The 'holiday' from Hell..!

Wendy tries to have a holiday with her six dogs... 

Planning to take 6 dogs on holiday is probably not a very sensible idea, but with my daughter who usually looks after our dogs unavailable due to the fact that her bitch was due to whelp, there seemed no other alternative.

We had a three week window to fit our holiday in as this is a quiet period at work, but when we started to look for something we realized that we had agreed to look after my son’s dog for the first week and my daughter’s bitch was due to whelp around the last week and as I had promised I would be there to help it just left the week in the middle in which to squeeze a few days away. This was further complicated by the fact that we were at a trial for the first weekend of this week and had to be back by the following Saturday for the expected puppies so our  time away was condensed to just five days. 

Our original plan was to try to find a self catering holiday cottage that welcomed dogs and we were not fussy where this was. After several days of trawling the internet we found a cottage inWalesthat not only allowed dogs but also provided kenneling. The icing on the cake was that they were prepared to do part week, so we were able to book a five day break, and according to the information they also had an indoor swimming pool for guests to use so we were not totally reliant on the weather. 

With all this planned we set off for the Scarborough trial in a holiday mood, but we were soon brought down to earth when, after a good nosework day where we both qualified, Venus the pup jumped up to greet someone on the lead and fell backwards injuring her back, and needing a visit to the vet.  Armed with some anti inflammatory medication and with Venus looking considerably better we were still in a buoyant mood when we returned toScarboroughfor the control on Sunday, and after both Lunar and Spica qualified TDEX we were ready for our holiday.  With a six hour journey in front of us we decided to stop half way at a well tried Farm B and B close to Tatton Park that we use when trialing in the area, and we had a lovely walk with the dogs and a good nights sleep.

The following morning we were dismayed to find Phoebe shaking her head and obviously distressed, so we had to find a local vet. As we suspected she had picked up a grass seed in her ear and this had to be removed under sedation, so we were delayed by half a day kicking our heels while we waited for her to be sorted. At around 2p.m. we were on our way with a much happier Phoebe and a feeling that nothing else could go wrong. Unfortunately it took much longer than we thought, with traffic hold ups and stopping to stock up on food for the cottage, so it was after six when we arrived.

Without going into too much detail all I can say is that the cottage and surroundings were a great disappointment, and we did not feel comfortable about either ourselves or our dogs spending even one night there let alone five. After making excuses and leaving we were out on the road again, with a van full of dogs that by this time were ready for a walk and a feed and we had absolutely nowhere to go.  This is when you find out who your friends are and after a distress call to a friend inHerefordshe offered us a bed for the night even though she already had family staying.

Although we were relegated to bunk beds we felt more than welcome, and we were very grateful, more especially as she is a dog friend who understands their needs and made a paddock available for them to exercise in safety (which is more than they could have done at the cottage!) We were able to repay her in a small way with the two bags of groceries that we had bought in preparation for the cottage, but even though we were ok for one night it still left us with the dilemma about what to do next.

We toyed with the idea of giving up and coming home the following morning, especially as it was pouring with rain, but then Paul made the mad suggestion that we drove up toScotlandwhere we knew we could get dog friendly accommodation, and have the whole of Selkirk andLauderCommonsto walk the dogs. It took around seven hours to get there, but it was well worth the drive, and this proved to be the very best idea, as we arrived in glorious sunny weather and over the next couple of days both us and the dogs had the time of our lives walking and working in the wonderful surroundings of Lauder Common, which was very good practice as we are up there for a trial in a couple of weeks. 

We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves and finally thought that the holiday was going to turn out to be one of our best when we got the phone call. My daughter’s dog had gone into labour early and was having all sorts of problems, and although she didn’t say so, it was obvious that she wanted us to come home, and so after just a day and a half in our new surroundings we packed up and headed home.

It was probably a silly idea to try to have a holiday with six dogs, and certainly we realize now that it would be a good idea to find out more about a holiday cottage before booking it, but we did eventually find the perfect situation for all of us, even though it did not last, but next year I will not be looking any further for a holiday with the dogs, it seems that Scotland has it all.

(posted: Wednesday, December 5, 2012)

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