Travelling With Dogs

Submitted: Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 10:44
ThreadID: 14003 Views:1813 Replies:12 FollowUps:3
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Hi,

I was just wandering what everyones thinks about travelling with Dogs. My boyfriend and I are looking at travelling around Oz for about 2 years and we have a pet Staffy named Sari whp will have to come with us. Do you think this will br a pain??

Please let me know what you think...

Thanks :)
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Reply By: Leroy - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 10:47

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 10:47
one prob may be you cant travel though or visit national parks.

Leroy
AnswerID: 64358

Reply By: The Banjo - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:01

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:01
Amen re Nat Parks above....can be a pain......and the dog may run off too......I know of two that have scooted off in remote areas (chasing a critter probably) never to be seen again.....even with owners searching at great length.
AnswerID: 64361

Reply By: Kriso - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:08

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:08
She is a really good dog, she doesn't run off when at home but it can be very different when she see wild life i guess. We cant leave her at home which is a pain and we could never give her up just to travel.
AnswerID: 64362

Reply By: Bill Li - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:29

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:29
Kriso travel with the dog makes a big pain
You get to limit the places you can go with the dog
In the hot weather you cannot leave the dog in the car
You go to the big town or shopping plaza what do you do with the dog
We get work and to stay fruit picking and packing on the farm no farm we go allow the dog we have to use kennel in town and take dog out for run weekend
Many caravan park in small town no take the dog or no take the dog when staying over 3 day
I now sell my accountancy business finish next month and go fruit picking with the misses full time
AnswerID: 64365

Reply By: Baz (NSW) - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:41

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:41
The main problem we found was other people camped near by, some people are not dog friendly and sometimes other dog owners who don't have their dog on a lead can cause problems and as mentioned National parks are a no go. We are going away on the 3rd of July and we can't take our dogs because we are visiting some Nat parks the nessie and Kerry don't like leaving our girls behind but what can you do. The NRMA have a list of dog friendly caravan parks around the country which will help.

Wombat with the girls
PEPPER
BIG SOOKS

Baz.
AnswerID: 64370

Reply By: Pluto - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:50

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 11:50
Kriso,

Another problem that hsn't been mentioned. If you see a sign which includes "1080", don't even think about letting the dog out of the car.

1080 baiting regimes are common practice in most conservation areas (particularly NPs) and are tagetted at feral cats, dogs and foxes.
AnswerID: 64373

Follow Up By: Willem - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 12:36

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 12:36
And if you go into the tropics your dog has to have heartworm tablets from then onwards and for the rest of its life.

Find a friend who will like to have the dog and then when your trip is over you can go and visit the dog whenever you can.

We have a dog and it is a pain when travelling. Now SWMBO and the dog stay at home and I gp off on my own...peace at last !! ...hahahaha
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FollowupID: 325461

Reply By: jemm - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 12:34

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 12:34
Hey Kriso,

My advice is don't take the dog,
We manage a caravan park on the Gold Coast and you will find that none on the coast take dogs.
Tweed Heads has one but that's about it up this way.
You really will miss out on soooo much if you take it.
If you intend to work your way around and you both find work at the same time then who looks after pooch???

Jemm
AnswerID: 64380

Reply By: Gone fishing - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 13:29

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 13:29
The question is are you a responsible dog owner. Do you have facilities like water Sari can not knock over, have you got a running dog lead so Sari can run up and down as opposed to a short lead, is you car set up so you can leave the dog there whilst visiting the sites eg a cage on a ute with plenty of water dog bed etc. is you dog people friendly, will you carry bags to pick up after it and does it bark. We have two rotti's and have been on the road for over two years. After you are organised you will be surprised the options out there. Day sitters while visiting national parks etc. Sometimes it can be difficult but would you leave your kids behind while you take the holiday of a life time? Our dogs love travelling and are always first to the car for the next drive. If you get off the beaten track they make an excellent security system.
AnswerID: 64395

Reply By: Wizard1 - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 14:28

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 14:28
All I see is "the only problem with this and that". We travel every where with our dogs. When camping and caravanning we'd rather have our dogs than putting up with someones rampaging "yard apes".

Our dogs are well travelled and behaved as result, we are well drilled at what to do and when. Some places are completely over the top with dog restrictions because of the bad minority of irresponsible dog owners.

We live in the NT and the only restriction here are the crocs, as both love a swim we place them in kennels. If you intend to visit a national park you may have to kennel your dog locally. In Cervantes (WA) for instance the National parks depot have kennels you can use free of charge whilst you visit the Pinnacles. Some van parks have doggy day care so you can do the touristy stuff.

Other than the odd inconvenience caused by the odd anal park owners/managers we wouldn't leave home without the little guys (Golden Retreaver and Border Collie). They also make good early warning in the bush when free camping.

As long as it doesn't bark and you are responsible you will have no problems. We have just bought a book called Bush Camping with Dogs (available thru the exlporoz online shop go to travel guides), provides great detail of camping areas and van parks where you can have dogs. There is another called holidaying with dogs (www.holidayingwithdogs.com.au)

My wife and I intend to purchase a Caravan Park and set it up as dog freindly rather than "dogs permitted" after what we have experienced as there are a lot of people on the road with pets.

We are about to travel from Darwin to Adelaide via the Oodnadatta Track and back (camping) as well as Darwin to Brisbane, via Booraloola and Karumba (with the van) later this year with the guys and can't wait, they love it.

Take the little fellow.

Wizard
Prado TD
Jayco Freedom 16ft
Molly the Retreaver
Tim the Border Collie
AnswerID: 64413

Reply By: The Banjo - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:14

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:14
er....forgot to say....we are puitting off a big trip round Oz until fido is "off the perch"....sounds silly, but he thinks he's human and wouldn't understand if we cleared off for months.
AnswerID: 64426

Reply By: Troopy Travellers (NSW) - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:24

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:24
We spent our first trial camping with the Troopy at a dog friendly place. Neighbours quite some distance away had two really big dogs, any time we stepped away from our immediate camp area they barked and growled with menance at us. Also in the morning when two friendly horses came to visit they had a go at the horses. The horses had experience with dogs and and with ears back and hooves flashing the dogs were lucky to survive but if small children had been around it could have been a disaster. I guess if more dog owners were responsible and the dogs are obedience trained it would make pets more acceptable to all.

I personally love dogs and most animals and would hate to leave mine at home if I had any. My suggestion is that perhaps two to keep each other company when minded or left would be better than one.

Sea.

AnswerID: 64428

Follow Up By: Wizard1 - Wednesday, Jun 23, 2004 at 11:11

Wednesday, Jun 23, 2004 at 11:11
I agree I would find dogs like that a little off-putting as well. But they are usually the minority that make it bad for the majority. I beleive dogs, like yard apes (kids) are a direct reflection of the owners/parents.

I have been just as appalled by the selfish and agressive behaviour of actual humans as I have dogs, yet they aren't restricted from some camping areas, although they should be.

Our dogs, like most we meet, are very, actaully too friendlly. I am sorry you had a bad experience.

Wizard
Darwin NT
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FollowupID: 325621

Follow Up By: Troopy Travellers (NSW) - Thursday, Jun 24, 2004 at 07:50

Thursday, Jun 24, 2004 at 07:50
LOL, I would have to agree with you on that, it wasnt such a bad experience as I am not frightened of dogs or horses, simply my first encounter at a dog allowable camping area. One stern word from me and they seem to behave, pity my children dont. Sea.
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FollowupID: 325804

Reply By: Kriso - Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:37

Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004 at 16:37
Wow this is great, so many different responses i'm glad i have found this Forum.
Sari is great she is a black slightly overweight Staffy (ok ok i'm being modest maybe she is a lot overweight) all she does is sleep, she doesn't bark, shes only year and a half old so we are still training her and she does run off every now and then and doesn'y come but i think alot of dogs do that, we are still training her and feel the trip may bring out the best in her also as i'm not sure who said it but she would be good security as i'm only 21 years of age and haven't traveled before so it will be good to have here there as a protector as well as my boyfriend.

I'm looking forward to our adventure more then anything and really appreciate the feed back everyone is giving me keep it coming and i'm sure i'll have thousands more questions to ask before we go. January 2006 is the time, so long to go but hopefully it goes fast and i need all the time to prepare and save my pennys. Hopefully you guys can give me some tips on what to do for work and my boyfriend hes a Carpenter so thats easy.

Thanks again and keep the info coming :)
AnswerID: 64431

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