Tiny Yellow Teardrop: How to Teardrop with a Dog...and a Parrot

A few months ago, I featured new teardropper AnetaCuse and her Camp-Inn 550 Special teardrop trailer. She and her husband Robert recently returned from their first camping trip to Selkirk Shores State Park on Lake Ontario with their dog...and their parrot. Anyone looking to go camping with their pets—both furry and feathery—will get a kick out of her first teardrop foray into the wilderness.

How to Teardrop with a Parrot and a Dog

Sleeping arrangements

Short version:
1. Maintain a relatively low BMI.
2. Don't move.

Long version:
Cooper the parrot has a really large cage at home, and a smaller travel cage where he lives away from home. The smaller travel cage, however, turned out much too big for the teardrop. This forced us to buy an even smaller travel cage, which is ideal for him to sleep in and to take him to the vet, but not big enough to live in for a few days. So we travel with two cages, but this is no big deal since the cargo space in the teardrop freed up a lot of space in the car.

The small cage fits right under the storage cabinets at the foot of the bed to one side. In front of it there is a bathroom rug for Bauer the dog. So together they take up +/- 25% of the sleeping area lengthwise. The rest is for the hubby and I. It is a tight fit, but very doable and cozy.

During the day, Cooper gets transferred to the larger cage, which is put inside the trailer or the car during cold mornings and evenings (parrots being cold sensitive). During the day, he gets to hang out outdoors with us, which includes being taken out of the cage (his wings are clipped).

The parrot was very happy, and the dog was as happy as he gets. He prefers day trips to overnight trips and not even a teardrop will make him love camping.

Overall, our first "rehearsal" trip, as I like to think of it, was a big success. We managed the animals very well, the sleeping was cozy and comfortable, and the cooking was so easy and convenient it was a breeze.

Thank you Aneta!

Photos by AnetaCuse

1 comment:

AnetaCuseJuly 2, 2014 at 5:27 AM
My pleasure! :) Things continue to work out. Last weekend we were able to leave the animals in the trailer for about 6 hours during the day while we went for a 20 mile paddle on St. Lawrence River. Both windows were open and the fan was on, so the inside temperature was decent. We finally have the freedom to kayak while having the animals with us!

I cannot say enough praise about the Fantastic Fan (brand name, to my understanding) our trailer came equipped with. It's 3-way (in, out, off with the vent raised), 3-speed, has a thermostat and rain sensing technology (it will shut off when it rains), auto and manual modes, and it does such a great job keeping the place cool, that I can't see why we'd every need an AC unit in there (well, unless we move south).