We took Sconnie and Max along on our recent trip to the Keys. We usually use a dog sitter, but this was a long trip and we knew they would miss us. Well, in all honesty, we knew we would miss them! At any rate, after we packed our own stuff, we added beds, food, bowls and various other stuff that two yorkies might need on vacation.
Some of my links are affiliate links, meaning that As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Because this is the first long road trip we’ve taken with both dogs, we got them new safety harnesses and seat belt clips. We love this system! Not only does it keep the dogs in the backseat and out of the driver’s lap, but in the unfortunate event of an accident, it would prevent them from being thrown from the car. I am not sure it offers the same degree of protection that we get from seat belts, but it’s better than a doggy through a windshield. The safety belt clips also allow us to safely leash the dogs before they can jump out of the car. We seldom leash unless we are away from home, and when we do, we usually use a single leash with clips for two collars.
Max spent a good part of the 6+ hour trip looking out the window. He is a real road warrior! Sconnie, on the other hand, prefers destinations to journeys. She napped on the floor after figuring out that she wasn’t going to get into the front seat.
Some Florida Turnpike rest stops now have dog walking areas, where you can let your dog(s) engage in some zoomies off-leash. There was a nice doggie drinking fountain and a supply of poop bags. It appears that many human travellers don’t use poop bags . . . so if you make use of those areas, expect flies and poop. Sconnie and Max didn’t mind. They just sniffed a lot.
I had been looking forward to taking them to Anne’s Beach in Islamorada. When Sconnie was a puppy, Anne’s Beach was her first exposure to salt water, and she loved it. She chased gobies and rolled in the sand and tried to figure out why the water tasted funny. Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma flattened all of the amenities at Anne’s Beach and it is still under construction. We did, however, stop at one of the bridges to let the pups stretch. While we were there, an iguana strolled across the walkway. Sconnie, who has yet to see a lizard she didn’t want to catch, tried to run down into the mangroves to catch it. I finally managed to distract her and get the two of them back in the car while Steve fixed them a nice bowl of water for the rest of the ride down to Big Pine. Using a bowl like this one keeps everyone happy!
When we got to Big Pine, Sconnie immediately tried to run down the boat ramp into the canal behind Vince and Maya’s, but Max dug in his little heels. She would have to wait for that particular adventure. We decided to get separate leashes so they would be able to stage separate investigations, and we think it made their lives easier. We may not use the dual leash again.
Sconnie may be the more adventurous dog where water is concerned, but when it comes to wildlife, Max is the King of Adventure! Within 30 minutes of arriving, and while we had him off leash and were foolishly not paying close attention, he chased a Key Deer across the street. I really thought Sconnie would like the deer, but she was really not interested. Truth be told, I think she was jealous because the fawns were so stinking cute!!
We walked the dogs across the bridge to No Name Key on our first morning out. Sconnie managed to get a face full of Keys sandspurs. These are even worse than mainland sandspurs. I know that doesn’t seem possible, but they are harder to remove and have sharper spurs. It took a couple of days to get them all out of her little cheek. They visited Sombrero Beach, where Sconnie chased a curly tailed lizard and got a bit of swimming done. Finally, they visited Windley Key, where they surprised us with their willingness to hike in the heat.
This was the first time we’ve vacationed with the dogs since Max arrived several years ago. We’re pretty sure we will be including them in more of our travels, especially if they can behave as well as they did on this trip!
Travel trips I learned this trip: If your dog will be spending time on the floor of the car, bring a bed or blanket. This one is easy to pack and washes up nicely. Sconnie was very happy to curl up and sleep most of the way out and most of the way back home. Also, if your dogs are paper trained, don’t forget to take puppy pads when you travel. We forgot, and puppy pads are not inexpensive in the Keys! It takes some planning ahead to travel with these little guys, but we are so glad we did. We think they are, too.
The lizards and deer . . . well, they may not be so glad.