Cali Dogs … Essential Purchase

[Aidy P]

We love being by the coast but worry about Dexter (our cockapoo) getting washed out to sea. I’ve bought a couple of great items that we’ve just tested on our trip up to the North West of Scotland in our van. Highly recommend both of them if you have little dogs …


This dog life jacket that we combined with this high visibility long lead have been superb. He’s our first small dog as we’ve always had labs (that were great swimmers). He slipped off some rocks into the sea at Scourie and it took seconds to haul him back in. Very pleased… though he was less pleased

There are less high visibility dog life jacket options, but we liked being able to see him.

 

[CamperFam]

We love being by the coast but worry about Dexter (our cockapoo) getting washed out to sea. I’ve bought a couple of great items that we’ve just tested on our trip up to the North West of Scotland in our van. Highly recommend both of them if you have little dogs …

View attachment 121156
This dog life jacket that we combined with this high visibility long lead have been superb. He’s our first small dog as we’ve always had labs (that were great swimmers). He slipped off some rocks into the sea at Scourie and it took seconds to haul him back in. Very pleased… though he was less pleased

There are less high visibility dog life jacket options, but we liked being able to see him.

Also doubles as a carry-on strap for overhead storage.

Jokes aside, we've got ourselves one of these: https://amzn.to/49gILRJ
We've got it attached to the drivers side seatbelt mount, which allows the dog to be secured for travel and for when we're out with the door open but want the dog tethered still.

For when on sites and the dog can have a bit of extra mobility, we've grabbed one of these: https://amzn.to/4aEggyB

 

[RosscoPCole74]

A largish carabiner. We attach it to the lead, then it is easily and securely hooked to different places so our dog cannot wander off too far. I also find it much more comfortable to hold when talking him for a walk.

 

[wildslammer22]

I repurposed a 10m length of climbing rope (sadly i'm way too old and fat to climb any longer) with a carabiner either end. One end clips to my dogs harness and the other can clip either on the seat belt retainer behind the drivers seat or on the tow ball eye. Great to keep her in check when setting up. I often take it on long walks that might involve scrambling or river crossings so it does multi duties.

 

[Aidy P]

A slightly oversized doggy dry robe (or his loungewear as our daughter calls it) has been a godsend on our trip to the highlands. I wish we’d bought two of these from Amazon https://amzn.to/3PIzSt6 before we left. It would be good to rotate & air / dry them when it’s very wet.

 

[Aidy P]

Another wet dog essential is one of these ‘wet towels’. They have several advantages in that they are super absorbent compared to a normal towel, they can be used to wipe muddy paws as they are always slightly damp and they are stored in an air tight container so there is less soggy smell. If they get too whiffy or dirty, it’s easy to give them a quick rinse out. They last for years if you look after them. Ours is over 10 years old. Just don’t let them dry out as it ruins them.

 

[BeeBee]

View attachment 121186A slightly oversized doggy dry robe (or his loungewear as our daughter calls it) has been a godsend on our trip to the highlands. I wish we’d bought two of these from Amazon https://amzn.to/3PIzSt6 before we left. It would be good to rotate & air / dry them when it’s very wet.

Dryrobe definitely a plus for any ‘Cali dog’

 

[Aidy P]

Dexter’s dog bed took up too much space in the van on our recent trip. I’ve been looking for a foldable bed and think this travel bed I’ve just ordered will be perfect. He gets more Cali purchases than I do nowadays!!

 

[BeeBee]

Dexter’s dog bed took up too much space in the van on our recent trip. I’ve been looking for a foldable bed and think this travel bed I’ve just ordered will be perfect. He gets more Cali purchases than I do nowadays!!

Looks good, we have a Ruffwear Mt Bachelor pad for Tavish which he happily lies on ( albeit at night it’s on top of the downstairs bed ,alongside my husband !)
They don’t tend to be as ‘padded’ as full size beds but more than adequate and very portable. Ours has a rubberised base so can be used outdoors too and machine washable.

 

[larrylamb]

Dexter’s dog bed took up too much space in the van on our recent trip. I’ve been looking for a foldable bed and think this travel bed I’ve just ordered will be perfect. He gets more Cali purchases than I do nowadays!!

We have a cockapoo, i'm surprised Dexter isn't insisting on the downstairs Cali bed.

 

[Aidy P]

We have a cockapoo, i'm surprised Dexter isn't insisting on the downstairs Cali bed.

Ha ha ha - yes he does deploy stealth tactics to creep up for a cuddle at night He does like his own bed too though.

 

[BeagleMum]

View attachment 121186A slightly oversized doggy dry robe (or his loungewear as our daughter calls it) has been a godsend on our trip to the highlands. I wish we’d bought two of these from Amazon https://amzn.to/3PIzSt6 before we left. It would be good to rotate & air / dry them when it’s very wet.

Absolutely agree, one of our early purchases when we got our first Cali were 2 ‘drying robes’ each for our 2 beagles (monogrammed naturally) one in lavender one in red, wouldn’t be without them.

 

[Aidy P]

Absolutely agree, one of our early purchases when we got our first Cali were 2 ‘drying robes’ each for our 2 beagles (monogrammed naturally) one in lavender one in red, wouldn’t be without them.

View attachment 121379

Oh I love the monogram

 

[Aidy P]

Do any other Cali Dogs wear coats? Stops him getting filthy but Dex keeps trashing his. Just bought him a new one. Hope this one lasts.

 

[BeagleMum]

View attachment 121931
Do any other Cali Dogs wear coats? Stops him getting filthy but Dex keeps trashing his. Just bought him a new one. Hope this one lasts.

Ours have a warm coat for when it’s very cold and a waterproof coat for heavy rain.

 

[CaliGem]

We love being by the coast but worry about Dexter (our cockapoo) getting washed out to sea. I’ve bought a couple of great items that we’ve just tested on our trip up to the North West of Scotland in our van. Highly recommend both of them if you have little dogs …

View attachment 121156
This dog life jacket that we combined with this high visibility long lead have been superb. He’s our first small dog as we’ve always had labs (that were great swimmers). He slipped off some rocks into the sea at Scourie and it took seconds to haul him back in. Very pleased… though he was less pleased

There are less high visibility dog life jacket options, but we liked being able to see him.

 

[CaliGem]

Definitely a required bit of kit

 

[Aidy P]

Dexter is prone for leaping off things at pace. It must be the nuts spaniel dna in him It made me think that whilst we’re pretty good at stocking the van for human first aid, we didn’t have one for him when we are out and about so I’ve ordered this compact dog first aid kit. I’ve also bought a tick remover tool to keep in the van too. I hate ticks

 

[BeeBee]

Yes always useful to carry a dog first aid kit.
We carry a couple of the Mikki injured paw boots for Tavish, not yet needed but useful on the hills. I know it sounds ‘OTT’ but we also have a ‘sling’ carrier ( used when dogs need assistance after any surgery ) it is light and folds up small and if he needed to be helped down a mountain it would be very useful with a 30 kg dog.
Neither was expensive on Amazon.

 

[BeeBee]

Wee amendment it’s not called sling carrier ( that’s for small dogs or pups) …. It’s a ‘Dog Lift Harness’

 

[CaliGem]

My partner has Lyme Disease so we hate ticks too

 

[Aidy P]

My partner has Lyme Disease so we hate ticks too

Sorry to hear that and I hope they are ok. It’s made me think we should buy some human tick spray like this for us to keep in the van. Dexter does take ‘anti tick’ pills, but he’s also like Velcro and collects everything when he runs through long grass. The spray says it’s natural so we could try it on him too. Might smell interesting though

 

[Aidy P]

Dexter has now got a towel bag for when he is mucky and wet in the van. He stands on the towel and then gets zipped in for a cuddle until he either dries or gets home for a proper wash!! We have three so that two go in the wash. Stops him jumping around the van whilst he’s a mucky pup!!!

 

[CaliGem]

Looks like the same one I got Mabel. It was great until the zip failed

 

[Aidy P]

Looks like the same one I got Mabel. It was great until the zip failed

another wriggler?! This one looks quite robust so I’m feeling pleased so far