For all you dog owners...

[seabee]

Hey all!

I haven't been on in a while, hope this finds everyone well! So, the Pecoy family has added a new member- Jett. He is a golden retriever/choc. lab mix. AWESOME dog. Anyway, I'm looking for any info anyone can give me on the "doggie" experience at the fort. Jett may come with us in Oct. and meet fellow fiend dogs. If anyone has any info on the kennel, or what they do with their dogs while at the World, etc Jett would greatly appreciate it! ;) THANKS!!

[vick]

We take Buddy with us to the Fort. In fact, we got our first camper so we could bring him with us. We have left him in the kennels a few times at the Fort. We mostly leave him in the 5er when we're out or at the parks. We usually go in the summer and I don't think I'd trust leaving him in the 5er if we went to the parks in the heat of the day. Last August, we visited the parks early or later in the day and just left him in the 5er. He likes that better anyway. He loved the dog park!! He also loved walking through the loop looking for kids. He has always liked kids. I don't think you'd regret bringing him with you, as long as you have room for him in your vehicle.

[BRDof3]

Pics, we want pics!

[OK GRUMPY]

yes yes we want pictures!;) I enjoy taking Maggie camping to the
Fort or anywhere else. she is part of the family and I would worry myself crazy! I don't do the parks alot but when I do I leave her at the kennel. I liked them alot more when Disney owned them and last time I took her to the kennel I really don't think they had the pricing figured out, becuase one time we had to take her to the Epcot kennel and there pricing was different then FW. The staff at all the kennels have been friendly, I thought the kennel were ok. The last time we went we did not take them to the kennel since we did not do any of the parks. I really enjoyed the dog park since this is the only time she gets to run and be without a leash.

[Just Beachy]

Congrats on the new puppy!!! I can't wait to meet all of you, including Jett, in October!!!

[ftwildernessguy]

We have always used the Kennels for day care for Mickey at the Fort. He likes it there. I, too, liked the kennels better when Disney operated them. I am not sure how profitable it has been for Best Friends and think their plans for a luxury kennel on property have been shelved indefinitely, so maybe Disney will take back control like they did with the Disney stores. Anyway, the kennels are clean, the staff is friendly and there is peace of mind knowing he is not unattended if the electric goes off and the AC in the camper quits in the heat of the day.

[disney92]

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww317/brindle92/congratulations-12.gif

congrats on the puppy!!!!

[3gr8kids]

Nicole - sorry, no advice for you on bringing your pet to the fort, but just wanted to say

CONGRATULATIONS on your new family member!!! :)

[seabee]

Here's one pic of him. Photobucket is annoying me so that's all I'm uploading. :surfweb: He's such a good puppy. He's catching onto the "potty training" thing pretty well. Once we get over that leap it will be great!

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m275/jimpecoy/Jett.jpg

[des1954]

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m275/jimpecoy/Jett.jpg

Well....it looks as if he has the kids trained already!!:rotfl:

Congrats on the new addition to your family!!

[kaguilbeau]

If you use the kennels at FW, can you take them up to the kennel in your golf cart?

Also, if you are going to be at a park all day - would you consider using the kennel at that park? I'm guessing it would be a preference thing.

I'm still not sure how my dogs are going to do left in the camper. And I sure hate to bother my neighbors if they whine or bark too much.

[Just Beachy]

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m275/jimpecoy/Jett.jpg

What a cutie pie!!!!!!

[LarryJ]

And I sure hate to bother my neighbors if they whine or bark too much.

THANK YOU FOR THAT STATEMENT. Several times we have camped at FW next to or across from people that leave their pets in their trailer loose where they can hear or see out and bark at anything and everything ... very annoying to your neighbors. The last trip we were parked across from someone in a MH that had a beagle and not only left it loose, but left a window in the front cracked and it would set up there and "HOWL" for hours on end.

We have a center hall in our trailer and put our Yorkies in there with child gates and their beds at each end so they are on the floor and away from the walls and windows along with a bowl of water. We also turn on the Radio and the A/C fan for background noise and air circulation.

I for one really appreciate the ability to keep our pets with us at FW since for years we paid upwards of $600 for about a month at Bass Kennels back in the 80's and 90's and we also had to take 1/2 day every 3 or 4 days to go groom them properly (These were long hairs Shih Tzus). I just wish the newcomers would appreciate this priviledge.

Larry

[loveDmouse]

Congrats on your new addition. What a cutie! :thumbsup2

[YorkieMom]

cute puppy

[ntsammy5]

Cute dog - now you need to look into getting a pet otter......

[BradyBz12]

Super cute pup - congrats!!

We've done several 2-3 week trips with our 2 active Border Collies at FW in the past few years. The key for everybody to have a good time is for us to make sure our dogs get a good amount of exercise each day and have plenty of goodies to keep them entertained when we leave them behind in the camper.

We have one dog that's not great with strange dogs, so he and I go out to the dog walk each morning for a good jaunt. DH takes our other dog to the dog park for a rousing game of jolly ball to get the zoomies out.

http://www.****************/_CLIENTS/WDW/photos/DogPark02.jpg

Once exercise time is over, the dogs are crated in the camper with plenty of stuffed chew toys. Usually we pack their breakfast in kong-type toys and freeze them the night before, so it entertains them and keeps them busy for a while. We also close the blinds (they don't bark at what they don't see), leave the TV on for them - Disney channel of course- and turn on either the fan or A/C for white noise. (What they don't hear, they don't bark at either.)

It usually takes a day or so for them to get the new routine, and we do a few test runs to make sure they're quiet while we're gone. (Go out for a bit, sneak back, go out a bit longer...) We also check in with our neighbors and tell them to please let us know if anyone is making a ruckus - no complaints so far! :thumbsup2

Knock on wood, but our system seems to work and everyone has a good time. I know it helps that our dogs go camping with us a lot. If you're planning to leave your pup in the camper, I'd definitely recommend some trial runs before you go to FW. That way you can figure out what works best for him so that he and your neighbors are happy. :flower3:

What also helps in our case is that we're not the type to do "commando" touring when we're at WDW. We typically go out to the parks for 5-6 hours at a time, come back for potty/dinner breaks, then pop back out for a while. In the evening the pups have play time in the camper... now THAT is a party with 2 active herding dogs in a 20' space! :rolleyes:\

We recently adopted another young border collie, so this year we're going to have to make some adjustments to juggle the 3 dogs :scared1:, but I think it will work just fine. She's already had some practice camping runs with us (something I'd definitely recommend btw) and she is a very adaptable, easy going girl that seems to take everything in stride. Plus she's pretty tiny and doesn't take up much space. :upsidedow

Good luck with your pup and I hope you all have a wonderful trip! :dogdance:

[wdwbound]

Have to put in a comment seeing another Mainer...we have taken trips from Maine to FW quite a few times with our now senior Old English Sheepdog and the worst thing is the drive. Seems he anticipates going potty every time he hears a turn signal. When he was younger, we left him in our motorhome and he would climb on the dash (all 90 lbs of him) and watch us leave, so we barricaded the way and he was fine.
Now he is happy just to stay inside the motorhome with the AC on. As far as I know, he never barked and we almost always opened up the door and woke him up.
Can't comment on the dog park but he did stay in the kennel when Disney operated it and he didn't do well, we ended up having to clean him up as he "soiled" himself. Does not have a problem staying inside our motorhome and DH checks in on him if we go to a park.

Nancy

[seabee]

Thanks for all the insight guys! We will be taking Jett on his first camping trip in a couple of weeks. Hopefully all goes well!

[BradyBz12]

Good luck and have fun! :wizard:

[Us3]

awww, congrats on the new family member nicole!

[seabee]

Thanks for all the congrats, but I'll accept them when I have made it through the "potty training" stage!:lmao: Boy, I think I need some kungaloosh!:rotfl:

[BradyBz12]

I feel your pain! When our middle dog was a pup, she was incredibly difficult to housetrain. No idea why, but all the usual tips and tricks just didn't seem to work with her. We eventually survived it, but I think the only reason I didn't jump out a window is this...

http://www.****************/_CLIENTS/WDW/photos/BzSleeps.jpg

:cloud9:

FWIW the thing that did the trick for us was a bell on the door. At a certain point (past 6-8 mos) it wasn't an issue of her not being *able* to hold it, but that she never told us when she needed to go out.

We hung a bell on the back door and every time we took her out we would jingle the bell before we opened the door. Didn't take long at all before she started whacking the bell with her nose any time she wanted out. :thumbsup2


Good luck, and remember, they make 'em cute for a reason! :dance3:

[ftwildernessguy]

I have found that the smarter the dog, the harder it was to train them. Hounds also seem to be pretty stubborn - my beagle was the toughest to train of any of them.

[BradyBz12]

I have found that the smarter the dog, the harder it was to train them.

I agree! Luckily I've only had to house train one of our border collies. The other 2 were already trained when we adopted them (major bonus of adopting a slightly older dog!0. Not exactly sure why that is, as they're generally a breeze to train to do just about any stupid trick you can think of. 20 minutes and a handful of treats and you can teach them just about anything. :thumbsup2

And yes... I spend most of may days trying to out-think my dogs. I admit some days are more successful than others.... :dance3:

[PrincessNana]

Labs and Lab Mixes are great pets. All they want to do is please you and they are pretty easy to train because of this. They chew alot as puppies, so give him plenty of chew toys (this will save your furniture and house). We have taken our 3 Yorkies and, before he died, our lab mix, camping at Ft. Wilderness (and many other campgrounds) many times. We always leave them in the motorhome with the blinds closed (so they can't see outside), the ac on and the tv on. We always tested them before we went off for several hours to make sure they didn't bark and disturb our neighbors. I was never worried about our lab mix being annoying, but my Yorkies can be quiet vocal. When we came back, I always did a spot check with the neighbors to see if they were quiet while we were gone. When we're at Ft. Wilderness we usually spend a few hours in the morning at the parks and then go back to the motorhome to check on the pets. I hope you have a great trip!

[BradyBz12]

We always leave them in the motorhome with the blinds closed (so they can't see outside), the ac on and the tv on. We always tested them before we went off for several hours to make sure they didn't bark and disturb our neighbors. ...When we came back, I always did a spot check with the neighbors to see if they were quiet while we were gone.

Here too - so far so good!! :thumbsup2

Recenctly we've added a new little monkey to the bunch, so we'll have 3 dogs with us at FW in November. But she already camps like a trooper and is the least vocal of all 3. I have a feeling a good romp at the dog park in the a.m., some safe chewies in her crate, the Disney channel on TV, and she'll be as content as the other 2 while we're out and about. :goodvibes

[SandrA9810]

I love bringing my doggie to the Fort. Here's a pic from the field next to the kennels. She's very good about staying in the grass and running around, that I just drop leash for her.
http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss31/SandrA9810/Kiani3.jpg

I don't like Best Friends, but her last stay there at Epcot turned out better than expected. We had some circumstances that we didn't know how long we needed to keep her there for.
She doesn't mind the kennels at all and settles down after I leave, and all bouncy and happy when I show back up. The ladies that used to work at the Fort's kennels knew all of us by name and loved having Kiani around. One time I brought her to the kennels afternoon and forgot to bring a form of payment, I told Carol sorry and she said not a problem, just bring it in when you walk her later (she really didn't mind and knew we would pay up), but the following morning at like 7-8am one of the managers comes rolling by our campsite in his truck bickering about how "late" it is and that Kiani needed to be walked. Kiani had indeed been walked, but past closing time that security let me in the night before, around like midnight. When we got to the kennel I told them what happened, and they were like, don't pay attention to him, he's always like that.

Our last stay there was for 5 days over halloween, and we stayed in a pet loop. Since we were in a tent, I either stayed in the tent or took her with me. And she got lots of time in the doggie park and overall had a great time.
Thankfully she's not a barker, but she is a whiner... she knows your standing some place she can't get to and thinks it's the end of the world. Like if I have to shut her in a room to keep her from darting out the front door or something, and she throw a fit.
She's also not a chewer of ANYTHING, she just wants to know that where she is, is someplace that I'll come back to. So she's fine in the car, at home, in the kennel.