Having a reactive, fearful, or aggressive dog can make your world feel so small, especially if you add health issues into the mix. But recently we’ve found so many ways to open our world and expand what we thought was possible!
Those of you out there with a dog who isn’t your stereotypical, seen in the movies and on tv, chill kind of dog know that it isn’t always easy to live with one, who isn’t exactly what you were expecting when you first brought home your pup. I’m talking about the dogs that are reactive, fearful, anxious, aggressive; dogs that show their big feelings out loud (sometimes very loud); dogs that may have health issues that could be contributing to their behavior or needed lifestyle; and the dogs that just need a little bit more from their humans. This isn’t necessarily the life you thought you’d be living with your dog and while the majority of us love giving our dog their best life, it does take a big toll on us as the humans caring for these dogs.
We adapt our whole life styles to help our dog live a healthy and safe life. We change our day-to-day routine for them. And the more we adapt and change for their world, our world can start to feel like it’s shrinking.
And that’s exactly how we started to feel with Brodie and our lives throughout 2023. No more brewery trips or nights spent at the lake bar with him. Only taking him on the boat during off hours when we wouldn’t likely run into others. No more walks in the park. Finding a new place to board when we go away (or just limiting our vacations all together). And the one that really affected us the most-no/very limited guests in the house.
It was a major transition for us, but it truly was in the best interest of Brodie and his health (read our other recent posts about his health and behavior journey!). So we made do. But as the year continued, it started to weigh on us more and more. For me, an introverted person who is okay with no one being around and staying home, it was slightly easier, but for Dan, who loves to socialize and adventure, it was definitely more difficult. We needed to find a way to expand our world, but in a safe way for everyone.
While watching stories on Instagram, I saw one of dogs I follow on Brodie’s Instagram, post about having fun at a Sniff Spot. I got curious and started to research what it was and if it would be something for us to potentially explore. It’s an app that is essentially like Airbnb, but for renting private spaces for your dog! It’s like having your own private dog park! Sniff Spot was designed for reactive dogs who struggling in public settings, but is also great for apartment dogs and dogs without yards!
Looking over Sniff Spot, I did have to be a little picky about the spots that we chose. Some you have the chance of seeing people or other dogs from the spot or while entering the spot and for safety reason (and honestly just to be able to enjoy without the risk of a trigger) I wanted to make sure the spots were free of dogs and other humans. Most of the ones in our area are either small or border somewhere with the chance of seeing or being near humans, but we did find a few! We started out at one that is fully fenced in, but borders a park, so we chose to go early in the morning to avoid seeing people. And it was such a rewarding experience! Brodie got to run free and we got to play without the stress of other humans or dogs entering the space! That spot is tricky during busier time at the park, so we need to be particular about when we go, but it was the start of getting out of the closed in world we had been stuck in.
I continued to search and that same Instagram that led me to Sniff Spot posted about one that was relatively local to us! The original one we tried was only 10 minutes away, while this one is about 35-40 minutes, but I thought it was worth a try especially since Brodie LOVES the car, and I’ve NEVER regretted that decision. It is our FAVORITE place to go and we go almost weekly now! It’s a drag way with almost 40 acres of land to explore. During race season, it’s only open on week days, but winter time it’s open every day-making it our go-to weekend activity! Now this spot isn’t fully fenced, so Brodie stays on his long line, but we get SO SO SO many sniffs in and its a perfect and quiet place for a decompression walk!
We’ve also done a few day trip adventures to Sniff Spots farther away from home, making them a fun and grand adventure! We’ve been out to a few different spots in Pennsylvania, which was the start to us really starting to break down the walls we felt confined in. One had private hiking trails and a big field for a picnic! We did so much training and had a big sniffari on the trails and Brodie was so relaxed the whole time because there was nothing around to trigger him (which honestly relaxed us just as much)! The other was a glorious 6 acres of fully fenced in sniffs! Brodie got to enjoy and sniff and explore all off leash without the worry of any triggers near and we got to do some off leash training in a safe environment!
Now we do need to be picky about which spots we choose, but those we have found gave us the start to get out and not feel so trapped! That newfound feeling made us want to find more ways to break down the walls of confinement, which led us to find Hipcamp! Well not find it, because Dan knew about it from camping, but more so repurpose it for our needs…private space to adventure with Brodie! Because it was the beginning of winter when we thought of Hipcamp, we only tried it once and didn’t end up staying the night (it was rainy and 40°F), but it was AWESOME! Private hiking trails and we chose their field camp site and practice camped for the day! It was cold and rainy, but we had a great time!
But the best decision we made after having so much success with Sniff Spot and Hipcamp was branching out and trying an Airbnb weekend vacation. It was a big step up from the day trips for a few hours, so needless to say, we were a bit nervous. The same way we had to be picky with Sniff Spot, we had to be very careful with the Airbnb we choose for this new adventure. We needed a truly dog friendly one where dogs weren’t restricted from doing things, like getting on the furniture. We also needed one that was a bit remote, with plenty of distance from other people and dogs with a low likelihood of running into other people or dogs. And we also wanted one with room on site for adventuring and sniffing.
It was a tall ask to find one, but we did and we had the BEST experience! We ventured up to one of our favorite states, Vermont, to a stay in a Genuine Sugar House with 70 acres of property to explore! The Airbnb was the old sugar house set far back from the main house on a beautiful proper with a mix of a big field, pond (which was frozen because it was 15°F outside), and wooded areas. The owners/hosts were wonderful and totally understandable about not having any contact and us keeping Brodie at a distance, which helped my own anxiety SO much. And because it was pretty remote, there was almost no chance of running into any unexpected visitors (other than wildlife, but we’re used to that)!
This particular Airbnb was also super dog friendly! The host provides a crate with a crate pad (and yes, it was the right size for a Brodie-sized dog!), towels and wipes for when the dog enters after being in the snow and mud, and raised bowls for food and water! It was perfect for what we needed!
We (okay, okay, Brodie and Dan) got to explore and snow shoe a decent amount of the property. We all got to play in the snow, which Brodie LOVES, train in different environments and on different surface types, and got to just be together as a family with little to no stress of triggers (honestly for Brodie’s anxiety and my own). It was the last piece of the puzzle to be able to expand our world in a safe way! And again, we do need to be picky about which ones we choose and when we go (like avoiding being away during fireworks season), but it was such an amazing experience to get out and see Brodie succeed!
Now, this doesn’t stop the training or work we are doing for Brodie’s behavior and health plan, but it makes it a bit easier on the human side to know that there are ways we can still get out of the house, explore, and enjoy the world around us! We’re already looking for our next Airbnb and Hipcamp adventures, while we enjoy our weekly Sniff Spot trips!
Do you live with a dog like Brodie? A dog that required that extra bit from you? It may take a little creativity, but finding these ways of expanding your world has the ability to make it all worth it. What are some creative ways you get out and enjoy the world with your dog? Have you been to an Airbnb, Hipcamp, or Sniff Spot? Do you have any recommendations for ones to try? Share them with us!