Rural Dogs, City Living: An Unexpected Adventure With Rosa & Mac

Welcome to the Wednesday Dogs of Dogster! Every Wednesday, we share a story from one of our Dogsters. This week is about Nicole and her two rescue dogs, Mac and Rosa.

While many people appreciate the conveniences and luxuries of urban living, there is something uniquely fulfilling about living rurally. While there may be fewer organized activities and no delivery food options, the peace of nature, wide-open spaces, and the freedom to roam are hard to beat.  Add to that the self-reliance that rural life fosters, and it becomes clear how these qualities can be deeply enriching—not just for us humans but for our canine companions too.

So, what happens when two farm dogs, Rosa (a New Zealand Huntaway, bred for the farm, and Mac, a Lab Mastiff who was found roaming through farmer’s fields in one of the most unpopulated areas of New Zealand) find themselves adjusting to the confines of city living? And how, and why, did they get there?

Well, another perk of rural life is the lack of people, which usually means more availability of services, like our dog’s daycare/overnight kennel. They are generally available for us to book last minute. We’re extra spoiled with our kennel because they are our neighbors, so they often squeeze us in even when space is limited.

I didn’t want to leave things too late, though, so I thought that messaging on 1 December about a 26th December 10-day holiday stay would suffice. Turns out everyone (and their dogs, literally) had a similar idea—except they actually beat me to it.

“I’m so sorry! I can do every day but the 31st of December” our dog sitter replied. New Year's Eve! We were headed to my in-laws, a 7-hour drive away, with a pit stop for a few nights in Auckland, so there would be no pick-up in between.

We had two options: ditch the holiday, or bring the dogs.

I scrambled to see if the hotel we were booked at would even allow dogs, and unfortunately, they would not. Back to the drawing board. Miraculously, I found a downtown apartment only a 7-minute walk from the original hotel (where my parents were hoping to stay) that allowed them. I have a feeling they expected tiny little floofer dogs, but I booked and disclosed we had two dogs coming with us, and no extra questions were asked!

Welcome to the Jungle

The moment we arrived, Mac made himself at home. Rosa was a little more polite. We couldn’t have lucked out more, the place had a huge balcony which was surrounded by the beautiful cityscape. I wasn’t sure if the dogs would take it all in or barely take it at all, so I planned my days around a long-distance morning run and an evening walk to ensure maximum exhaustion for the pups.

Unsurprisingly, Mac loved the city life, and Rosa was a bit spooked at first, though I can’t blame her at all. Especially with being blind in one eye, new environments can be spooky, which showed a lot during our first 9 km run along the harbor. The gentle waves were crashing along the boardwalk on her blind side, so she could hear the noise but couldn’t see anything. I was so proud of her for running with me anyway, my little brave one.

Mac was the best brother, too. He could tell that Rosa was a bit more scared than he was and she wanted to sleep in his bed (she never does this at home), so he let her, and he snuggled up in her tiny bed.

Let’s Go to the Beach!

After a few fabulous days (I say this seriously) in the city, we were ready for the second leg of our adventure. We packed up the cars again and headed for the beach.

We get a lot of beach time up where we live, too, so the dogs are no strangers to the sand and surf. Mac loves to play in the water while Rosa barks at him from just behind the tide line, so as not to risk even a toe getting wet.

My inlaws live in a town full of people, though it is not anything like the Auckland CBD. But it was strange, for the first two days, it was almost as if the lack of constant stimuli they had experienced in the city was even more unsettling at their grandparents’. The odd noise, like a neighbor pulling into their driveway or closing their sliding door, would set Rosa off into ‘cannot compute mode.’

They hear birds, cows, and wind where we live, and in the city, they heard everything everywhere all at once. But here in the beach town, it was quiet mixed with loud and it was an even bigger adjustment than the city life was.

And especially on New Year’s Eve when the fireworks went, my poor Rosa heard it loud and clear and had a panic. Thankfully, again, her brother lent her his bed and did his best to enjoy hers. After that, though, everything levelled out and we had a fabulous family adventure.

Would We Do It Again?

Our dogs were truly amazing, they didn’t bark, they only went toilet outside, they slept on their beds, and they were honestly better behaved in the city than they were at home. My husband and I laughed that we should definitely do more holidays with them because we’ll have better-behaved dogs out of it (plus, we get more family holidays!).

Truly, they impressed us so much. Yes, there were some moments of high stress for Rosa, which meant extra care and attention from us, but we have always been big believers in exposure therapy for her and it has always seemed to work, and this holiday experience was no different.

The main thing the dogs missed, though, was the ability to sleep on our bed, which funnily enough was one of the things we enjoyed the most—room to move, roll, and breathe on our bed.

We would absolutely take them on a city adventure again, they earned the right ten-fold. Have you ever taken your dog on an adventure that was outside their norm? City dog in a rural environment? Beach dog in the snow? Let us know in the comments below!