the point of this is to say that dog owners should be more concerned about controlling their dogs when camping so campgrounds don't start listening to people like the one who wrote the article. So many people have two or more dogs that are very well behaved and if campgrounds begin limiting the number of dogs you can have in them not only will the campgrounds lose business but it will make it harder for dog owners to find good campgrounds to visit. Most places have a doggie run area where you can let your dogs run off the leash. I have used these occasionally but prefer to just walk my dogs around on leashes. One of my dogs is very well behaved and stays right with us when he is not on the leash but we have been told that regardless of his loyalty and good behavior, we must keep him leashed at all times. So even if you have one of these well behaved four legged friends, always be prepared and have a leash or tie out with you. You will probably need it.
I plan to continue camping with my dogs and hope that campgrounds continue accepting multiple dogs in their facilities. I don't want to have to leave them behind. They are part of my family too!

Who Says My Dog Is Spoiled?

Jack has his own chair by the campfire. Keep in mind that the dog under the blanket is a 65 pound black Lab mix. It is amazing that he can be comfortable curled up that tight but you know, he isn't happy unless he's in his chair. My two Mini Doxies spend the evenings warm and cozy inside the fifth wheel when we are camping but Jack wants to be by the fire with the rest of us.

Just A Note About My Lou!

I just wanted to let everyone know that my 5 year old mini Doxie, Lou, has suffered from a slipped disk and is now on bed rest for 8 weeks. He could not walk on his back legs but the doctor said it could have been worse, he still had feeling in his feet and reflexes were still good so she felt that bed rest would be a good option rather than surgery. After a week of resting he is walking almost normal again when he goes out to potty and he is getting very antsy wanting to go play with the other two dogs. If all goes well, we should be able to avoid surgery which, we were told by UC Davis pet hospital, would cost around $5,000.00! Any way, we are keeping him as quiet as we can. He is currently laying on the couch with my oldest son who is home sick from school. He couldn't be happier to be there! Take care everyone!

Here's Jack!

An update on Jack!

Well, we have now had Jack, a black lab, with us since Tuesday morning. He is really a good dog. He doesn't chew, dig, or bark! His only flaws are jumping when someone comes out the door which we are working with him on that and protecting a bone. The rawhide bone caused a fight between jack and our doxie, Copper so the bone is now gone. Everyone was getting along better until yesterday. We think that Copper started it, he went over to Jack's food bowl thinking he could steal some food since jack wasn't eating it. jack walked over to see what he was doing and the next thing I knew they were fighting. Now, when Jack went over his hair wasn't up and he wasn't growling. Copper has a tendancy to show his teeth and snap at Jack so I think his behavior is what started the fight. They get along again now. Copper tries to play with Jack by running behind him while playing fetch and playfully nipping at his legs but as soon as Jack turns around, Copper backs off. We are giving it a few more days to see if they will overcome they differences. Lou on the other hand is now friends with Jack and has no problems with him at all. The boys like to go out every morning and play fetch with jack before school. Jack also enjoys being in the house on a blanket by the door in the evenings while we are all relaxing and watching T.V., it is my understanding that he slept in the garage at his old home. So far so good. I will post photos soon so you can see what he looks like and I will keep you updated on the progress.

New dog.......maybe

So, we've decided to give it a shot. My husband is going to bring home Jack, a Chocolate Lab, tomoorow and we will see how he gets along with Copper and Lou and the rest of the family. I may not be posting tomoorow as I will be busy monitoring the boys in the back yard. Jack needs a new home because his current home doesn't have a big enough yard for him. We do. My oldest son has been wanting another big dog that he can play fetch with in the back yard because, well, doxies wear out pretty fast playing those games. If it all works out I will post some photos of Jack for everyone to see. He will become part of the family and will get to go on camping trips and have loads of fun with all of us. Who knows, he might even take a swim in the pool now and then. If he's never been in a pool, the first thing we will do is train him to find the steps so he can get out. From what I hear, he is around two years old, doesn't dig, doesn't chew, doesn't bark a lot, and is crate trained. I guess we will see when he gets here. The deciding factor will be with Copper and Lou, they tend to have short dog syndrome. Lou has been friends with a big dog before but Copper has not. If they can get along tomorrow then i think we will have a new member of the family. As far as Jack is concerned he currently lives with two Chihuahuas so he should be aware of the short dog syndrome. I will keep you posted, but probably not tomorrow morning anyway. Well, wish us luck!

More photos of my dogs!

These are just a few pictures of my dogs. We still have the two Doxies but the Australian Shepherd is gone. He passed away at the age of 4 due to a rare blood disease. They said he was probably born with it and something triggered it. Basically his immune system was attacking his own blood cells. When he woke up one morning he was very lethargic and couldn't keep food or water down. The night before he was fine by the way. By that afternoon, his skin and eyes had turned yellow and he was urinating blood. At the vet, they checked his blood and his red cell count was way down. They had slowed it down with steroids and said that we could keep him alive on steroids until the next attack which could be days or months away, but he wouldn't be the same dog again. We felt that it wasn't fair to him, or the kids, to keep him on steroids when his quality of life would never be the same and another attack was imminent. So we said our goodbyes. We still miss him greatly. he was one of those dogs that talks back to you when you say something to him. He loved going for rides in the truck and going camping. My oldest son loved to play fetch with him and he would always go up on the playset with them as though he was just one of the kids! Our mini Doxie Lou would always cuddle up and sleep on top of him. I will find and post photos of that as well. It was very adorable. We have two mini doxies now and we love them very much. We have been asked if we would like a chocolate Lab that my husband's coworker is trying to find a home for. He is about two years old and while I haven't mey him, my husband says he is a good dog. I am thinking about it because I know my son would like to have a dog to play fetch with again. Any opinions? Should we meet the dog and see if he gets along with the family or just forget it and hope he finds a good home elsewhere. I wonder........

New affiliate!

We are very excited to announce once again that we have a new affiliate! Joining Petco, Dog.com, and several others, we are now affiliated with Pet RX as well! Any of the ads you see on this blog you can click on and they will take you to the affiliates website where you can purchase items for your best friend! Check it out! This makes it convenient for you so you can find everything in one place!

Look Who Went Camping!

Well, we made it back home! There were a lot of dogs out there camping with their owners. It was fun to watch! While I didn't get to meet all of them I do have a few photos for you to see! Take a look!











These two are mine. Copper and Lou are just hanging out. We keep a small pen for them so they don't have to be tied up on leashes all the time. Good thing because they really wanted to chase the peacocks!




This gentleman here is Levi. He was camping with his owners and his little brother next to us. Levi is a very large dog but I guess you could say he is a gentle giant.






This would be Aries, Levi's "little" brother. The two were so well behaved and their mom and dad even had these special cots for them to sleep on when they were outside!









"Where are we going dad? Huh Huh?"









Just out for a walk one fine evening!

Fun Blog I Just Found

Okay, while playing around online I came across a fun blog! It is called Daily Dachshund And Doggy News. I have added it to my favorite links because, as you know, I have two Doxies of my own. Check it out!

Hello Fellow Dog Lovers!

Good morning! Well, I just wanted to leave a post to tell you some exciting news! if you haven't been here for awhile, take a look around! I am excited to announce that I am affiliated with some great new companies! On this blog you will see links and adds for some pretty useful stuff. At the time of writing we are preparing to take our dogs on a fun camping trip. I will post photos of them and the campground when we return. On Easter they followed us around the yard as we hid eggs for our boys to find. When the boys began searching, those two little rascals (the dogs) kept going back to where we hid eggs as though they were trying to show the kids where to find them! Well, my dad and his fiance have a newish dog that has a personality similar to his old dog Dusty. She is Border Collie/ Australian Shepherd mix and the only problem they have with her is this: She likes to leave the yard to go play with neighborhood children. She is allowed in the house as she pleases because they have a doggy door. She gets lots of attention from home but then she will just take off! Soon they get a phone call from down the street and she has gone over someones fence into their backyard to play with the kids. Anyone have any suggestions to help stop this and keep her home? I would love to read them. I can pass them on to my dad if you have any ideas that might help!

A Tribute to an old friend (or two)

In my lifetime my family has had several dogs. While I miss all of the ones who have passed there are a few who really stick in my mind and heart. One of them was my Dad's dog Dusty. She was a white lab mix he adopted as a puppy from Santa Ynez Humane Society. She got the name Dusty because she was always so happy she would "dust" the shelves at my dad's parts store. I have never known a dog with more personality. She loved to wear sunglasses and was a hit everywhere she went, which was everywhere my dad went. On camping trips to Pismo Beach she would wear his jacket and sunglasses and ride on his quadrunner in front of him. Dusty loved to play with water, whether it was coming out of the end of a hose or in a river or pond. She also enjoyed the snow. My dad would make boots for her out of medical tape and guaze and she would find a snowy hill walk back as far as she could, run towards the hill and flip onto her back to slide down it. Dusty always seemed more human than dog and believe me when I say she was just like a woman. She always had to have the last word. My dad would say something to her and she would grumble back, he would make another comment and she would grumble again. This could go on for hours if you let it. When I was in high school I was involved with F.F.A. I took lambs to the county fair and my dad would bring Dusty up to visit. You know, she would get more attention in her sunglasses than the giant horse would! I will have to go through my pictures and find a good one to post so you can all see her. She passed away at a ripe old age a few years ago. She has been missed greatly. It is impossible to find another like her so my dad hasn't even tried. Losing her was like losing a close family member. Well, I guess you could say she was. I miss you Dusty, I hope you are still keeping it cool in your shades wherever you are.

The other dog that I greatly miss is our Little Guy. He was the first miniature Dachshund my husband and I owned. He was basically our first child. He went everywhere with us. I would carry him around in my jacket to keep him warm. Little Guy helped my raise a couple of orphaned kittens and was such a great helper. On Christmas he would open his own presents and if you weren't fast enough opening yours he would come back and help you. He never tore the paper to shreds though. he would tear it enough to get the present out and then would run off with his present. He was awe had the boys but it turned out that he adored them and always stayed by their side. I had jaw surgery just before Christmas in 2003 and he never left my side while I was recovering. At the age of 11 he developed pnuemonia and was unable to overcome it. We lost our Little Guy on New Years Day 2004.

We now have two wonderful little dogs, Lou and Copper. They each have their own little personalities and while they are the best of friends they are also very different. Lou is more laid back and mellow while Copper seems to think that he is part human. You ask him a question and he starts dancing around , waving his paws and turning his in all directions as though he is trying to tell you something. Lou, while mellow enjoys climbing up onto playsets and going down the slide all by himself. They are lots of fun and I couldn't ask for better dogs.

About me

Hello! My name is Christy and I live in beautiful northern California. I have two wonderful boys, the best husband, two adorable dogs, and one independent kitty cat. You could say we are a busy family. When the boys are out of school we enjoy camping...

We have been to Yosemite, the Redwoods, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Cachuma Lake in Santa Barbara County, the Sequoias, Redding, and hope to get up to Diamond Lake in Oregon as well as to many other areas.

We also enjoy going on cruises with the kids. What an awesome experience for the boys to see other countries and areas they wouldn't normally get to see! This past October we took a seven night Mexican Riviera Cruise and what an awesome adventure that was! We walked around in Puerta Vallarta, took a driving tour in Mazatlan (highly recommended if you go there) and walked around in Cabo. Check out my cruising blog for photos from the cruise.

Our two dogs are the most fun. They are both miniature dachshunds. Lou is 4 years old and is a piebald colored sweety. Copper is a red dog who thinks he is human. Talk about personality! They have been the best dogs for our family. They love camping with us, Lou handles car rides great but Copper gets car sick though. Their favorite pasttime is to curl up and sleep on the couch. Aren't they adorable?!?!

I would love to read about your favorite pets! I want to read what you have to say! I will respond to questions you may have as soon as possible. Now I am going to go curl up with my dogs and watch my kids play! Have a good night and I look forward to your posts!