Summer trips with our dogs
HUN below. As summer comes to an end, it feels so nice to look back on how many wonderful dog-filled memories and adventures we’ve shared over the past few months. We’ve put together a little selection of our favorite moments, along with some of the things we’ve learned along the way. We love giving our dogs the opportunity to experience as many different situations as possible, rather than only knowing their familiar home environment. Different surfaces, sounds, people, vehicles, water, forests, busy towns — each one offers something new. What we find especially interesting is how differently they can react to exactly the same new situation. One of them may feel completely comfortable within two minutes and be ready to explore everything, while another prefers to observe first, stay a little closer to us, and take more time to open up. We never rush this process. The goal is not for every dog to face everything bravely straight away, but to gain positive experiences at their own pace. That is why we pay attention to lots of little things during our trips. We always carry plenty of water, take regular breaks on longer walks, and watch carefully for signs that they are getting tired. We often plan our stops around dog-friendly cafés. These are little breaks for us too, but also a chance to practise an important skill: learning that something doesn’t always have to be happening. They can simply settle down beside our feet, wait calmly and rest while we enjoy our coffee. If we come across a stream and they want to go in, we let them splash around. But it is never something they have to do — only if they want to. In warmer weather, we are also very careful about the surfaces we walk on. We always check asphalt and concrete to make sure they have not become too hot, because what feels perfectly fine to us in shoes may already be uncomfortable for little paws. Travelling on a little railway was a completely different kind of adventure. New sounds, movement, people, scenery rushing past — lots of stimulation all at once. They really enjoyed it, while we of course held onto them securely the entire time, because sometimes their curious nature can be a little quicker than their common sense. When we travel, we always choose dog-friendly accommodation, and we especially love hotels that welcome dogs with a little something prepared especially for them. Even so, we always bring a few familiar things from home. Their little blanket almost always travels with us. Its smell and feel are familiar, so even in a completely new hotel room they quickly have a little spot that already feels like “home”. Sometimes that alone is enough to help them settle down and relax much more easily. We also always bring their usual food and their own treats. Travelling already brings plenty of changes, so we prefer not to change their diet unnecessarily at the same time. And yes… shampoo quite often makes it into the luggage too. After a proper forest walk, splashing around in a stream or a muddy adventure, sometimes there is simply no question that bath time will be waiting for us in the evening. We also make sure not to squeeze too much into a single day. A new town, a forest walk, unfamiliar people, different sounds and smells may simply feel like a lovely day out to us, but for a dog it can be a huge amount of information to process. That is why rest is just as important a part of the day as the adventure itself. Perhaps this is what we love most about travelling together: not only do they get to discover more and more of the world, but we get to know them better too. We see who is the first to jump into the stream, who prefers to watch from a safe distance, who falls asleep in the hotel within two minutes, who is the endless little explorer, and who needs a little more time before deciding: alright, I think I’m ready to try this too. Every one of them has their own little personality — and that is exactly how we love them.