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Diesel
Green Dog
Posts: 160
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:11 pm
Tell us about yourself: Hello, my name is Ashlee. I have a Dutch Shepherd who will be 5 this summer. We live in Northwest Territories Canada. Diesel is a typical Dutch Shepherd, very high intelligence and extremely high energy.
Location: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

We're Back

Post by Diesel »

We've been home for about a week now after an 11,000km road trip (with the dogs)!

We drove from Yellowknife to (near) Toronto, Ontario in about 3 days. That's about 16 hours of driving per day. Halo did really well, she slept the whole time. Diesel not so much. He has improved considerably in the car but he still has to watch the road ahead and he gets anxious, panting and sometimes drooling. He did sleep a tiny bit throughout each day though. We actually drove through the USA instead of going north around the lakes, which saves about 6 hours. We expected and were prepared to get questioned about the dogs at the border but they didn't say a word. Diesel barked at the border guard when he approached the car :shock: .
We had them in the kennel for a week while my husband and I flew south for some much needed sunshine. The kennel owners told us about how our dogs refused to come inside when all the other dogs were cold. (Because to them it was tropical, -40C in YK vs. 0C)Another thing she mentioned is that they clung to each other which makes me really happy.

After that we spent the next few days at my sister's house. She has a small dog and 2 young kids and although slightly chaotic at times, everyone got along quite nicely.
Halo picked up an ear infection at the kennel so we had to get a vet appointment in before we left to drive back home. We were lucky since the vet had limited hours due to the holidays that we managed to get an appointment. We took the opportunity to ask the vet about something to calm Diesel's anxiety for the drive home and after examining him, she prescribed atrivet, which is a type of tranquilizer I guess. We gave it to Diesel before we left and what a difference it made! He was so calm, he remained awake but very relaxed the whole time we were driving. When it was time for a pee stop, he was back to normal.
I think it was a lot better for him, even though I feel bad for drugging him.
No more road trips for a long time!
Attachments
I fit!
I fit!
cute2.jpg (36.84 KiB) Viewed 670 times
Desperately missing his soft surfaces, Diesel squeezed into the cat bed.
Desperately missing his soft surfaces, Diesel squeezed into the cat bed.
cute.jpg (33.35 KiB) Viewed 670 times
"Before" on the way there
"Before" on the way there
before.jpg (47.08 KiB) Viewed 670 times
"After" on the way home
"After" on the way home
after.jpg (27.46 KiB) Viewed 670 times
They realized we were getting close to home
They realized we were getting close to home
almost home.jpg (29.01 KiB) Viewed 670 times
so close.jpg
so close.jpg (38.07 KiB) Viewed 670 times
Ashlee, Diesel and Halo
Sugars Mom
Working Dog
Posts: 1734
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:16 am
Tell us about yourself: I adopted a Dutch Shepherd mix (without knowing what she was) from the SPCA here in Victoria BC and am now trying to learn everything I can about this breed. My husband and I work from home most of the time so I thought it was time to get a puppy! We have his 2 boys here half the time and we wanted a nice family dog.

Sugar looks like a miniature Dutch Shepherd with floppy ears, and has every ounce of DS traits in her little body!

I hope to learn from other DS owners and share doggy experiences.
Location: Victoria BC

Re: We're Back

Post by Sugars Mom »

What a nice synopsis of your trip. I love the pics of Diesel in the cat bed...hilarious! Glad the drugs helped him to relax. I'm sure he was happier being more calm.
Sue (and Sugar)

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