Arden Moore: Hey, Nicholas. Big paws out to you and Susan.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: And Chipper says “Hi.” She hasn’t left the building.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Arden Moore:  She’s not into locks right now.  She’s looking pretty good.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s good.

Susan Sims: Oh, that’s good.  Thanks for joining us.  It’s always fun to get to talk to you.

Arden Moore: My pleasure.  So you’re trying to travel by what route do you want tips on?

Susan Sims: Yeah.  Well, I know you travel to promote your books.  So you have dogs, don’t have dogs, but most often you travel with your pack.  And there’s listeners out there that maybe haven’t taken to the road with their canine companions yet and they’ve been thinking about it.  And what type of tips would you give to these people?  What tips to get Fido ready for the road the first time?  What would you suggest?  Just kind of take us step-by-step, if you could.

Arden Moore: It’s very important to take little small paws steps if you will and not go out and say, “Hey, Chipper, we’re going to go cross-country tomorrow.”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: You really do need to get your dog used to being in a car, taking them on errands when the weather is right.  Because remember, if it’s really hot, you’re going to have a canine meltdown.  You don’t want that.  That said, it’s got to be a positive experience and, most importantly, it has to be a safe experience.  It is very fun, very tempting to have that dog ride in the passenger seat next to you like a little canine co-pilot, your wing dog, but ...

Nicholas Sveslosky: They look so cute up there.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: I know.  But if you stop suddenly, you have, depending on the size of your dog, a 60-pound projectile going through the windshield.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Right.

Arden Moore:  We love our dogs.  We’ve got to be serious for a moment.  There are many things out there to keep your dog secure in the car.  There are crates for the dogs that you can loop the seatbelt to, to tether that.  There are wonderful dog harnesses.  You can also, like at the back end of your car, if you have an SUV, you can put those little bar cages that go floor to ceiling and your dog has a little mini doggie condo in the back and is very safe.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore:  The other thing I also urge people is, dogs love to stick their head out the window.  You know, they sniff, they smell, they bark at the dog next to them at the stop light.  Everybody thinks that’s really cute.

Nicholas Sveslosky: They’re saying “Hello.”[laughs]

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: Yeah, they’re saying AHey, what’s happening?  Meet you at the hydrant down the highway there, baby.”  But the deal is this.  They’re going so fast that they can get something caught in their eye really quickly.  There is actually a product called “Doggles”, that are cool goggles for dogs. But that said, you’ve got to make sure that dog is tethered.  So you don’t have the dog doing a frontward flip out the door when you come to a stop.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  That’s a good point.  They might see something that they want to jump out and grab real quick.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  And the other important thing is, you really need to have your dog know the word Astay.” And await.” Because, let’s say, you’re getting ready to go somewhere and you open the door.  The last thing you want is that dog flying out.  So, when I take Chipper and my little dog Cleo, they ride in the back end.  And we have this whole ritual.  They sit, they wait, I put their leashes on and then they get to go out of the car.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.

Arden Moore: So things like that.  Make sure you have Ids, please, a microchip in your dog.  Cause if they lose their collar, you know, who’s going to guess who they belong to?

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  Exactly.

Arden Moore: Chipper would say, “I’m not telling you who I am.  You can give me ...”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: ... all the kibble in the world and I’m not going to disclose the name of my pet parent.

Susan Sims: [laughs] That’s funny.

Nicholas Sveslosky:    Yeah.  They’re not even sure if they can come up next to you or not.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  Yeah.

Susan Sims: Now those are good.  And I know, too, sometimes I’ve talked to people before where their dog would actually get nervous.  In fact, when one of our dogs, Zoe, when we got her home as a puppy, she was only six weeks old and she was far too young, but that’s another story.  Anyway, when I started taking her in the car, she would just cry the whole time and so, I thought, well this is not going to work because I need to travel with her.  So, I would just take her every day, even if it was just around the block.  I would just encourage people to get in the car, take their dog around the block if that’s all they could go and build up to it every day.  Take them some fun place. Yeah.

Arden Moore: The other thing is: sometimes just have the car in the garage and you make sure that your dog is hungry and you toss a treat in the back seat.  And you let the dog go into the open door, car, jump up, get the treat.  “Hey, good dog!  Way to go. You’re the one.”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: And do this game.  Let her back and forth in and out of the car.  The next day, you put her in the car, you toss a treat, shut the door, count a pregnant five seconds.  “Good, doggie!  Come on out.” Do it again. 

Susan Sims: Wow.

Arden Moore: It’s a game.  Then you start the car and you stay in the driveway.  Sing doggie songs.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: Cambe or whatever you want to do.

Susan Sims: Yeah.

Arden Moore:  But what you’re doing is you’re building up their confidence and this joy of the car ride.  And the other thing is, particularly with dogs, they know when they’re going to the vet.  So, I always encourage people, when you’re kind of around your neighborhood where your vet is, pop in once in a while just to get your dog weighed.  It doesn’t cost you anything and it builds up a little bit more of a willingness to go through that door if you’ve got four legs and a tail.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s really good advice.  I know a lot of people, if they graduate from the car, the next thing that they want to try and  tackle is to get out there and flying with their dogs as cargo.  But a lot can get pretty nervous.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  You have to worry about the climate.  There has been a lot of things, changes in the airline industry because we love our pets so much.  I mean, think about it.  There’s a lot of aging Baby Boomers out there that are looking at their pets as second children and they want to travel with them, and obviously “Fido Friendly”your magazine is doing quite well because that shows the demand people have to travel with their pets by air or by car.  That said, as you know, Nicholas, you and I have two big dogs that there is no way they’re going to fit under the ..

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: ... seat in front of us in the cabin. 

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.

Arden Moore: I mean, even though Chipper is a Houdini dog, I don’t think she can pull that trick out of her paw.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.

Arden Moore: So, that said.  We found a particular airline that we really liked because they actually let us go back to the cargo area to personally put our dogs and watch our dogs be put into their airline-approved crates.  They came to us when we were boarded to inform us, everything’s safe.  The two dogs got to be next to each other and so they were calm.  They climate-controlled the belly of the plane, if you will.

And the worst thing you can do for your dog, it seems illogical, but never give your dog a tranquilizer.  You now, veterinarians should tell you not to do that.  There’s danger in that.  If your dog is a real anxious dog, giving a tranquilizer or a sedative is a good way to acerbate that.  You could actually cause more anxiety and your dog could really, physically harm themselves. 

There are actually some more safer, non-toxic remedies, if you will.  One of them is called Rescue Remedy.  It’s a homeopathic deal.  It’s got 13 flower essences and you can put it in your dog’s ear, just like in the tip of the ear through the capillaries so it disseminates.  And it kind of like chills them out.  The other thing you can do is, actually dogs have what we all know is pheromones.  There is a product called DAP and it’s sort of emits this smell that we can’t smell but dogs do, that kind of gives them the feeling that, “Ah, I’ve been here before”or “That’s my favorite blanket.” It’s a calming thing.

Susan Sims: Oh.

Arden Moore: So there are things that you can do with your veterinarian, but you don’t want your dog so drugged out that they have no clue where they are or what they’re doing.

Susan Sims: Yeah.

Arden Moore: And crate training is really important.  I always tell people, when you have a dog go in a crate, it’s, “Crate is great!”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: Never put a dog in its crate for any kind of punishment.   That’s your dog’s den.  That’s your dog’s bedroom.  That’s the dog’s castle.  It’s got to be a place of security and something that gives them a lot of joy and all that.  And sometimes they just want to go in the crate because you’re driving them crazy. 

Susan Sims: [laughs] They can’t either.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Susan Sims: I think it’s important that you just know your dog.

Arden Moore: Yeah.

Susan Sims: I have two dogs, very different personalities.  And Arden, you’ve met both of them.  One little Zoe , you might as well call her Ziggy, she’s got more energy, she’s up for anything all the time.  And then we have Maddie [sp], she’s our 100-pound lap dog ...

[laughter]

...and she’s is so frightened of loud noises.  I would not hesitate to fly Zoe in cargo but I would not put Maddie through that.  So, I think it’s important that as much as ...

Arden Moore: Very good.

Susan Sims: ... you may want to take these dogs, we really need to know their personalities.

Arden Moore: You’re right on.  Paws on for that one.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: Just like you guys were talking about Chipper and having the chain around her crate, well that’s because a dog knows how to pick locks. 

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore:  It was an added protection and I made sure everybody knew that.  I also made sure she had a microchip and she had a collar with my name and phone number on it.  And that her name was plastered all over the place.  My cell phone was listed.  That’s another thing.  Why do you list your home phone number if you’re traveling?  Put your cell phone number.

Susan Sims: [laughs] I know.  These are just wonderful tips.  These are great ideas that it’s really more common sense.  I think we’re going to take a short break and we’re going to come back for some more great travel tips from Arden Moore and find out about her Houdini dog.  So, everybody sit and stay.  We will be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

[commercials]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.  This is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims and our guest today is Arden Moore.  Before the break, we were talking with Arden a little bit about our recent trip she and I took with our dogs to Colorado.  That’s where we met for the first timeBa little Colorado adventure.  And I will never forget, Arden, seeing that dog Chipper coming out in her crate, all chained up.  That was a sight. [laughs]

Arden Moore: Yeah, but you had to look at her face.  She was all, “Hee, hee, hee. Give me 10 more minutes, and I’m breaking out of here.  10 more minutes.  It’s all I need.” Ah, for all you listeners, Chipper is a golden retriever husky and for anybody that knows about huskies, they have a license, they’re escape artists.  Extraordinary.  So, I knew that about Chipper, and just like you knew about Zoe and Maddie, Susan, you have to know your dog.  So this was just extra precautions.  So, I remember coming up to you with your very ...

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore:  ... sweet lab, thinking, please I don’t have a Cujo.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore:  There was no color in you face, Nicholas.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Arden Moore:  And I wanted to make sure that you knew that Tasha wasn’t going to be Chipper’s appetizer for the trip.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  No.  They got along really well along the way.

Arden Moore: Great pals.  They really had a great time.  It was a great outing.  And when we were up on the Monorail at the ski lodge, Chipper was a little nervous.  And the worse thing you could do, folks, when a dog is very nervous is get engaged in that baby talk.  “It’s OK.  It’s OK.” Because the dog’s going to be like, “Oh, no.”... 

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Arden Moore: ... “This grown man is talking like a baby.”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: Athis is scary.  This is worse than I thought.” You need to be kind of cool, you know?  “Hey, look.  This is okay.  Hey, man.  Look over at that squirrel over there.  Did you catch it?” In other words, do you want a treat” Some dogs will do anything to eat a treat.  Some are too scared or something, but offer him the treat.  It’s just enough of a distraction, or having the dog do a fun trick.  “Give me a paw, no the other paw, no both paws.” Doing something that gets their mind off of the fact that they are going up in the air or something also is real beneficial.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s really good.  Just to highlight for everybody out there, one of the reasons why Chipper definitely needs that chain around the crateBremember, in that first night, we came back to the lodge in Breckenridge and your room was on the second floor and we saw it was open about two feet.  And you just kind of looked at me like “Oh, please, come up”. 

Arden Moore: I know.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Just so we could see that nobody had gone in there.

Arden Moore.  You’re right.  And I’m like, “Oh my gosh”.  And I walk in there and the door’s open and everything I own is in there.  The laptop is there.  There’s nothing.  There’s no paw prints on the bed because Chipper knows not to jump up on the bed.  And she’s just staring back at us with that goofy grin.  Well, the next day, we find out that Chipper, about 10 minutes after you and I left for our business dinner, had taken her paw and moved over the deadbolt and then took the door knob and pawed it and moved it toward herself and hung out ...

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: ... with all the skiers in the cul-de-sac of the hotel for two hours, romped in the snow and then came back conveniently about 10 minutes before we were due, like AWhat?  I didn’t do anything?” You know I wrote the “Dog Parties” book and Chipper’s known as America’s Party Animal and she just proved it that night.  Because the next day, whey we were checking out, some people came up and they kept saying, AHey, Chipper!  How’s it going, Chip?” And her name is on the collar.  And I’m like, AHow do you know my dog?” “Oh man, she was partying with us last night.  What a great dog.”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: So, yeah, after that I had to be very careful in hotels.  The dog, if she sees you open a door, she knows how to do it herself. 

Susan Sims: That’s amazing.

Nicholas Sveslosky: I think it was even one of those round doors, wasn’t it?

Arden Moore: Yes.  Yes.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Round door?

Arden Moore.  I take her to the groomer and I tell them, “You can’t put her in a cage.” “Oh, no.  I’ve had huskies all my life.  No dog is going to get out of my cage.” I come to pick her up, she’s in the middle of the room with all the dogs.  She broke out of everything.  So, she’s just “Don’t fence me in.”  She’s from that song.  I don’t know the name of it.

Susan Sims: Yeah.  I actually could sing that, but I don’t want to put everybody through that. [laughs]

Arden Moore: But that said, she doesn’t away. She runs to.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes.

Arden Moore:  And she wants to be with you.  It’s sort of a compliment I guess.

Nicholas Sveslosky: She did pretty well.   I mean, one of the highlights on our trip was when we went snowshoeing with all the dogs and we were testing them on that recall and I just remember we let them go out a little bit and, as soon as we knew that they would come back, we were free to enjoy the hike and let them roam around as a pack. 

Arden Moore: Exactly. You know dogs are pack animals.  They do want to hang around us.  And we have to have a little trust.  A good tip that I give people is, if you’re in a safe area and your dog does know to Acome,”to “sit,”to “stay”and to “wait,”those are the times when you practice that.  When Chipper and I go on our walks around our park and there’s not a lot of people there during the week, I say “sit,””wait,”I take off her leash, “wait”and then I say “Go!”and I let her go forward and she gets to run a little bit and then I say Await”and she waits.  I come up to her.  I give her a treat.  I pet her.  And then I say “keep going.” The reason I’m doing that is because she never knows when I’m going to come back and put the leash on to start the walking being tethered.   All she knows is “This is some kind of a fun game and Arden’s coming up to me” and so it’s kind of reinforcing you with the dog.  The other thing people need to do is never run after your dog, because the dog says “The chase is on.  Hoo hoo.  I’ve got four legs; you’ve got two.  You can’t catch me.”

Susan Sims:   [laughs]

Nicholas Svesloksky: [laughs]

Arden Moore: What you need to do is act really goofy and say, “Nana nana boo boo, you can’t catch me.” And run in the opposite direction.  That way the dog becomes the chaser instead of the chasee.

Susan Sims: I know I have to work on all that. That’s such good, like I said before, it’s really more common sense.  We all think there’s some magical thing when we see dogs that are very well behaved and my husband and I are perfect examples.  We say, “Why can’t our dogs be like that?”[laughs] They’re very famous for not coming when they’re called. I noticed one of the question in your “Dog Behavior Answer book” was how to get your dogs to come back when you called.  And you just kind of gave us a great example.  Now, for us, we live in the country, and when we do take them out, there’s all this great fox and deer smells and when the dogs, if they happen to get out, like we open the garage door, and we’re not ready to go, but they take this as their opportunity to go anyway, they pick up these scents and they don’t even look back.  I mean, they’ve got their nose down and they’re ready to track this forever.  And I’m just not sure at that point what to do.

Arden Moore: Right. 

Susan Sims: I mean, we do chase after them at that point because we don’t want them to get in the river.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  Well, what you need to do is bring the world’s best smelliest treats and kind of get their attention a little bitBif you could shake a treat bag or something like thatBand get their attention.  And you have to split up a little bit, so that you’re in one section and he’s in another so you can kind of pin them closer back towards the house.  Kind of like you’re acting like a herding dog, herding them back in.  You know, it’s really difficult because I know where you live and all that.  That I wish I could give you a betterBit might take a little longer to show what works.  We’ll work on Zoe and Maddie, I promise. 

Susan Sims: Okay. Okay. I know you’re coming out this way.  It’s not everyone who has their own personal dog trainer that comes out to see them.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Susan Sims:  I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. [lucky]

Arden Moore: You’ve got to make them think you are so much meatier rather than that rabbit they smelled.  So, you’ve got to come up with an ingenious, tempting, I-will-do-anything-for treat that you only, only use in these extreme circumstances.

Susan Sims: OK. 

Arden Moore: And it’s got to be smelly, and meaty and delicious and you only get this when I really need to get your attention.

Susan Sims: OK.  That’s a great idea.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s really a good point.  There’s a lot of tips and advice in your book, the  “Dog Behavior Answer Book” that actually have helped me quite a bit.

Arden Moore: Oh, good.

Nicholas Sveslosky: And the thing I love about this book the most, Arden, is the size and how quick the information can be absorbed.  There are quick little tips and, you know, you can take it, which I love to do, on the road traveling, and then pull it out and read a quick tip and go like AOK.  Let’s see if Tasha will learn this one.”[laughs]

Arden Moore: Oh, great.  Well, share this with your friends. Both the “Dog Behavior Answer Book” and the [meowrrrr] “Cat Behavior Answer Book”...

Susan Sims: [laughs] You did that so well. [laughs]

Arden Moore: ... are being embraced by a lot of groups, like shelters and professional pet sitters. I just gave a teleconference to the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and they are going to carry my books, so I think we are giving good information to people to understand cat and dog behavior.  And sometimes it’s not a doggie mystery.  Sometime, it’s just not us figuring them out.  But the size of the book--Story Publishing, I’ve got to give them kudosBthey made this book really good.  It’s like a field-guide size and they have the picture of the dog, the close-up of a dog’s fur, and my name is dangling off the dog’s collar like an ID tag.  So I thought that was pretty cool.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.

Susan Sims: Yeah, that was very cute.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  It’s very appealing and it’s very helpful.  And there’s a lot of things in here.  And I think Tasha is in here, too, right?

Arden Moore: She is.  She is.  I think she is, what, the launching lab?

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: She’s the one with the endless energy. [laughs]

Arden Moore: Oh, endless energy.  That’s right.  Folks, we were in Colorado and Nicholas was so excited because we were at a frozen dog park and he has a dog that is a tennis ball addict.  And what was great was, he’s like “Oh, great.  If there’s snow on the ground, there’s no tennis balls.” He said that.  No few minutes later, all of the sudden you see this big black snout going [CLUNK]  into the snow.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Arden Moore: Out comes Tasha with a frozen tennis ball with gleam in her eyes. [xx]

Nicholas Sveslosky: She will find a tennis ball on a roof. [laughs]

Susan Sims: Oh my gosh.  She is something, boy.  She is something.  Yeah.  Beyond your helpful books, you also have a cook book.

Arden Moore: Yes.  I have AReal Food for Dogs” which actually has 50 recipes all approved by a top veterinarian nutritionist and also 2/3rds of these 50 recipes are quite tasty for people, too.  Because I wanted a cook book that was both a time and a money saver in the kitchen.  So, AMarvelous Mutt Meatballs” have been enjoyed by two, three and four-leggers.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s awesome.  I know Tasha and I enjoy the canine casserole. [laughs]

Arden Moore: Oh, yeah.  That’s a good one.  I like that one, too.  It’s funny.  When I pull out my book, my dogs seem to know and they come to the kitchen, and it’s like AI know we’re not supposed to beg, but gosh, you know, this is a really good book.” It’s still selling quite well.  It is the number one dog cookbook and it’s consistently in the top ten of all dog books on Amazon right now.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s great.

Susan Sims: That’s amazing.  You wrote that about six years ago, so it now seems like an overnight sensation, once again six years later.

Arden Moore: When you team up with very good people, like a top veterinarian nutritionist like Dr. Rebecca Romerlard .  I really like to have fun and give good advice, but I take very seriously what our dogs eat, because if you can put good food in their food bowls, you’re going to have less vet bills and you’re going to have a dog hopefully that will live a longer and healthier life with you.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s perfect.  That’s good.

Susan Sims: Well, that’s what I think we all aim for.  We all know pets are part of the family.  And, Arden, it was so much fun to have you with us today.

Arden Moore: Oh, it was my pleasure.

Susan Sims: I’m sure you’ll come back.  You’re going to go on a houseboat adventure and we’re going to go talk to you about that when you get back.

Arden Moore: All right.  That’s a deal.  Thank you both for having me on your great show.

Susan Sims: Hey, you’re welcome, Arden.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [ww]

Susan Sims: Hey, for  those wanting to find out more about dog behavior and dog travel, you can go to Arden’s website which is ardenmoore.com and if anyone has questions, can they email you directly? 

Arden Moore: Yes.

Susan Sims: What’s your email for people that need that question answered right away.

Arden Moore: Well, hopefully I’ll do my best, because I travel a lot.  But it’s arden@ardenmoore.com.

Susan Sims: Cool.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Awesome.

Susan Sims: Hey, safe travels.  We’ll talk to you again soon.

Arden Moore: All right.

Susan Sims: Hey, we’re going to take a quick break and come back soon with our Fido Friendly travel tip and favorite dog destination.  So sit and stay.  We will be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

[commercials]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.  This is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims and we just finished talking with Arden Moore who is an author and animal behaviorist.  You know, Arden and I met on that Colorado trip last year with our two dogs and I was lucky enough to experience Breckenridge and Telluride with my favorite black lab Tasha.

Susan Sims: Yeah.  I don’t know. If I could just pick one place right now that is really doggie heaven, doggie Nirvana, I think it would be Telluride, Colorado. 

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  I agree with you completely.  They have it set up for you to basically play with your dog everywhere.  [laughs]

Susan Sims: You know, you and I are lucky.  We get to travel a lot with our dogs and we’ve been in situations where you go to hotels and they say, “OK, we allow dogs” and basically that’s it.  They’ll allow your dog.  But Telluride, every place that we visited, they either had a pet amenity or they put a chalk board up that had your pet’s name on it so when you arrived, it was like “Welcome, Tasha.” They have little dog posts, I guess they’re called hitching posts around the town and when people are out with their dogs, they’ll just tie them up and you know, go into the post office and practically all down the street, you’ll see dogs outside of restaurants or some place they’re not allowed inside.  And they’re all at these hitching posts.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  I know.  It’s very cute to see these dogs lined up.  It makes you feel that what you’re doing is not looked upon as an inconvenience to other people.  It’s almost like everybody else is joining in on the fun and being able to play with their dogs you know in the snow.

Susan Sims: Yeah.  And that’s one of the things that we had a good time with.  We went there the first two weeks in December and it was so much fun.  We put the dogs in these canine topcoats because they weren’t used to being in the snow.  And these are kind of like body gloves, like surfers wear.  You know what I’m talking about?

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Yeah.  It’s kind of like, it looks like a little wet suit. [laughs]

Susan Sims: Exactly.  Wet suits.  So, here are these two big labs wearing their red wet suits and we were the only dogs in town that had wet suits on. [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Susan Sims: I guess they could tell that we were out-of-towners, it was pretty funny.

Nicholas Sveslosky: How did they move in them?

Susan Sims: Really well. They fit really nice like a glove.  They’re really nice.  It was fun because not only, I don’t know how warm it kept them, but when they got in the snow and gunk, when we put them back to the car, they kind of kept all the snow and stuff off their fur.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Awesome.

Susan Sims:  So it kind of was nice.  Yeah.  It worked out well.  And when we were able to let them off leash and let them run around in the snow, it was hysterical.  So, you would never worry about losing them because they’re all both in red.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Yeah.  They probably stuck out like Christmas tree lights. [laughs]

Susan Sims: Yeah, they did.  We only had those on them for two days.  We were there for a week.  So we decided we’d take them off.  Because it was looking kind of silly.  But for the first couple of days, it was really beneficial.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  I know one of the hotels that we stayed at, Tasha and I stayed at, was the Peak’s Resort which is on Telluride’s kind of separated into two little aspects.  There’s the main Telluride downtown village and then there’s a smaller village that has the Peak’s Resort, has a few condos.  And you can take the gondola back and forth between these two areas. And I think, Susan, you rode in this as well.  But they have designated gondola cars that have that doggie sticker on it so that you know that you’re allowed to go on that one with your dog.  And both you and your dog can just hop into that gondola and take a ride up to town, you know, ...

Susan Sims: [laughs] Yes.

Nicholas Sveslosky: ... or back to your hotel.

Susan Sims: It’s such a great transit system that they have.  It’s free.  And you wait for the designated gondola that has the dog or cat sticker on there and you jump in.  And it’s like a 12-minute ride.  I mean it goes for a while and it’s just breathtakingly beautiful.  Of course, my two dogs, I had one that was staring out the window having a great time and the other one was hiding under the seat. [laughs]   So, we had to use our car more on this trip for Maddie who’s the big 100-pounder.  But, it was just too scary for her.  If your pet can go into a situation like that and really enjoy it, it was a fun way to spend a week, going back and forth for sure.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, well, this town did have everything and you know, when we scout out hotels for the magazine, one of the things that we first look for is of course the hotel and their policy towards dogs.  Then, after that, we go outside the area, and make sure that the town has everything easily accessible so that you can feel like you can go anywhere with your dog and you’re not handicapped in bringing your dog anywhere.  I remember at the Peak’s Resort, one of the things that I love to do, especially if it’s snowing outside is go out the mountain, and go snowboarding.  And I had it arranged so that when I went out snowboarding, I left Tasha in her crate in her room and about an hour after I left, one of the gentlemen from the hotel staff, the next door doggie spa, its actually part of the Hotel; it’s called the Golden Door Spa, came in and took Tasha out for about a two-hour hike.

Susan Sims: Oh, my gosh.

Nicholas Sveslosky: And then brought her back to the doggie spa portion of the Golden Door Spa, gave her a tea touch massage, groomed her and put her back into my room.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: So, when I came back at the end of the day, I had one tired pup.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: It was awesome. [laughs]

Susan Sims:  Geez.  She really got the treatment. That’s just one of the things I think, I know at the Peak’s Resort, they really go out of their way.  And you were on a designated floor, I think, where you had a nice private balcony or something, just where the dogs could go out from the room, I think?

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  There was a communal doggie pottie area [laughs] they call it.

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: It was both genders allowed.  And ...

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: ... it was a center grass area surrounding by a brick courtyard.  And it was just private for about eight rooms.  So it was set up for people to bring their dogs.  They can open up the sliding door, let them go to the bathroom, bring them back in and go to bed. [laughs]

Susan Sims: Yeah.  That’s perfect. I know now.  The Peak’s Resort is up on the hill which is called Mountain Village and the town proper Telluride is actually downtown.  And one of the properties that we stayed at was called Camel’s Garden and what I liked about this place was that the pet-designated room was really spacious.  It had a fireplace and then it had a back door.  And the back door led you right out into the snow.  There was a little river that runs behind the property and a trail.  So, I mean, how convenient is that?

You know, it’s the middle of the night.  Fido needs to go to the bathroom. You don’t have to get everything on, you just put on your robe and slippers and go out the door.  This whole town, I just can’t say enough about it.   It just seems like a week stay there and we really felt like one of the locals.  When we were there, my husband and I, you know, had so much fun and they had what they call Noel Night.  They do it every year.  All the stores are open.  They have wine and cider, you know, hot cider.  And it’s very festive and a lot of the stores will have entertainment, either someone playing a guitar or something.  It was just really wonderful.  I think if I came back in my other life as a dog, I’d be a dog in Telluride.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Wearing a wet suit.

Susan Sims: [laughs] Yeah.  Wearing a wet suit.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs]

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s perfect. 

Susan Sims: Anyway.  I think that would be my number one pick for people who want to take a winter trip with their dog this year is head out to Telluride and there’s probably 6 to 10 places that are more than welcoming for you and your dog.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah.  Now that’s perfect.  This brings us to our Fido Friendly travel trip as we touched upon earlier with Arden Moore on the line.  We were talking about, when you take your dog on an active vacation, remember to work up to the task.  So, for example, if your dog doesn’t get much exercise, and you’re wanting to go to Telluride and take a hike, you want to start out with taking longer walks and shorter hikes and then build up your dog’s endurance, so that they’ll be able to enjoy the outdoor activity as much as you do.  And they don’t get so tired right away.

Susan Sims: Yeah.  And there’s the higher elevation too.  I know, I remember you told me that you got altitude sickness.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, that was horrible. 

Susan Sims: [laughs] It’s not just for your dog.  You need to remember that for yourself.

Nicholas Sveslosky:   Yeah.  Well, I was trying to save the embarrassment, but ...

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: ... I guess you should start reading some literature when you’re going to a different altitude, or a different territory or environment.  But for everybody that doesn’t know, and I learned this first hand [laughs], unfortunately.

Susan Sims: The hard way. [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: The very hard way.  I was based out of southern California and then we took the trip from there to Colorado which is a much higher elevation than when you are up in Denver and you’re in Breckenridge than it is when you are in California.  I mean, you’re talking about 10,000 feet higher.   So, if you’re not used to elevation extreme and if you’re just one of those special people like I am ...

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: ... where you are sensitive to this, what happens is that you start to get really sick and it just takes away all your energy and it makes you feel like you’re going to pass out.

Susan Sims: That’s no fun.

Nicholas Sveslosky:   And I remember, it was horrible.  I think we had been there for about four hours, we did the snowshoeing adventure and then I was sitting at a business dinner later that night and I was just looking at everybody and right when the salads were being served, I said to everybody, “I’m sorry.  I’ve got to go to my room.”

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: I went into my room and I laid down and I could not get up until the next morning and I finally felt a little bit better.  And then, it was, of course, after talking to people, they said, “Oh, you had altitude sickness, huh?”[laughs]

Susan Sims: [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Like welcome to the ... So, just make sure you drink lots of water if you ever go into higher up altitudes. [laughs]