Camping
And They Are Off
The original plan was for our entire family, canine and human, to head out for a short weekend camping getaway. Let’s just say that Ginny’s Aunt Flow stuck around this visit a bit longer than we anticipated. She is still a tad enticing to the boys and taking her to a campground is not a very smart move. Needless to say, I am staying home and keeping several of the dogs with me so our son can have a great birthday weekend. Baby, Dude, Cosmo and Buddy are packed up and ready to head out for their weekend adventure. The rest are staying here with me. I see a lot of playing, bonding and training for me and the dogs and for me alone, record keeping updates and...
Read MoreFinal Campfire of the Trip
The two shadows (Dude and Dewey) begged to be out with us humans tonight as we all gathered for our final campfire of the trip. Dude’s love of the doggie pillow inspired us to place it beside the fire for him to lay on, while Dewey still insisted on being in my lap. The rest of the dogs lay peacefully in the camper, staying warm by the heat of the furnace instead of the heat from the fire. We are all sad to see this very relaxing and fun trip come to an end but with the looming cold front and rain showers expected to arrive tomorrow, we want to get an early start to our trek back home. Tonight is also Rane’s first night sleeping with her new forever...
Read MoreAnother Campfire Night
The campfire is one is the biggest things we look forward to on our camping trips and this one has included nightly ones. But tonight it is a bit buggy and Mosquitos doing not make a good mix with dogs. Especially those feasting the Ocala National Forest! So I turned on the radio for noise, turned down the lights for ambiance and opened the blinds so that could at least enjoy the beauty of the fire. Turns out, it just made them more intrigued to peek out at what we were up to. No barking, whining or scratching, just a peer for time to...
Read MoreCampground Socialization
Socialization is extremely important when it comes to a toy, companion breed. There is nothing worse than a 5 pound dog with a Napoleon complex! We are using this camping trip as a way to provide some socialization to two of our unique cases. Dude barks at anything and everything. A bag floating in the wind to the huge golden Labrador that is in the campsite two down from ours. While exploring the Rodman Dam this morning, of course, he had to be attached to his favorite human! All went very well on our adventure until a young man and his Boxer came to the spillway to fish. Of course, Dude the Chihuahua bark to get the attention of a dog 10 times larger than him! Dude...
Read MoreA Camping Favorite
Of all of our dogs, Dude is the most insistent to be with his humans. Actually, my husband to be more precise. So during camping trips, he is usually attached to his waist, following him everywhere. With today being Thanksgiving, we have been outside a lot and enjoying the beautiful park. This afternoon, we have been playing several rounds of Cornhole, marking it difficult for him to be attached to a human. He is now attached to the camper, and was given our huge doggy pillow as a place to lay and watch us play. All he had to do was SEE my husband and he was fine. Looks like Cornhole is a new camping favorite of his...
Read MoreWe Have Arrived
We got a much later start than we originally planned but we have finally made it to our new home for the next six days and we got here before the sunset! Backing in and setting up in the dark is always a challenge. We are now fully unpacked and ready to chillax. We only have eight of our dogs with us on this trip, making a pack-walk very easy. We are at Rodman Campground, located in the northern most area of the Ocala National Forest. This is a very dog friendly park, with large dog walking areas another canine friends in every site on our side of the campground. Our crew really enjoyed the long walk, releasing their pent up energy from the anticipation during the...
Read MoreAll Good Things Must Come To An End
We got a late start to packing up this morning. Not only knowing that the rest of our crew are happy and safe with Karen, but honestly, truly enjoying the beauty and relaxation this park offers, we wanted to soak in as much as we could before check out time. The boys – and Rane – were the most relaxed they have been while in the pen during a camping trip. Perhaps it is the sounds of the crashing waves or the salty air? Not sure but it has brought a calm to the crew. Even our STILL broken screen on the door to our camper has resulted in a change of behavior on this trip. No attempts to jump through, simply a head poke to get a whiff of everything this park...
Read MoreSocialization A Plenty
With only five dogs with us on this trip, we have been able to spend a lot more time walking them throughout the park today. Since we are still working on socializing Rane, we brought her along and it has truly paid off. We also got to test out my new harness dress design – Don’t’ ya just love the whole two birds one stone thing? Rane walked from edge to edge of the park with no problem or panic. She was approached by other dogs – Some 100 times bigger than her – and not once did she hide or wrap herself around my legs. I cannot say she walked boldly, but she walked and was approached by complete strangers without issue! YAHOO!!! Of...
Read MoreGamble Rogers State Park
Ok, now TOTALLY see why there is an 11 month waiting list to reserve a site in this park! IT IS AMAZING!!! And we just so happened to get the site next to the look out point to the beach. We are backed in to our Ocean Front spot and are all in pure heaven! We only have five dogs with us on this trip and the park itself seems to be extremely dog friendly – They are even having a costume contest next weekend for dogs! Every site appears to have at least one canine companion so I see a lot of socialization in our five companion’s...
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