Earlier this month, we went wine tasting with our Doberman. It was a road trip to Central Coast California that turned into a 3-night stay. It was also the first time we took Atlas along with us on a road trip without his crate.
When we brought Atlas home last year in January 2020, we had big plans. We planned to take him on hiking trails, road trips and at pet friendly outdoor restaurants. Boy, did that plan took a detour quick! With everything closed for nearly a year and a half, we had little options. We did go on road trips, however, we did not bring Atlas with us due to restaurants being take-out only. During our road trips, we boarded Atlas at Dogtopia of South Bay, where he continued to socialize with other dogs of all breeds and size.
As California gradually opened up, we took Atlas out, starting with dog walk days at the South Coast Botanic Garden. Recently, we took a 3-night trip to the Central Coast and brought Atlas along. This time, we did not bring his crate. This is the first time Atlas came along with us on a road trip since June 2020.
Getting Back on the Groove
Atlas loves road trips. He knows to run for our car when we whisper “road trip” to his ears. As of this writing, it has been a year since Atlas been on his last road trip. We took him to Cambria in May 2020 and to Joshua Tree in June 2020. Both times, we brought his crate with us and crated him. When we went on a 10-day road trip to Sonoma and Humboldt counties in December 2020, we boarded him. Our son recently graduated from preschool and Abby was accepted to USC Master’s program with two weeks to spare. We decided to make use of this time to go on a mini vacation. We decided to take Atlas along with us.
Since it has been a year since he went on a road trip, taking Atlas along was a risk. Adding to the risk is the fact that Atlas has no formal table manner. A risk that actually paid off tremendously.
Crateless Nights
An anxiety inducing anticipation that Abby has with bringing Atlas without his crate is he would wander around at night. This makes it hard for her to doze off and get a good night’s rest. And to be honest, it makes it hard for me to doze off too. Fortunately, the first night went extremely smooth. Atlas would circle around the spot next to my side of the bed and doze off. The same went for the second and third nights. With this in mind, I was confident that Atlas is ready to ditch his crate.
Atlas is extremely particular of where he potties, he had no accidents at all during our trip. He would wake up and wait patiently for me to take him out to do his business. No problem peeing, but pottying was a different story. He would sniff around for literally 20 minutes before he does his business.
He did his business once near the Moonstone Beach boardwalk and the second day at San Simeon state beach. Both locations are no where near our lodging.
Dining with a Doberman
Atlas actually did very well at restaurants. He would occasionally stand and sniff at our food. A quick pop on the prong collar sends him back on the “down” position. After a while, he understood proper dog etiquette at restaurants. The hardest part of all this was finding dog friendly restaurants. After all, we did not bring his crate this time around and cannot leave him unattended.
Wine Tasting with a Doberman
The real test was when we went wine tasting with a Doberman. Sure, the wineries we visited were dog friendly, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a seamless experience. In this trip, we took Atlas on 4 tasting rooms and 1 vineyard.
Hearst Ranch Winery
Our first stop with Hearst Ranch Winery tasting room in San Simeon. It was the first stop of our road trip and Atlas’ first road trip stop in over a year. He did surprisingly well, but he did have a hard time just staying still and staying in the “down” position. I was anticipating for far worse knowing that Atlas is a curious dog. Being at a new place and surrounded by strangers would fire all his curiosity cylinders. While we had lunch and tasted wine, Atlas would intently stare at our food. I had to correct him on several occasion to bring him back to the “down” position. Fortunately, the prong collar made things extremely easy. When he lies down and stays down, I praise him and give him a treat. When he continues to stay down, I give him a treat every 5 minutes and praise “good down.”
Our first stop at Hearst Ranch Winery ended with well with Atlas. It was ironically our son that threw a massive tantrum, because he accidentally bumped his head on the picnic bench.
Austin Hope & Treana Family Winery
Our second stop was at Austin Hope & Treana Family Winery in Paso Robles. This elegant vineyard sets the bar high for Atlas’ best behavior. Fortunately, he was mellower than our stop at Hearst Ranch Winery the day prior. He would stand and put his head on my lap, but not as much. I had to correct him far less than I did at Hearst Ranch Winery while continuing to praise him.
While we enjoyed the fabulous Austin Hope wines, onlookers took notice of Atlas and gave him pets and compliments. At the end of our stop at Austin Hope vineyards, Atlas was beginning to understand our expectations for him.
San Simeon Beach
On the 3rd day of our trip, we stopped by San Simeon State Beach for about an hour. One thing I learned about Atlas is he loves the beach. Unfortunately San Simeon State Beach is leash only, so I had to keep his leash on. And that was probably a good thing. Another couple was walking their two dogs at a distant, unleashed and their dogs suddenly charged at Atlas for no reason. The little dog, about the size of a Yorkie reached Atlas and incessantly barked at Atlas while circling him. A medium sized long haired black dog, looked like a Border Collie, followed suit as their owners screamed for their dear lives.
Atlas being himself, just stared at the little dog with curiosity and then let out a deep, throaty and commanding bark. Atlas’ bark scared both charging dogs back to the couple and probably also scared the daylights out of their owners. I am willing to bet that they will follow beach signs from here on.
At the beach, we met another Doberman family traveling from Utah who Atlas got to meet. He also socialized with kids and children playing on the sand who asked for permission to pet him. Did I mention that Atlas loves children?
Moonstone Cellars
After our morning start at San Simeon Beach, we went to Moonstone Cellars and tasted a flight of wine. We both ended up enjoying a glass of wine each while Atlas lied down uneventfully.
Black Hand Cellars
Our second tasting of the day occurred at Black Hands Cellars, an experience we enjoyed. At this stop, Atlas understood his role and our expectations of him, so he just lied down.
Cayucos Cellars
Cayucos Cellars was the final stop of our wine tasting excursion. We’ve visited this tasting room for 12 years and made friends with Paige, the hostess and daughter of the winemaker. We brought Atlas here on May 2020 and he behaved well, with a rope chew toy. This time around, he knew the drill and I didn’t have to correct him at all. Paige was amazed to see how much he has grown. While we enjoyed a bottle of Grenache, two ladies from Anaheim and Napa, both dog lovers, fell in love with Atlas. We allowed the ladies to pet Atlas while we chatted. Both were surprised with how well behaved Atlas was and to them, it was indicative of the dog owners’ personalities. That made our day.
Our Next Road Trip: Carmel-by-the-Sea
Ever since we first step foot in Carmel-by-the-Sea, 13 years ago, we always remember how dog friendly it is. We even told ourselves that if we ever have a dog, we need to bring it to Carmel. We were suppose to extend our trip an extra two days at Carmel, but our plans changed last minute. Abby got accepted to USC’s Masters graduate program and we had to cut the trip short.
On our next free time together, some time in August, we will head to Carmel with Atlas. While we enjoy great wines and good eats, Atlas will be able to enjoy playing fetch at the leashless dog beach. The only thing I am not looking forward to is waiting for Atlas to go potty, especially in Carmel.