Holly the adventure dog

Our dog Holly is a seasoned adventurer. She’s been featured in dog travel blogs and logged more than 14,000 travel miles, not including her trips to dog shows during her show dog days. Now she’s living the #vanlife with us.

How does she do it?

We get that question a lot, so we thought we’d shed some light on how she travels with us in Red Delicious:

  • What is “The Holly Hole?”
  • Where does she eat, play, and sleep?
  • What is the most important dog travel tip?

“The Holly Hole”

One of the features of Red Delicious is a little tunnel that connects the front of the car to the sleeping area. We dubbed it The Holly Hole. She goes in and out like so:

      Holly in the Holly hole Holly, when her curiosity won out and she first discovered The Holly Hole  

Eating, Playing, and Sleeping

When we first camped with Holly, we’d put her bowl on the ground in the dirt while she ate. But we had to stop that nonsense because her kibbles fly everywhere and she’d end up eating dirt and sticks trying to pick them up.

Now, we let her eat on the floor on the passenger’s side. Much cleaner.

She also plays with her toys up there too. Because it’s a minivan, it’s fairly spacious. That’s especially important once the sun goes down because it’s hard to keep tabs on her in the dark outside. So after dark, she’s usually in the van unless we bring her out to sit with us by the fire.

She does like to hang out and play outside the van when the weather’s nice though.

 

Holly in the dirt She just likes the dirt, we suppose

 


Holly peanut butter face

Holly likes to wet her whole face when she drinks water, and save a little peanut butter from her toys in her beard for later…then come romp around where we sleep! 🙂

 

But all that eating and playing is pretty tiring. We have a dog bed for her, but she doesn’t use it in the van. Instead, she’ll nap in the back sleeping area during the day and snuggle up with us at night. When it’s really cold at night, one of us snuggles with her in a sleeping bag. Otherwise, she’s usually fine sleeping on top of the blanket.

 

Holly daytime nap

“It’s time for my mid-morning nap, guys.” – Holly

 

Holly resting

Lazy morning

 

Holly is VERY comfortable with #vanlife (Turn up audio!!) #cairnterriers #nomads

A video posted by Tamara (@taminacan) on

 

Most Important Dog Travel Tip: Dogs Need a Routine

All these things aside, the most important thing about traveling with a dog is establishing a routine. (This is important just for living with a dog, period.)

Why is it so important? It keeps everyone sane and happy when you’re all in a small space together. Holly’s routine looks like this and rarely ever strays:

  • Morning: Snuggle, walk, breakfast, nap
  • Mid-Day: Bathroom break, toys, more napping
  • Afternoon: Toys (in the van or outside), walk, dinner
  • Evening: Lots of toys, bathroom break, more toys, bedtime

We always make sure to take Holly out for her bathroom break about 30 minutes before we go to bed because she likes to play with her toys for a while before she settles down. This ensures we don’t have a dog stepping on our face while we try to sleep. 🙂

The Thing About Old Dogs

The thing about old dogs is they’re great travelers. Holly loves the hum of the moving car and to sniff around in new places. But she also naps a lot of the day and likes smaller spaces because they’re easier for her to navigate since she’s lost most of her eyesight. She’s also got a bladder of steel: this girl is very well house-trained — and now van-trained — and can hold it in between bathroom breaks. I think this would be a lot harder with a puppy.

But the other thing about old dogs is: they get sick.

It’s an inevitable fact of life that our best, furry friends have to leave us sometime, and 16-year-old Holly is no exception, unfortunately.

Chris and I learned about a week ago that Holly has lymphoma. As our friends and family know, we have been so devastated at the thought of losing our favorite travel companion. It’s been hard to stay positive. Really hard.

 

Chris Holly hug
Tamara Holly hug

 

But we’re determined to make sure the rest of Holly’s life (the vet says 1-2 months) is as best as it can be. Which means keeping up her routine, packing extra treats into her toys, and giving her lots and lots of love.

We’re so lucky to have this adventure dog as our best friend, and to remind us to treasure every day. We love you Holly!

 

Next week, Holly and her friends are headed toward southern Florida and the Keys. See you there!

 

Gulf coast bridge

A bridge somewhere in Florida

 

Grayton Beach 2

Grayton Beach State Park in Florida

 

Grayton Beach

The beach at Grayton Beach State Park

 

Chris and John scamp

We met John and Mindy from Vermont; they’ve been taking camping trips in this 13′ Scamp for decades

 

Frank conference

Why I’m in Gainesville: folks gathering for the second annual frank conference, obsessively connecting people who communicate for the greater good

 

UF lake

A walk around a lake on the University of Florida campus

 

Spanish moss

Spanish moss everywhere!

 

Exactly where you need to be

Reassuring words for nomads to see

 

Satchels

After dinner at Satchel’s, a Gainesville pizza institution, with our Airbnb hosts

  7 comments for “Holly the adventure dog

  1. Esther
    2015-03-02 at 2:49 pm

    So sorry to hear about Holly. Your post is a good reminder to give our furry friends an extra cuddle.

    • Tamara & Chris
      2015-03-02 at 2:53 pm

      Thank you, Esther! It’s so hard, but we’re trying to treasure every day. Yes, give your furry friend a hug!!!

  2. 2015-03-04 at 12:02 am

    My heart goes out to my three favorite adventure hounds. Holly has been well traveled and well loved…that’s all a seasoned adventurer could ask for. The best to all of you, on the remainder of your journey. Hugs to all!

  3. judy marker
    2016-07-12 at 6:15 pm

    Sorry to hear about your loss. Holly must have been a very special pup. We are going to try van camping with our little pup. I was wondering what did you do with Holly if you were going to be out for an extended time? Is there something that can keep the van cool? Did you leave it running for her? Thanks

    • Tamara & Chris
      2016-07-12 at 9:55 pm

      Hi Judy: Thank you for your note! It was well-timed as we’re visiting San Francisco and just walked down the street where we used to take her on walks and were missing out special girl!

      That’s great that you’ll be traveling with your best dog friend. We tended not to leave Holly for too long of a time, but sometimes we’d go for an hour-long hike or so. The big thing is keeping track of the heat. In cold weather, no problem, but in warm weather we’d try to find things to do where we could bring her along. If we left her in the car, we’d make sure there was lots of shade and leave all the windows down. You can also try getting a small battery powered fan.

      But if it’s just too hot or you’ll be out all day, I recommend looking for boarding/doggy day care. Or, you could find a hotel or Airbnb for the night. It is an expense, but worth it for comfort, safety and peace of mind!

      Have a great time and happy travels. Traveling with a pet leaves lots of happy memories 🙂

  4. Miriam B
    2016-07-31 at 12:56 am

    Hey guys! Thanks for sharing your adventuires and experiences with the world! I was sad to read that Holly passed away! I hope it’s alright that I ask a few questions about van-life with a dog. Is it possible to ever enter supermarkets and other stores or public places with a dog? I will be traveling around the US in a mini-van with my dog in 2017, and am a little concered about all the limitations it will include. Also – stealth parking with a dog. Is it possible? Thanks! Miriam

    • Tamara & Chris
      2016-08-01 at 8:58 am

      Hi Miriam: Thanks for the note — we miss Holly every day! We just saw a Scottie that reminded us a lot of her. Happy to answer any questions. Most stores don’t allow animals if they’re not service animals. We would either do our shopping in the evening when it’s not too hot or have one person wait outside with the dog. Many restaurants with outdoor patios allow dogs on the patio, but it’s always best to ask. There are definitely limitations, but it’s fun to have your best friend with you. If you’re doing something that isn’t pet friendly one day, make sure to look into boarding services or doggy day care. Bring copies of vaccination records too. As for stealth parking, it depends on your dog. Holly was quiet — never barked — and could hold it all night so it was no problem. Think about the activities you’ll be doing and how you’ll handle it. You can even do a test one-week road trip! Also, we found the website DogJaunt.com to have helpful dog travel tips. Best of luck to you!!

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