u/nd379

I have a 7-month-old Sheltie that I'm taking with me on a road trip this weekend. It's a 4-5 hour trip each way depending on traffic and bathroom breaks.

She does great in her crate. I plan to have her in her crate in the car with a blanket to cover it when she needs a nap.

We take her on car rides at least once daily and have never had any car sickness.
We will be staying one night in a hotel, coming back the next afternoon.

Besides her regular supplies (food/water, toy, bone, poop bags) and the crate, am I missing anything? Any advice for those with experience?

I have a 7-month-old Sheltie that I'm taking with me on a road trip this weekend. It's a 4-5 hour trip each way depending on traffic and bathroom breaks.

She does great in her crate. I plan to have her in her crate in the car with a blanket to cover it when she needs a nap.

We take her on car rides at least once daily and have never had any car sickness.
We will be staying one night in a hotel, coming back the next afternoon.

Besides her regular supplies (food/water, toy, bone, poop bags) and the crate, am I missing anything? Any advice for those with experience?

A guy noticed us at the park yesterday and came over to talk. He said he has a Sheltie and asked how old mine was. I told him 6 months and he said she's a lot bigger than his was at 6 months 🫤

I thought the vet told us that they mostly stop growing shortly after 6 months but I could be wrong?

How much more did your Shelties grow after 6 months? Ty is exactly 15 lbs at 6 months and a few days. I'm just wondering if I should cut back on the treats

I have 2 cats and one is VERY food motivated. The 2 cats each have private RFID feeders to keep the fat one from eating all the food.

Now with a dog, she will not eat "meals" and instead free feeds herself. I measure and put out .5 cups in the morning and again in the early evening and she eats it as she wishes through the day. She's a small dog so maybe this is why she won't eat a lot at a time?

Anyway, I'm having to guard her food for her from the cat and it's getting to be annoying and stressful. The house is only so big and no area is off limits to any of them.

Is there a feeder, I don't even care if it's automated, I have no problem measuring and dispensing twice a day, that is gated or anything that I could get?

I have 2 cats and one is VERY food motivated. The 2 cats each have private RFID feeders to keep the fat one from eating all the food.

Now with a dog, she will not eat "meals" and instead free feeds herself. I measure and put out .5 cups in the morning and again in the early evening and she eats it as she wishes through the day. She's a small dog so maybe this is why she won't eat a lot at a time?

Anyway, I'm having to guard her food for her from the cat and it's getting to be annoying and stressful. The house is only so big and no area is off limits to any of them.

Is there a feeder, I don't even care if it's automated, I have no problem measuring and dispensing twice a day, that is gated or anything that I could get?

I often do food puzzles and snuffle mats with my 6 month old. I keep reading that this will tire a dog out.

Really?!

The only thing I've found to truly wear my girl out is an hour of off leash play time. When playing with other dogs, less time is needed.

Also what other enrichment activities do you recommend? And do they truly wear your Shelties out?

6 months 2 days. Sheltie. Picked her up at 13 weeks

She does great in her crate since day one. I'm a full-time online only student and my partner works from home 4 of the 5 days.

Her crate is downstairs in our bedroom where I predominantly hang out. The longest I've left her alone (upstairs fixing the crate in my car) was maybe 30 minutes and it was during her nap time.

I could really use an evening out at a restaurant that's not dog friendly. There are about 4 dog friendly ones in our area and we've eaten at them all numerous times now. Would it be ok to leave her for a couple of hours while we go out to dinner? Or do we need to wait until she's older?

How many people do this?

My almost 6 month girl has become so rushed when she goes both pee and poop. She is walking away, standing up, still peeing sometimes. And I've cleaned up more poop than I'd like to off her butt that gets caught in her hair. She likes it even less than I do it seems.

I hope she grows out of this but until then, is it ok for them to get a sanitary cut?

My 5.5 month old Sheltie keeps rushing herself both when going pee and poop. It seems to be getting worse as time goes on. I don't know how to make her feel like she doesn't have to go in .5 seconds

5 month old Sheltie that I've had since 13 weeks.

Everything I read before getting a dog and specifically this breed, said they need an hour of activity a day. Cool, no problem.

Well, I take Ty to a park or SniffSpot every day. We go on walks around the neighborhood. We sit out on the deck, playing and letting her chew bones or what not.

I give her forced naps in her crate 2-3 times a day.

Outside of the naps, she's pretty much going constantly. Wether it's a food puzzle, chew toy playing indoor tug of war and fetch, snuffle mat, training sessions, lick mats, etc. The only time I get a “break” is when I can get her interested in a bone for 2-3 minutes or one of her lick mats.

I don't mind but I'm worried that with everything saying 1 hour of activity, that I'm allowing her to do too much. If I am, how could this hurt her long term? If I am, can anyone please tell me tips on helping her to settle?