The Journey!
I always find it interesting just how much dogs pick up on our emotions and our feelings. The final three days of the house pack up the dogs just kept looking at me and I could almost hear them asking if they were coming with us.
On the last day, we had the movers, the truck, people coming and going, and I was running around like a chook without its head. We had hired a Kia Carnival and had it all packed and ready to go as soon as the truck drove away. We had no idea how they dogs would all go in the back, but it was what it was. Finally, when it was time to leave, we bundled the dogs in the back along with Suitcases and everything and anything I thought we might need and off we went for our three-day journey.
We arrived Agnes Waters by about 7:00 o'clock that night and the dogs, to their credit were amazing – we were glad to get out and go for a walk and stretch our legs. I think they were all just glad to be coming with us!
On the next morning we knew we had a very long drive ahead and we had discussed with our vet and each other about whether a light sedative would be a good idea. We decided it was and gave them all a tablet. Well, it knocked them all out – even when we stopped for toilet and coffee breaks, they weren’t that keen to get out of their comfy back seat. When we finally arrived in Bowen they had started to come around and we took them for a nice walk. The accommodation was very average, and the weather was awful – we were concerned we might get flooded in, but we managed to leave early the next morning without a hitch.
We decided not to give the dogs any meds on the third day and see how they went – I think they were all starting to enjoy the road trip and we made easily to our new home by 2pm – the dogs were very keen to run in the back yard and smell all the new smells!
We all had a pretty relaxing evening on the blow-up mattress and had takeaway for dinner – I think we were all glad the move was done… there was just the unpacking to do now!!
What did I learn from this journey – be prepared! I made sure I had their bedding, medications, water and food bowls. I packed some of their normal food (no upset tummies in the car), leads, harnesses and dog towels. We stopped for toilet breaks and walks. Dogs like routine so we tried to feed them around the same time and the same food. Duke took a couple of days to settle – I was surprised how anxious he was, but on reflection he was feeding off me – so it was important I had some downtime and playing some games with him and some basic training with some yummy treats helped both of us!
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