Date:         Tue, 4 Jun 1996 00:48:10 -0400 (EDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         ringo@spike.aerodyne.com (Chris Getschow)
Subject:      Vanadogs

Ken - 

Thanks for the advice.  My vet, however, has indicated that "tranks"
are no longer 'de riguer' (fr. sp?) for traveling animals.  It seems that
medicine goes through its fashion phases like any other walk-of-life. 
Still, it seems sensible, at least for the toughest leg of the trip which
is the flight to Japan.

I recall touring cross-country with my *entire* family (including two large
dogs) when I was 12 and it was a great trip (in a '70 Campmobile, I must add).  Part of the purpose of *this* trip is to condition the dogs to traveling in 
their kennels, since this is a new experience for them as well.   Hey, you 
Inuvik people! Ask some of your Northern friends how they deal with their 
sled dogs when they have to go to a race in Minnesota or some such far-off 
place.  How much time do those dogs spend in their kennels before they're
allowed out to perform basic bodily functions, among other things? My dogs
are faced with about 20 hours total.  Tough sledding for any mammal.

This last passage has gotten me thinking - through the usual semi-semantically-
connected means - about larger issues.  I know this is off-topic, but it's
still probably of interest to the road-tripping heart of the Vanagoner:
When did dogs first arrive in what's now the USA?  They certainly didn't come
over on the Mayflower (or at least there's no record of them), and those
people went through hell.  I know somebody's going to say that they were 
already here, but I'm talking about dogs as the AKC recognizes them (and 
yes, there's a certain element of vagueness to that too).  It must have 
been the 18th century at least before transatlantic transportation was 
reliable enough to bring animals across without the passengers eating them.
At what point did the natives' and the immigrants' dogs get together?  
(should I have saved this for Friday?  No, my computer goes away on Friday...)  
Enquiring minds want to know.

Bringing this back to the list - how many of you bring your pets along on 
your various excursions and what do they think about it? 

-cg
--- 
Chris Getschow (ringo@spike.aerodyne.com, getschow@an.hp.com)
'85 Vanagon 'GL (for sale!)

You responded with ---
> 
> 
> >PS:  If anyone has useful tips (beyond the obvious) for traveling long
> >distances
> >with two kids (ages 8 & 6) and two large dogs (ages 12 & 8) via Vanagon, I'd
> >love to hear them.
> 
> The vet will give you doggie downers. We brought two big dogs (the small
> one is 85 lbs) cross-country in the bed of a pickup truck last time we
> moved. They stay awake but they're *completely* docile, at least mine were.
> I thought it was much safer, what with getting out at rest stops and all.
> 
> Probably not ethical to do this with children, though. ;)
> 
> --Ken
> 
>