Hi, and welcome to Adventures and Dogs. I’m a practicing veterinarian, and like many of you, my dogs are part of the family. I’ve been traveling and exploring with them for years as we competed in dog agility. It started with a flight and my best dog Trip visiting a friend in Las Vegas and entering a local agility trial. Since then, I’ve flown to different places around the country, and enjoyed sight-seeing, hiking, and experiencing whatever locales have to offer. But as a Type A planner, what I’ve REALLY wanted is a resource to let me know what it’s really like. What is and isn’t dog-friendly? (I’m looking at you Boulder). What is there to do inside and out with your dog if you’re on a trip? How can you manage in those less dog-accessible areas? And so, Adventures and Dogs was born.

When COVID hit, all travel ended as well. My husband Ryan and I started looking at options for camping as a more COVID-safe way to travel. But I’m not at all into “roughing it” — I want walls, and a bathroom, and a bed. Truth be told I’m more of a hotel and brunch kind of girl. So we looked at travel trailers and RVs. Our compromise came in the form of a camper van. It turns out that many of the commercial Class B RVs are built out from cargo vans. And while they are nice, they are expensive, and not exactly suited to travel with 4 Shelties. So, we decided to build out our own. That became our COVID project, and “The White Wolf” was born. (I love you Bucky Barnes). The maiden voyage was December 2020, and since then we’ve made some tweaks and improvements, which will no doubt continue. We now use it for weekend getaways, gradually increasing our camping radius, and getting out into the world with our dogs. The more we go, the more I want to go further.

That said, sometimes it’s just too far to drive, and one of the reasons I have Shelties is that they are small enough to fly in-cabin. Flying has let me visit places all over the country with limited time off. From day one with a new puppy, it is a priority to teach them to be good traveler. The best compliment I receive when flying is when I’m getting off the plane, and the flight attendent says “I didn’t even know you had a dog.” I hope I can help those of you with smaller dogs fly easily too. So come along with us, and we’ll give you tips and tricks for traveling with your own dogs whether flying or driving, great places to visit, and more.