Beaches, barks, and black labs in the sky - a reactive dog road trip

I’d booked five nights away in dog-friendly accommodation (of course), within a couple of hours’ drive. I’d scoured the listings (there aren’t many at that time of year) to try to find a relatively private spot in a quieter area.

Packing for a reactive dog trip is always epic. With medications, food, treats, Lickimats, toys, blankets, chews, etc., his bag was much bigger than mine!

On the day of departure, I messaged the host advising our likely time of arrival. The response was a bit of a shock. She advised us to toot when we arrived so she could bring the dogs inside, as she also runs a dog boarding facility. My heart sank. It felt like I couldn’t have chosen a worse setup. But we would have to make the best of it.

It did give me an opener to explain that George is anxious. I always wonder whether it’s best to do this.

Thanks to some research and scrutinising of maps, I’d found a relatively quiet, open space for us to stop on the way and stretch our legs. George did OK, although he was desperate to chase the geese.

Upon arrival, I tooted as instructed and the host came out to meet us. I had explained that I would leave George in the car while we got sorted, and he did very well with my mum in the back with him.

We were to park behind a gate where the accommodation was, and the boarding dogs (luckily only two little ones, plus the host’s own little dog) would have the front garden, while we would have the back.

The two spaces were separated by a wire mesh fence. OK, not ideal, but I was trying not to get stressed.

Within the first 20 minutes, the little dogs had got into our space twice. Far from ideal, but luckily George was still out of the way — although the second time he was barking and jumping at the glass door.

We made another plea and explanation about George’s anxiety, and they assured us they would keep the dogs separate.

George thoroughly investigated his new territory. As the days went by, he became more accustomed to the little dogs and would go to the fence to look for them. Once, he even scratched at the host’s door! One of the dogs was very vocal (even more so than George), but he seemed to get used to that.

As it was a shared space, the hosts would sometimes appear in our garden, although they did their best to keep out of the way. Surprisingly, George did much better with the man than the woman. I think it was because the man didn’t look at him or speak to him, he just calmly moved around. Both hosts were very understanding of George’s challenges.

Towards the end of the stay, the little dogs got out again and ran into our accommodation while George was resting. He was startled but did very well. I was very proud of him. I think it helped that the larger of the dogs was very submissive.

The house opposite had an upper-level wooden deck where two very vocal black labs hung out. Poor George. Not only did he have the little dogs to contend with, but also barking black labs in the sky! He didn’t adapt quite as well to them. I tried to minimise the visual triggers as best I could, though it was very hot with no air-conditioning, so it was difficult to keep the door closed.

In some ways, I was grateful for all the dogs barking, as I didn’t feel as bad when George responded. And OK, sometimes George started it 😆 But for once, George wasn’t the most vocal!

The final trigger challenge was the tennis court next door. George did better than I expected with the sounds of people playing tennis and children playing. He found a gap in the hedge he could look through and coped with that OK. He didn’t do so well when one of the black labs passed unexpectedly close to the hedge.

It was a lot — little dogs on one side, black labs in the sky in front, and a tennis court on the other. Unsurprisingly, he barked a lot more than he has been doing recently and was on alert much of the time.

George and I slept in the main living room. After the first night, when he was quite restless and barked or grumbled often throughout the night, he did pretty well overnight. Although, obviously, he didn’t get as much rest as he does at home.

There was a big green space beyond the tennis court, which was great. I could see if anybody was there before leaving, so it was good to give George a quick run on the longline, particularly on one day when it rained all day.

The Christmas and New Year period is very busy for holiday spots in New Zealand, as it coincides with the summer holidays. Luckily, the nearby beach is massive, and we opted to go to the on-leash dog area, hoping other dog owners would choose the off-leash areas.

We were pretty lucky on our first visit. I was surprised by how well George did in the busy car park with all the people, and navigating the busy steps down to the beach. He was so excited. He just wanted to get to the beach and ignored the people. Once we’d navigated the entrance, we were able to get more space. He had a great time.

Another great day was at a more off-the-beaten-track foreshore reserve. It was overcast and there was nobody about. We only saw one other dog walker, and there was plenty of time and space to retreat into the bush until they had passed. George got to splash around in the water and run around on the longline. It was one of the top days of the whole trip for all of us.

We tried a walk one afternoon at a local reserve. It was a lovely spot, but there were a couple of dog walkers which George reacted to, even at a big distance. He was a bit wild. He could see the water but it was too deep for him to go in, and I had to keep him on a short lead, so he was frustrated.

He also tends to do much better in the mornings — afternoon walks can be a bit fraught. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short, although my parents were able to return without us.

The beach was understandably busier on New Year’s Day. George did OK until he saw a couple of other little dogs. They were quite far away, but he reacted strongly. Unfortunately, they had based themselves near the exit, so we had to go a little off-piste to get back to the car 😆 He still loved being at the beach, though.

He wasn’t able to decompress very well after walks, as we were back to the little dogs, the black labs, the tennis court, and the heat. The triggers were piling up.

His separation anxiety with my parents was high while we were away. They often went to get supplies or go for a walk without us (if it was too hot and/or there were too many triggers that day), and George was quite upset. He couldn’t settle and paced from one door to another. He couldn’t be distracted with food, treats, or games.

It was quite surprising, and I worried about their return to the UK, but that is exactly what happened on our last road trip. He struggles if we’re not all together in a new place, but isn’t too bothered at home. When we went to get a takeaway curry one night, we decided to take George with us in the car — easier all round!

The last day was very challenging. We went back to the foreshore reserve, as we’d had such a great day there previously. Unfortunately, it was a little busier. There were some horses, but we managed to avoid George seeing them. There were also a few more dog walkers.

As we were retreating into the bush, a little off-leash dog ran up to George from quite far away, despite the owner frantically calling them. George went very stiff, then snarled and lunged at the dog.

I felt really guilty. George was too far away from me at the time — not fully extended on the longline, but not close enough either. I should have advocated for him and stepped in front of the little dog. I had thought we had enough space as we were moving away. I should have prevented that situation.

On the plus side, after the snarl, George returned to sniffing the bush, which was a promising sign of him trying to self-regulate. He was still on very high alert, though. Due to the number of dogs around, we decided to go back to the car. I think we were all a little disappointed, especially as we’d had such a lovely walk there the other day, and now had to start the journey home without one.

I had researched where to stop on the way home. When we were about 40 minutes away, George started crying in the back of the car. This is unusual, so I thought he might need the toilet. I stopped at a roadside café. He did have a wee, but he was pretty stressed. It reminded me of when we were at my friend's house recently - he was desperate for a poo but couldn't relax enough to go.

When we got to the planned stop (another quieter reserve), George was wild — pulling on the lead, crying, barking. It was intense. It was very difficult even to attempt a walk.

We decided to park around the corner (a car with a dog had just pulled up nearby), eat a quick sandwich, toilet stop for George, and just head home.

The life of a reactive dog owner — parking on a random gravel road seconds away from a beautiful reserve you can’t use.

But he needed to get home. I hadn’t seen him remain that over-threshold (and unable to regulate himself) for quite some time.

Back home, the decompression could finally begin.

On the whole, and in the circumstances, I think he did very well. I would never have planned to stay somewhere that does dog boarding and is next to a public tennis court.

He really enjoyed some of the time, particularly the foreshore walk and the beach visits. He settled reasonably well overnight.

To make matters more challenging, he really struggled with taking his medication while we were away. We tried everything — all sorts of dog food, cheese, tuna, ham, sausage — with limited success. I would have increased the medication to help him cope, but some days he only had the bare minimum.

Our previous (and only!) road trip was three nights. Five nights might have been a bridge too far.

But for a little guy who struggles with change and unfamiliar things, and without additional medication support, I think George was a little champion.

There’s no doubt a road trip with a reactive dog is hard. I wouldn’t attempt it without help. I found myself getting stressed and frustrated at times, which I know makes it harder.

But we made it work as best we could, and we tried to minimise George’s stress as much as possible. We had some lovely walks, and lovely company, of course. I am immensely grateful for my parents’ support and understanding.