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What's up everybody? Welcome back to our channel.
I am Natalie,
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Abigail, bear, and Peluche
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He's like I don't talk.
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So this video is all about why we love living
in our van with our dogs. We've had a lot
of people ask us so many questions about what
it's like and we thought we would do a q&a
together and give you a little bit more information
about traveling with dogs. stick around the
dogs are going to get prepared, we'll answer
some questions.
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Starting off with the number one question
that we get asked, What do we do when we need
to go somewhere and the dogs aren't allowed
and we have to leave them behind in the van.
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We have two ceiling fans That our climate
controlled so we set both of those. one we
have going in and one going out so the air
is circulating well. We also have a fan that
is running right behind us in our bedroom.
So we keep that on as well as they like to
be on the bed and that keeps it super cool
in here. We also make sure that we exercise
them before we go anywhere. So if we're going
to a brewery or having a relaxing time in
the city. Often we will take them with us
so they can be on the patio, but if not, then
they get a walk before dinner and then they
are hanging out the van and they know that
that's downtime because we keep a pretty steady
routine with them. Mm hmm. Number two, Abi
Is it hard to be stealth with dogs living
in a van?
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We decided against going the stealth route.
I mean, take a look at our van. It is quirky
full of rainbows and a peace sign. I mean,
it's hard for us to be self with or without
dogs. Okay, let's be real. Yeah. With that
said as far as barking is concerned. As long
as the curtains are up and they can't see
outside. They're not going to bark. Next question.
Was it hard for your dogs to adjust to van
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life It did take a little bit for them to
acclimate. Obviously they didn't quite understand
going from the house we were living in into
this moving vehicle but it only took about
four weeks for them to realize that this was
their home but we brought certain things of
theirs that would help with the smells to
associate you know with what they had at the
house so that definitely helped them acclimate.
But I will say when we first started and we
were driving and taking long routes, they
would definitely not be in the back of the
house. They would be in the cab both on the
floor. It was the cutest thing ever. They
would both just pile on top of each other
and we used to like take photos because it
would always be a different like dog puddle
but slowly we would see them kind of creep
back and see that bear would get on the couch
and and now they love it Lucci absolutely
loves being on the bed. He loves seeing all
the scenery as I
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go out the window and drive
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his next question. Is it hard for them living
in such a small space?
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Absolutely not. No, not even a
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little bit. both of them Were crate trained
from a young age. And yeah, even when they
had a whole house to take a nap in, they would
go in their crates to take naps. Bear He loved
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his crate. Honestly, he felt safe there. So
I think that this reminds them of just a larger
dog crate. And honestly, they just want to
be next to us. I mean, literally this Yeah,
constant everywhere we are just wants to be
like touching you at all time. Absolutely.
wherever we're at in the van. They want to
be right there so they could care less about
space.
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Next question. What is it like traveling with
a senior dog
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bear is he blows my mind? He just turned 13.
He acts like a two year old. Well, most of
the time right now he's acting his age. But
whenever he knows we're going somewhere or
getting ready to do a hike or coming up to
a new camp. He has so much drive and excitement
constantly. I mean, we used to take him on
some of the longest hikes and we'd get back
and he'd still be ready to go, go go. So he's
not your typical senior dog. He's got a little
bit of a limp. Now he started to get a little
bit of arthritis. We definitely limited how
much We allow him to hike as far as length
goes, we notice that he will get a little
bit tired and he does enjoy his nap time.
We also give him CBD supplements, it really
helps out his joints. And I also make sure
that after hikes that I give him a massage
and stretch out his limbs, which he absolutely
loves it. So that helps him a lot. I think
if you are a little bit worried about your
senior dogs, being able to handle van life,
just make sure you know what they're capable
of. And the other thing is make sure that
you design your build to accommodate them,
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give them a cozy dog, then make sure they're
comfortable. I mean, it's the little things
like he, he prefers to be on this bed because
it's six inches of memory foam, and we let
him on the bed because he's a senior and
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you can do what he wants. He can do what he
wants to this. But also if you have a dog
that doesn't need to be climbing, make sure
you build have a build with a bed download
for them or that you install some kind of
step that they can get up on. But yeah, other
than that, he is he's got all the energy in
the world. So I'm very, very grateful for
That next question how do we find a vet if
needed on the road? You got to do your research.
It sure you have their papers on them. Because
most vets when you're new, you're coming into
event you've never had them there. Make sure
you're traveling with your pets information.
Simple as that.
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Yeah, we have a folder, a file that has all
of our important paperwork and we have a specific
little folder for our dogs that has their
vaccinations, their records all of that. So
it's on hand should we need it. The other
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tip is that we got a year supply in advance
of their tick and flea medication before we
left just so that we knew we weren't trying
to refill as often on the road. So I would
also recommend that
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next question. Do the dogs affect our travel
route in any way?
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Yes, they do. Not necessarily in a bad way
we chase temperate weather. So we are up north
in the summer and south in the winter. It
just helps with the the fact that we don't
have an actual AC the fans both on the roof
and in the bed. We absolutely they're awesome.
We appreciate them very much But we don't
want to risk being an area where it's you
know, 7580 or above and then leaving them
in the van. So make sure you chase good weather.
It also affects our hiking, there are several
hikes that we wanted to do that would take
a whole day eight to nine hours. And so some
of the hikes we have to decide against and
that's just kind of what you deal with when
you decide to bring your babies along. It
is a sacrifice that we absolutely are willing
to take because we can't imagine van life
without them.
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Yeah, there's so much that you can do with
them. So I feel like the pros
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definitely outweigh the cons as far as traveling
dogs goes for sure. Absolutely.
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I'm gonna go back a few years. Okay, so we
actually were were considering backpacking
through Central Asia, Southeast Asia, right.
But having dogs affected that decision, we
actually ended up deciding to do van life
and travel via camper van because we wanted
to be able to explore with our dogs to travel
with our dogs. So I think they've definitely
affected our travel plans. But honestly in
a really good way because this is awesome.
What we're doing
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They still been in three countries and they
they're getting to see so much. Next question,
what do our dogs eat? And do we have trouble
keeping that food consistent, traveling around
so much
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they eat a grain free dry kibble. For the
most part, we're able to find the same brand
across the country. So that hasn't been too
hard. If we know we're going to be somewhere
where we can't get the food that we readily
get. Then we'll do a little search and stock
up. Yeah, especially going into Mexico. We
had to stock up quite a bit before moving
into the van. I actually was making the dog
food myself it was in a crock pot. That was
awesome. I loves being able to make food for
them. So we're looking into possibly doing
that again in the future. We do supplement
by giving them carrots for treats. Occasionally
we'll give them brown rice or Oh, try to make
sure their diets versatile. Yeah,
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they eat plenty of vegetables and they have
other things that we add to the dry kibble.
Next question.
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What is the dynamic between your dogs
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Do they get along? That's a great question.
All of them are great questions. Well, before
I even say anything, I think you can see their
personalities coming out.
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They're like brothers really guys like they
have their little moments of like sibling
rivalry. But they love each other. They don't.
They don't always cuddle together that's a
little rare but they're even do this but they're
really comfortable together. They have very
unique personalities. Like for example, bear
loves to chew on sticks, like he loves to
chase and but Louis j could care less about
a stick but if you throw a ball for him, he
will just run and play fetch over and over
and over again. And he also loves squeaky
toys. I mean, go figure. Oh my god, like we
said Bear Bear will willingly go into the
water. So bears new favorite thing is when
we're hiking or and he sees like a creek or
a lake or some bit of water water. Don loves
to Wade in the water and drink while he's
walking around in it. It's like the cutest,
the cutest thing. They're both really good
colors as you can see. Lucci does get a little
hot because he's got a really thick coat so
he does need his own space bear also loves
playing
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with other dogs and so when we are around
when we're not around other people or dogs
and we're like kind of out the middle nowhere
he's only got Lucci and Lucia is not having
it, at least not and he will try to start
initiating play. It's the cutest thing and
then so we try to amp them up and it'll last
for maybe a minute or two and he just barks
at us. I didn't know what their dynamic would
be like when I met Abby, but it's just I've
watched it grow and it's the cutest thing
ever. It's really special. Another question,
would you recommend living and traveling in
a van with a dog? Absolutely. Yes. That's
a definite yes. 100% they
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bring so much joy into your overall life.
I mean, look at this. How can you not look
at this and smile. It's just it's the best
and they provide companionship, especially
if you're a solo traveler. I think you need
a dog. You need a dog, get a dog when you're
living in a small space, I mean, you could
just get a little complacent and be like,
I'll just stay here and read my book or whatever.
With a dog, you got to get outside. You got
to get them a walk. So it pushes you to also
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get outside. That's amazing for me, because
I'm definitely the one that can be a little
more complacent in certain areas. I have,
he has to have her exercise, which I love,
but it's like I'm more the person that has
to get like, pushed and pushed into it. And
once I do, it's, it's
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great. And along with that, it keeps you in
somewhat of a routine.
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Yes, it's hard,
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guys. It's hard to have a routine and van
life. You're always changing locations, you're
moving around like you're not sleeping in
the same place every night. But no matter
what, every morning, you've got to take your
dogs out for a walk. You've got to feed them
like dogs. Dogs need the routine and that
helps you as well have a little bit of a routine
so keeps us all sane
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for sure.
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Dogs are great conversation starters, you
know People come up to us and ask us about
our dogs about Can I pet your dog? You know
what kind of dog is that? Do you want to meet
people? Get yourself a dog? Yes, yes. And
lastly, what tips would we give to anybody
considering van life with a dog,
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prepare to properly exercise your dog so if
you are getting into van life and you don't
plan to be doing hikes or you're not very
active and or maybe you're doing it to be
able to work remotely or maybe you know you're
a little bit more low key, make sure you consider
that before getting a dog or having a dog
in your vehicle. Again exercise is so important
for them exercise is absolutely key that goes
along with routine. A couple of little practical
things we have a spill free water bowl so
This thing is awesome it we've had it knocked
over and no waterfalls out. That is great
when you're traveling going on bumpy roads
or if you have a clumsy dog or a clumsy dog
constantly. Yes, so we would highly recommend
a bowl that does not spill. We also keep their
food in an airtight screw top container. We
can link both of these in the description
if you're interested. They are great not only
for again, dogs that try to get into the food
when you're not in the van, or clumsy dogs.
And also, I'm can't stress enough I don't
care who you are how well your rig is built,
where you're at mice will eventually be an
issue in your van. You may not know it. Luckily
Luci is like a cat so we know it. But that
will help keep your food from getting getting
eaten as well having that screw top in that
airtight container. One other tip, it's super
hot outside and we're going to be somewhere
for a short period of time that we leave a
sign in a window that somebody can see if
they're concerned saying that we have a climate
controlled space for our animals. It's just
it's just another precaution to take so that
you don't have someone calling the cops on
you're breaking your window if the dogs were
to bark and somebody heard that you know or
freak out or break your window exactly as
most people will do if they saw a dog in the
vehicle. We make sure we have a sign up that
lets people know that is climate controlled
and that they are absolutely fine. Here. So
just a simple tip that you could use if you
think that that would be an issue or you're
in an area where it's a little bit hotter.
Yeah, I think the only other thing that I
would add about dogs and Yvan, we've had several
people kind of shun the fact that you're traveling
with dogs in such a small space, which we
think is absolutely ridiculous. You know,
the thing to point out is most people working
a nine to five or even longer jobs, they don't
have the opportunity to be walking their dogs
as much as we do necessarily. Or if you're
in a yard, you're most likely just letting
your dog out in the yard, they're not really
getting to go and roam. So people that think
that this is a negative for dogs is blows
my mind they are living the best life that
they could ever live. They are adventure dogs,
we take them pretty much everywhere. And when
we're not with them, it's only for a very,
very short period of time, almost 24 seven,
I get to be with my animal and that's all
that he's ever wanted. They've been to three
countries, they've had all the smells, they've
played with all the dogs and all the places
so all the water all the
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water, creeks and lakes
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and so they are living The life So don't ever
feel like dogs that are living in the van
life or in any kind of rig or not having a
proper life that is absolutely not true. It
has been the most amazing blessing for both
of them Yeah, I think that's it for all the
questions hopefully this has helped everybody
that is either considering van life with dogs
or that are currently in a van with dogs May
we taught you something or the people that
are just super curious about what it's like
guys love van life, their children, I wish
they could have told you their side.
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If you want to hear their side of the story
of what a day in the life is like for a dog
living in a van, check out their YouTube video.
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Yes, we will link it up top right there in
the corner. You're gonna want to watch this.
That's their side, not ours. Okay, they wrote
down what they wanted us to say for them.
Okay, we've been talking about going on a
walk
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so much.
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I think it's time Yeah. So the other cool
thing is we are currently at a national park
to yoga National Park in Ohio. And it is as
far as we know, we've been to over We're about
30 National Parks at this point. It is the
only one that we know of where the dogs can
come on every single trail they have 100 plus
trails and the dogs can come every single
trail. That's amazing. So we're at your home
right now we're about to go do another trail
hike and let's show you what it's like. Yeah.
Alright guys, take care if you like this video,
make sure you like and subscribe to keep up
with what we're doing. Don't forget Wednesdays
I do food videos now plant based food videos.
So if you're interested in learning about
recipes and things that we are eating in the
van, make sure you check those out. We'll
catch you next time. Bye
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We started with numbers we're not doing numbers
to say next question. We started with numbers.
Would you recommend living and traveling and
now with God? Hey, boy.
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What do you mean? What are you doing?
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He's like, Get away from me. I've been in
between you forever. You said that. I have
separation anxiety. That's a lie
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trying to prove you wrong right now.
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See, I lied. I just, I have to go near him
because he's like, please give me my space.
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Hey, oh, I get to be here. I get to be in
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a national park. It's shout
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
