Dobro došli! Croatia with six months old Pointer

Well yeah, like, technically a few people warned us that we'd better go on holiday without a dog. But that's not how I live. I don't live my life by other people's experiences, I create my own as we all have different inputs. And yeah, it was mega challenging, but I'm glad we did it. Because we found out a lot about ourselves and tested both, our own and relationship limits and it was actually terribly positive as a result.

The whole thing happened because after 2 years we were already missing the seaside. Our puppy was still too small to be babysat as well as to fly, so Croatia by car was the obvious choice. We didn't underestimate our preparations. We rented an entire house with a fenced garden to eliminate the possibility of other people being bothered by our dog and to give him and us a break after a whole day on the leash. A large car with a roof box and air conditioning made the journey comfortable for us. An internet search mapped out general pro-dog conditions and selected an uncrowded area between Nin and Vir. All in all, we set ourselves up for a holiday with an animal and thought we were ready. The reality, however, went beyond our imaginations in its intensity in every way, and in addition to magnets, olives, cheese, and a few shells, we brought back these lessons:

(Missing) photos on Airbnb don't lie

If there was something obviously omitted from the photos in the advert, it means there's a big problem. Yes, the one part of the fenced garden that wasn't in the photos was simply the front of the garden of the adjacent restaurant and with NO FENCE!

Moment velké úlevy.

Fight for your dreams

If you don't succumb to the primal rush of emotions, grit your teeth and after 48 hours drive still squeeze out some energy to think and drive to Bauhaus, you will simply "finish" the fence, and all your expectations will be fulfilled. Happiness always lies 1 step further.

Invisible freedom

Honzik and I set the bar for our vacations very high. It was based on the absolute freedom to stop, eat, bathe, sleep wherever you want. Now, we consciously went on a "dog holiday" and not on holiday "with a dog", but I guess we still anticipated that we would be more in control and it would be at least slightly our way. Well, it wasn't. One never fully appreciates that freedom until one loses it.

A puppy is not a dog.

That was probably the determining factor. Many animals have passed through my life, but one quickly forgets the briefest baby periods. I will go on vacation with a dog again, but not with a puppy. An adult well-behaved dog can go to a restaurant, on a boat, in the alleys of a city, can be called away from people, is manageable in difficult terrain/situations, can be left alone for a few hours.... a puppy not at all.

Regroup and reducing demands is not a shame but a necessity

We are used to exploring different things every day on vacation. But with the dog comes significant restraints that make the daily search for suitable conditions in a new place terribly exhausting. The best thing for us was actually the last 2 days, which we spent completely at ease in already explored places and finally relaxed and enjoyed swimming without stress. We should have done this at least every other day.

Honesty saves lives and vacations

Those days of peace came after we admitted straight up that we were completely fucked. We felt guilty, that we had swallowed too big of a bite and now we weren't really enjoying anything at all, we were tired as hell, we couldn't even sleep because our brains were on high alert even at nights and we were still cramped and regretful. Everything has fallen out of us. It's a great relief to show your weakness. Once again, I've learned that having a relationship where you're listened to and not scared to say even something unpleasant is the biggest victory in life. And maybe it was the pint of slivovitz...

Thanks to those last 2 days we came home with a feeling of victory. We made it because we learned our lesson. Not so much about vacationing with a dog, but about our own entitlements and weaknesses that limit/encumber us even in our daily lives. It was a kind of Croatian mirror. But not to be unfair, it actually was a great holiday, full of adventures, joyful moments, beautiful weather, and phenomenal food. A holiday without any trouble or arguing and the dog was actually sweet. If only one could always have a detached outlook, not have unnecessary demands, and not have to learn anything anymore. But then what would I write about? :-)