Favorite Things: The PetTube
By popular demand, here is more info on the PetTube that Carole spotted in my road trip photo. It retails for $146, but I lucked out and got mine on clearance at Drs Foster Smith for $60 (They stopped carrying it). Shop around for a good deal.
The PetTube has made my life a lot easier because I don’t have a car. I use Zipcar, an hourly rental car service, to transport the Batling around town. There are over a dozen different Zipcars within walking distance of me, but only 1 or 2 of them are SUVs. Zipcar allows dogs, but they must be in a carrier. PetTube makes it possible for me to use any Zipcar with a backseat, which is way more convenient and less expensive than being limited to the SUV models. I also like that it collapses into a light (12 lbs) portable disc that I can easily carry in one hand, while I have Batman’s leash in my other hand. This saves me a trip when I’m loading/unloading the car in a hurry.
Batman LOVES the PetTube and eagerly jumps into it. It’s nice for him to feel like he’s lying on the backseat, while containing him securely. I toss treats or a bully stick in there to give him something to chew on while we drive.
BONUS: The PetTube doubles as a short agility tunnel! I open it up in the house, unzip both ends and have him run through the 4′ PetTube tunnel on the command “go through.”
I only use it for short trips because Batman can’t stand up comfortably in it — it’s 24″ in diameter. For longer trips (more than 2 hours), I load his wire crate in the back of an SUV.
Fire-up the Batmobile: We’re taking a road trip!
Batman and I are in South Carolina this week for a work training at USC. It’s a 7-8 hour drive from DC. I’m so glad I brought him — it’s been really good for him to get used to being in an unfamiliar place with me. It’s also been fun finding new places to train. I even managed to do some K9 nosework sessions in the hotel room. I’ll post video at the end.
First, the packing process:
I’m a light packer. My dog is not.
Training at a rest stop in North Carolina. I call this my “Tiger mom face.”
Chilling out at the hotel after a long drive.
Posing in front of a monument at the USC Horseshoe, where we took our morning walks.
Practicing “elevator manners.”
Doing some K9 nosework — I love that you can practice this sport just about anywhere:
New Nosework Class with Axel and Verdae
New Nosework class. No Veri and no Max this class. I miss visiting with Charlene and I miss laughing at Max. However, this class we now have Verdae and Axel (U-litter) in this class.
Verdae. Making sure he isn’t afraid to stick his nose in a box to get a treat….really…you think that would be a problem?
Lures Verdae in with three boxes and she tosses all three indifferent directions rather quickly.
He has to figure out which box the treats are in
and he finds it
Gavin
Axel (U-litter Gavin x Zucca)
I didn’t get shots of his pretty face, this week I will make Pam and axel pose for a picture.
