Traveling with a clingy high-energy dog(long)

cowman

cowman

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This is Archer. He's a 2 year old German Shorthaired Pointer

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Archer jumped up on that hay bale... one of the games we play. To give him the level of exercise that he wants so that he's a good boy indoors I run him around my 40 acre property while riding my ATV... he sprints up to 30mph and seems to like a "cruise" speed around 15-22mph. He will literally scream at us if he's bored until I do it. At this point every time I start the ATV he runs out and starts bouncing up and down and barking, runs are his favorite thing to do.

Archer is also bombproof.. literally. As a gundog he was desensitized to noise as a pup. He will ignore gunshots, fireworks, loud V8 engines running with open headers, power tools, construction equipment, etc. I watched him sleeping right next to a sawhorse someone was using to cut boards with a circular saw. No, he's not deaf although he sometimes has selective hearing with commands.

Archer is friendly to people(almost too much), knows to be gentle with children, is friendly towards most dogs(with the exception of two different bulldogs on two occasions). He's housebroken as well. I can take him into public and just about any situation on leash without worry. If we're in a location with room to run and where it's permissible I can let him run off leash with his electronic collar.

Archer loves car rides and airplane rides. We actually have a bit of a problem with him jumping into ANY car when the door is opened and on occasion just open windows. I've taken him in the plane many times, at this point I just put the crate in the back seat and call him. He jumps onto the wing and runs in the door and into his crate. He generally sleeps for the flight.

So... with all this, perfect traveling dog right? Yeah... except you just can't take dogs everywhere you might want to go. If I have to leave him in say a crate in a dog friendly hotel room... which I've never tried I'd be worried. See, he does have an achilles heel. He gets very very upset if you leave him behind. I can't do anything around the farm without taking the dog... if I don't he will cry and bark and scream until someone lets him out. Around the farm I can do that... he just runs around sniffing for mice or sleeps near me wherever I'm at.

When we have to travel without dogs it just kills me to take him to a kennel knowing his personality. I really only know of 2 people who can watch him and handle his exercise needs, one is a mother who's husband is usually on the road and has 2 young children. We feel bad asking her and adding to her busy life.... then the almost perfect option is my in-law's farm. That only works if traveling south as they're a good 300 miles from us in that direction. However, they do have the space and can handle him the way we do- just let him out and run around while we do our daily chores.

I'm wanting to fly to a lot more overnight/long weekend destinations but the question always comes up "what about the dogs". Oh yeah, dogs plural. We have a 3 year old corgi as well. She's lazy, housebroken, and friendly. Anyone can handle her and she also travels well. Archer though... I'm just worried if I try to take him to a dog friendly hotel we'll be unable to say go out to dinner or to some attraction for a couple of hours and leave him without him screaming bloody murder and annoying other guests.

Anybody got any good ideas... or good destinations where I can just have him with me all the time?
 
I love GSPs. If my brother's is any indication, he'll mellow out at about age 3 and go from an outstanding dog to something better! Best of luck with him.

My brother's dog suffered badly from hip displasia in his later years, and ultimately had to be put down. Boy was that a sad day!

-Skip
 
I would visit the coach at your high school, ask to talk to the long distance runners, see if there is one that likes dogs and wants to make some money. Back in the day I was running over 40mi a week and someone to keep up to was welcomed. It may not be the 20mi a day he needs but it beats cooling his heels in a kennel.
 
My Pup's name is Pax...yes, he is my co pilot...perfect dog in almost every way...except the isolation anxiety. He can not be left alone. With dogs or other people he is fine, but not by himself. He too is SUPER high energy...we are about to go down to the beach after I post this...and I have the same problem, I travel a TON for work.

I have learned to keep the friends and family favors for emergencies and when I am in a bind, not every day dog sitting.

For Pax, I found a dog "farm" that he stays at. It is his home away from home and he literally cries with excitement when we pull in their driveway. It is cage free dog ranch out in a rural part of town and the dogs just get to run and play ALL day. They separate a bit by size and temperament in different yards but they are all out all day and not penned up and he usually comes home exhausted. Check around to see if there is a facility like that for your dog.

When I have to use a kennel as a last resort, he HATES it. They get out 2-3 times a day to play but otherwise are just in a small dog run all day. It is the only time in his life he as pulled back on his collar.

Another option that I have had great success with is www.dogvaycay.com and www.rover.com. They are both sites for local sitters that take a range of dogs in their homes and get attention all day. I have one that is a gal with two dogs and two teenagers plus that usually have another dog or two there as well. He loves them as he gets constant love and attention all day but not as much exersize.

I wish I had a dog I could just toss in my back yard and not worry about...
 
GSPs and hunting breeds can be tough on the whole "needs exercise" front. We have found a (not cheap) boarding place ours goes to that allows constant play for the "high energy" groups, in sizes ( small, med, large ) appropriate for playmates and both dogs love it. We've also done the "country boarding" thing (also not cheap) at a place with lots of acreage and even a swimming pool.

We think our boy is an unwanted Munsterlander mix, maybe a breeding "accident". Pure bred Munsterlanders in the States ( not so much in Canada ) are hard to come by, because the breeding society locks down ownership to folks who'll work them as hunting dogs... But he has lots of the Munsterlander characteristics and is too big to be a GSP. But similar behavior and temperament.

I snuck a picture of him drinking water because he was still in "just came in from outside for the hundredth time today" mode and moving quick.

Now ten minutes later he's passed out.

iPhone battery crapped before it had uploaded the upright dog photo so here's him doing the passed out thing. Ha.

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Anyway, I feel your pain on the travel thing.

One of the main reasons we got the fifth wheel is so these two can tag along on trips as much as possible. Neither has been in the airplane but they'd likely do fine. It's just hard to go places (and know you won't be waking out a storm in an FBO somewhere) with high energy dogs and have enough room for them to wander at the final destination.

So we board them, but we did have to shop around boarding places for a while to find somewhere they could blow off a lot of steam.

Technically the boarding place is where Rona was when we found her, or she found Dino anyway. They've always had a pairing / bond and the trainers at the boarding place saw it when she was there for doggie socialization after being rescued from Oklahoma. She had been there twice and on her second stay she would jump up and down whenever she heard her buddy Dino was coming in for the day, and they'd play for hours and hours. So the staff told the rescue folks and the rescue folks suggested we adopt her.

We did and she had a LOT of confidence issues at first. But she always felt better if her " big brother" was nearby and not freaking out. He taught her to chill, which for a hunting dog is a fascinating thing to watch, since he's never really chill himself... But he would settle down and watch her and comfort her when she was freaking out like he knew what was up with her. Pretty cool to watch.

The boarding / day care place says they're amazed at her confidence level and behavior changes over the year or so we've had her here.

That's her, mimicking her bro, she's about half his size, and it's interesting that they're both have highly spotted coats. They're like two peas in a pod.

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Here's hoping you can find a sitter or place that suits him. GSPs are such great dogs, but they're not for the feint of heart when it comes to activity level!

Look around for a kennel / boarding that advertises that they're also a "day care" or "play" facility. Ours is a chain, but they're run by some really great folks. Like I said, the rescue uses them to re-socialize a lot of dogs, and they have on staff trainers watching all the play areas all day, and the regulars like our dogs, get to know and respect/respond to the trainers.

Ours like to get away with huge sloppy dog kisses on their faces when they're helping us harness them up to go home. A Dino lick is pretty much a full face wash, and it's hilarious when he figures out how to give someone one when they're not expecting it.
 
By the way, he was a pound rescue also... Someone gave him up because they were kenneling him as a pup over 12 hours a day, because they decide to have a baby, or so the story goes. When we picked him up, he looked like a Dalmatian mix and hadn't finished growing. He was also badly malnourished because he wouldn't eat and had giardia. He weighed about 70 lbs. after getting him healthy (explosive diarrhea from giardia from a 70 lb dog is entertaining) and fed properly and exercise, he finished growing and now he's about 85 lbs.

By the way, seconded on the GSP and "three years" thing. Munsterlanders are similar and Dino was "holy hell" active until about three years old and a couple of months. Then with a little age on him and some formal behavioral training, he went almost overnight from insanely hyper to high energy but generally well behaved, and he often needs a good nap now after a couple hours of running and playing. He still has his moments, but total change in personality around three years. He's a little over four now. (As is Rona...)
 
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