Glad you made it back safe Ian. GREAT write up!!
Hey thanks Jim and no worries!
What kind of dog is that you have? I have a Siberian Husky and was wondering how your dog held up in the heat.
Btw, awesome trip, cant wait for the Belize to Panama update!
He is a Shiba Inu, black & tan. He was really hot a lot of the time. I kept him in the shade, water always available, a/c on in the truck and tossed him in a river/lake/ocean when I could. Everyone thought he is a baby husky, he even gets that a lot in the USA. Or they called him "poco lobo" aka little wolf! He drew a lot of attention. Thing is he is a known biter, especially in the truck. I taped signs in the window that said "cuidado con el perro" which means beware of dog. This helped me a lot on the trip in a lot of ways. Any ways, as far as heat he was hot but I took him on walks at night and in the morning, nearly everyday. The first month he had a hard time adjusting, mostly it was the first week. He wouldn't eat or go to the bathroom. We worked that out though with 2 long walks a day. I should have shaved him before the trip but it slipped my mind.
He had a few health things come up on the trip but they are all taken care of now and he is good. Like skin problems, ticks, ect. He only weighs 25lbs normally but was down to 19.5lbs right after the trip. He is now like 26-27lbs!
Some friends I met on the road had two large Akita/Lab mixes with them. They were miserable...hot all the time. Infested with ticks and one of them even got piosoned! I think larger dogs would be much harder to look after on trips like this.
You really have got to watch your dog down there and on a trip like this. If they have a thick coat do them a favor and shave them before you take them!
The sign....
and here is Buddy ready to leave Belize and head to Guatemala!