Radical Canines

There wasn’t much in terms of traveling for competitions in 2020 for fairly obvious reasons. Like most, our big trips were canceled, so we mainly played locally. The dogs don’t know, and don’t care. As long as they’re playing, it doesn’t make a lick of difference to them. Whether we’re playing hours away or practicing at our local park, there’s a lot that goes into getting the dogs ready and keeping them in good shape for competitions so I figured I’d put together a list of my favorite things for competition days. To say I couldn’t live without these things *might* be a bit overkill but they seriously make a huge difference! My dogs spend a lot of time in the van during competition weekends. Yes that’s right, my dogs stay in my van. Before you decide I am everything that’s wrong with people and call PETA/the police/local news and anyone else, hear me out. Working, crating, and competing out of your vehicle is common practice for many competitors. It allows your dogs to have a safe, comfortable, and familiar space instead of being set up in a crate in an unfamiliar room, next to unfamiliar dogs and people. Some dogs have no issue with that, others it’s too much for. It’s also nice for my back! Being able to pull in, set up the van and go is so much better than having to lug out everything and set it up. I should just mentioned I’m not sponsored by any of these companies and get nothing in return for mentioning them. I really just like the products.

1. RuffLand Kennels – they’re a bit pricey but compared to other crash tested crates are quite reasonable and they give me peace of mind that if we are ever in an accident my dogs will be protected! We spend a fair amount of our weekends on the road on our way to/from competitions so chances of an accident happening are higher simply because we spend more time on the road. I also love that RLK makes door latches that provide additional security and allow me to lock the doors shut, especially at more public events. Good Samaritans looking to “rescue” my dogs from my van scare the crap out of me.

2. RLK Top Bins – again with with RLK I know BUT these things are great because they help me stay organized and when traveling with 3 dogs for multi day/overnight trips space is definitely at a premium. These bins fit right on top of my RLK and while I could bolt them down, I don’t have any issue with them shifting without that because of the way the molds are made.

3. Ryobi fans and 6 port mega charger – these things are a game changer! They help keep air moving on hot days to keep the boys cool. This is especially important at competitions. The mega charger is great because I can load up all 6 batteries the day before we leave, plug it in, and forget about it. No needing to worry about switching out batteries to get them all chargers. I also use it as a carrying case/holder. So all batteries stay in the charger for easy carry. 6 batteries runs 3 fans for the majority of the weekend which is great!

4. Aluminet – again with the cooling. The aluminet covers the van to reflect the sun and keep the temps down! This is especially important because my van is black! I love black, it’s my favorite color but it’s just about the WORST color for a dog vehicle because, well, it’s black so it heats up fast. The aluminet helps counteract that! Plus with clamps its super easier to attach pretty much anywhere.

5. SensorPush- there are definite downsides to this little do-dad like it’s super short range, so I basically have to be line of sight to the van, BUT as long as I’m in that range it allows me to monitor the temp in the van AND alerts me when it gets above a set temperature. There are signal boosters that I could get if the need ever arose but for now just the sensor works. I have mine set in the center on all 3 crates where the air is stagnant. I figure if it’s below my set temp in there, it’s cooler where there’s actually airflow from fans! I could probably live without this one but it gives me so much peace of mind! Eventually, I’d like to get an additional 2 sensors so that each dog can have their own sensor inside their crate.

Honorable mention for my EZ up, screw in ground stakes, ratchet straps, ex-pens, extra crates, woven blankets, and comfy chairs (including those awesome air sac things). But I can do without those things if need be. There are definitely more goodies for my van camping trips like solar lights, car tents, mosquito netting, Rumpls and a sound machine but there will be a post on my van and van camping in the future.

What are your top 5 must haves for competing and traveling with your dogs?