My First Road Trip

I was really good! I was so good!

Well, it really wasn't my "first" road trip. My first one was the drive from the shelter in Austin where my two brothers and I were, to our foster home with Texas Cattle Dog Rescue in Magnolia. So, this road trip had me "going home" headed back that same direction. I settled right down in my crate, only sitting up and looking around a few times, taking a cue from my new big brother and big sister and just lying quietly.

About an hour into the drive I got carsick and threw up-
then I ate it, because Mom and Dad couldn't find a place to pull over in time to clean it up and stop me.

Then I threw it up again.

That time they DID pull into a parking lot, took me out of my crate, Dad held my leash (and I peed and PEED!) while Mom used a spare plastic grocery bag to scoop up my puke, then shook out my bedding, wiped up the errant splatters... Dad got another bag out of his emergency kit in the back and we put my soggy blanket in it, Mom shook off my stuffed mousie and my stuffed reindeer, and then tucked us all back inside and we were off again!

I slept the rest of the way. Boy, throwing up twice really takes it outta ya! But I was still so hungry. Mom and Dad hadn't even fed me my usual lunchtime rations, knowing that I would be in the car. They are still puzzling how I threw up breakfast- four hours after the fact- and it wasn't even digested! Mom is contemplating a different feeding schedule and portion sizes based on this information...

We got to my new Grammy and Pampy's house, and Mom took me out to potty, hoping I wouldn't submissively pee on anybody. I still sprinkled Grammy's shoe a bit, and peed really good for Pampy. Everybody likes me. I went into a yard with two other big dogs. Mollie didn't pay me much attention. Jax made me feel a bit uncertain- I'm not usually a "'fraidy cat", but my tail was low. Mom says it's the first time she's ever seen it not held up high. Not even when I met my new family for the first time. Mom also says I'm now at the beginning of some critical "fear period" and it's crucial that I keep meeting people, having good experiences, not making a big deal out of things that might be scary, etc... Anyway, Jax is cool, and I look forward to wrestling with him and wearing him out in the future. He might be a bit unsure of me, himself. He's usually pretty bossy and demanding when it comes to attention, pushing the other dogs out of his way so he can hog all the petting. Well, when I come up to get petted, he backs off real quick! Ha! I decided I could go around with my tail up after that. I didn't really get to play in the yard much with the big dogs, because there were a few spots in the fence that I might have been able to fit through, and also because the weather got really cold and rainy. Plus, I'm still little and nobody will let me play outside unsupervised.

As a result, I spent a lot of time in my crate- but I was good! I got to sit in the kitchen and watch everybody. There were two little kids that loved me and kept poking their fingers through the bars of my crate to pet me. I liked licking them and hearing them laugh. I got to wander around the house as long as I was on my leash, and I minded well when anybody told me "sit" or "off!", just like I have been taught! I went potty when and where I was supposed to, and I even slept through the night I was SO TIRED! I didn't get up to go out- not even once! Mom was worried I was dead!

The drive back was really bad. It rained a lot and Dad had trouble seeing the road. The wind was bad, too. But I just lay in my crate and slept, and I didn't throw up on myself! (Mom thinks this is a funny thing to say, because we stopped so she could pee and she heard a kid in the next bathroom stall saying "And I didn't pee on myself!" when it's mommy told it it had done good and thanks for waiting).

Mom is very pleased that keeping me on a schedule contributed to my behaving so well in a new place- I didn't fuss, I didn't bark, I didn't tear up things or make messes. I just sat quietly and took it all in and was good! I was so good!