Traveling with hounds has a few interesting challenges. There is nothing like traveling with the experienced old war horses that know all the routines and just “get it.” I wish I was traveling with Lady and Nugget. Those two old girls traveled every weekend and on other vacations for years. Lady recognized signs like “Red Roof” and “Motel 6”

A friend asked today, “Well, how does it work traveling with all those dogs? Is it better or worse than traveling with my wife and two daughters? I have to stop every…”

“Well, yes, I suspect it is.” I replied, “If you are traveling with experienced hounds that is. But this trip I had two rooky bitches that did not know the routine”

The routine is that if we stop and daddy gets you out of the van, you had better take advantage and do whatever you have to right away. It will be a few hours before daddy gives you your next chance!

When taking a day trip, the hounds never really learn. Many bitches will wait twelve hours to get home. How comfortable that is I can not guess. But a week trip requires the hounds to finally give in to the urge.

Even the dogs, when young, do not have the confidence to go anywhere, anytime, on anything vertical. Once mature, the dogs are usually pretty quick. Tuxx and Blazer have this all figured out. They compete to see who can mark the most vertical whatever they can find.

But the bitches have to be in the mood! Thelma and Louise have traveled overnight with us on several trips. But no long drives without a fenced yard for a break. They had to learn how to go on a two day drive and sleep in a different hotel room each night for a week. They are well housebroken having spent many a night in the house.

By the end of our one week hound vacation, the bitches now seem to have figured all this out. Jane and I just got back from a half way across the country trip with four hounds (Blazer, Tuxx, Thelma and Louise). I felt like all I did was drive and walk hounds. And that pretty much sums up the trip…