More than 30 tourists, 22 pet dogs, and a bus set off from Beijing all the way north. The destination of their trip is Chongli, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, and the owners will bring their pet dogs to experience the place of "Saixian Bar during the day and the starry river at night"... Nowadays, traveling with your own "furry children" has become a new leisure method for young people. According to statistics from relevant institutions, China's pet industry economy has reached hundreds of millions of yuan, and young people no longer treat their "furry children" simply to raise, relax, and accompany, but to travel and socialize with them.

Host group outings

The accompanying pet dog can not only take the bus, but also experience riding the Ferris wheel and cable car

On the first day of departure, as soon as the bus started, the organizer of this event, Peach, took out her mobile phone and began to take photos of the tourists and their "fur children" on the bus one by one. Visitors hold their dogs, or wave in front of the camera, or shake their paws to greet Peaches warmly.

More than 20 pet dogs, after seeing Peach's mobile phone, all wagged their tails excitedly, some put their noses over and kept sniffing, and some directly stood up and tried to kiss the camera. Of course, individual calm dogs are more reserved, sitting motionless in the window seat, staring straight out the window.

According to Peach's arrangement, they will take the dogs to chase the 20°C wind in the mountains. It is expected that you can arrive in Chongli at noon on the same day, and then take the battery car to the top of the mountain, you can stroll the forest boardwalk, stay in the hotel apartment for one night, and then go to Taiwu Town the next day, take the cable car up the mountain, overlooking Chongli.

Traveling with dogs like this has been organized by Peaches for seven or eight years. Although most of the time they choose country trips because of the special team members, the content of the outings is not monotonous.

Peaches once organized pet owners to take their dogs to play with paddleboards, and the dogs would lie on the paddleboard and glide with their owners across the harbor. They also went to the beach to let their owners and dogs step on the waves together, leaving their footprints on the beach, one big and one small. Of course, the places they go to the most are the grassland woodlands, where the dogs and their owners can run together under the blue sky and white clouds.

Dogs traveling with their owners can not only take the bus, but also experience riding the Ferris wheel, taking the cable car, and taking the kayak, and they can see the wider world in the company of the owner.

"Interview" before departure

Pets who take out to play are emotionally stable and can "control their mouths"

On this bus of the Chongli trip, no dog will bark wildly, which is the basis for Peaches to dare to organize dog outings. Peach said that dogs that bark as soon as they see their own kind are either too strong in temperament or too poor in social skills, and such dogs are not suitable to take out.

Before departure, "interviewing" the participating dogs is an important part. Peach explained that if the dog who came to sign up liked to bark and barked as soon as he heard other dogs barking, then the activity would not be able to take place. Especially in a closed space such as a bus, if there is a group of dogs barking, the driver cannot drive at all, which will affect the safety of the whole car.

Dogs participating in activities must not only "control their mouths", but also be able to control their emotions and behaviors, and cannot pounce on other puppies to bite and play. In addition, dogs who are breastfeeding or in heat are not allowed to participate in the activity.

In addition, before participating in the activity, Peach will have a detailed discussion with the dog owner, mainly to understand the dog's age, habits and health, especially to ensure that the dog has been vaccinated. Peach will also explain the various precautions to the dog owner in detail during the trip, and hope that the owner can cooperate with her to manage the pet during the trip.

In the years of organizing dog outings, there has only been one unexpected activity after strict scrutiny. For that event, Peach can't forget and is reluctant to recall. "At that time, because there was a dog that couldn't control it, I had to take it away alone." Peach said that despite the reluctance of the dog owner, there is no way, as the organizer, she must ensure the normal activities of other tourists and the dog.

In addition, in order to ensure discipline in the activity, some clubs will hire dog trainers to accompany the group. The founder of Fun Pet Planet said that they will not only carefully select the dogs participating in the event before departure, but also group the dogs and dogs in the event. In addition, the club will hire a special dog trainer to accompany you.

Involving dog trainers is primarily to deal with emergencies. At the same time, dog trainers can also convey some correct dog raising and training methods to dog owners in the activity, "This is equivalent to setting up an additional pet classroom link in the activity, and it can also allow dog owners to learn from each other." "Say it quickly.

How to bring a pet dog to a hotel is currently a big problem for pet tour groups. There are already some hotels that have worked with Peach that are willing to accept dogs, but for Peach, this is not an easy task, but a gradual ice-breaking process, "At the beginning, I could only ask and explain one hotel at a time. ”

Peach said that hotels are not actually rejecting dogs, but only rejecting some troubles caused by dogs, as long as the owner does what should be done well and dispels the concerns of hoteliers, many hotels will not object to dog check-in. For example, the owner of the event should bring his own bed linen and a cover to avoid the dog staining the hotel bed. Of course, the owner must also take care of the dog's urine problem, walk the dog regularly and properly dispose of feces. "As long as we manage the dogs ourselves, the other customers of the hotel will not have too strong objections. This is actually the same reason that we have dogs at home, and the neighbors only hate dogs that bark and flutter and have no rules. Peach said.

Increased exposure to similar kindness

The "social skills" of pet dogs are improved in group activities

In 2016, Peach founded a club called Pet Travel, which specializes in pet tourism. Before starting the club, Peach had already traveled all over the country with her pet dog. In Peach's view, dogs, like people, need to be social. Dogs living in the city have very few opportunities to encounter the same kind except to be with their owners every day. Occasionally you can meet some when walking your dog, but if the other party is not friendly, the dog actually has no playmates.

Peach feels that those dogs that bark and pounce when they see people or dogs are actually caused by low social skills, "Such pet dogs are too few people in contact, too few contact with the same kind, they will not express their emotions safely." The dogs' 'social skills' are also improved in group activities. ”

At first, in the process of traveling with the dog, Peaches also encountered many obstacles. For example, buses are not allowed, hotels are not welcome, and scenic spots are not allowed. Faced with these problems, Peach can only patiently explain to the relevant staff, assuring them that her dog will not dirty and mess up the environment, nor will it disturb other people. Some pet-friendly staff will agree to Peach's request, in which case Peach must lead by example and strictly manage her dog. After a long time, seeing Peach's pet dog "harmless to humans and animals", the staff naturally no longer refused.

Peach feels that the key to whether you can take a pet out is not the dog, but the person. Therefore, before organizing an event now, she not only picks the dog, but also the dog owner - the owner must have the awareness of civilized dog breeding and be able to recognize everyone's philosophy. At the same time, the dog's personality is also cultivated and trained by the owner in daily life, if the owner does not go out much, the dog's social ability will also be affected.

"One of the benefits of group travel is that it serves as a model and oversight. If everyone in the group strictly implements the requirements and pays special attention to civility and quality, then no one will make exceptions, so it is not difficult to manage. Peach said.

As the organizer of the team, in addition to supervising each other, Kuaikuai will also work with the staff to clean up the aftermath of the pet owners participating in the activity, they will pay special attention to the dogs' urine and urine, will provide garbage bags to each owner, if the owner does not deal with it in time, they will prompt the owner, and finally check the hygiene of the camp themselves, whether it is the feces left by the dog or the garbage left by people, they must be cleaned up.

Kuaikuai also agrees that traveling with pets mainly tests the owner. In Kuaikuai's opinion, because everyone is a dog lover and can resonate with each other, the activity is basically a happy atmosphere.

Of course, there may be a little dispute or accident in the process. The most impressive time was that a dog participating in the activity was injured a little while frolicking with other dogs, but the dog owner did not think too much, and after friendly negotiation with the other party's dog owner, the two sides resolved the misunderstanding, and did not develop into a human-to-human conflict due to the dog-to-dog play.

A new type of socialization for young people

Traveling with "fur children" has expanded his social circle

In recent years, pet tourism has begun to become a new experiment for more and more young people. Some pet owners will do online strategies in advance to find places where they can travel with their dogs, and some choose to join pet tour groups. As a result, clubs such as Pet Travel and Fun Pet Planet have gradually increased. On multiple platforms such as Douyin and Channels, more and more young people are sharing videos and photos of pet group tours.

For pet owners, traveling with pets first solves the problem of unattended pets. Ms. Yao, who has traveled with pets many times, said that if she travels by herself, the family dog can only be boarded in a friend's house or pet agency, sometimes the dog will have a stress reaction, do not eat or drink, and the mood is not high, and she will also worry about the dog outside, and call every day to inquire about the situation, "Later, I took the dog to travel together to make me completely relaxed." ”

Nowadays, the change in the environment for traveling with pets has made Ms. Yao more comfortable taking her dog out. In her opinion, her own "hairy child" began to become a good travel companion for herself, increasing mutual companionship during the journey and consuming some of the loneliness of the journey. Whether in the forest or by the sea, let go of the pet and let it run freely, the dog is happy, and his mood can be happy.

In addition, after choosing to join the pet tour group, socializing has become a big gain for owners and dogs. In the WeChat group of Fun Pet Planet, pet owners have made friends through play, and everyone can always find common topics in the group, of course, in most cases, the topic is still inseparable from pets: when the dog is sick, there will be group friends to support comfort; When the dog gives birth, there will be a group of friends asking for adoption; The dog goes to a new attraction, and the owner will give Amway to the group of friends, prompting everyone to take the dog out of the precautions.

Netizens Jingjing, who has participated in the tour group with pet travel club for many times, has a deep understanding of this. In the past, she always worried about how to arrange the dog when she wanted to travel, but later participated in several club activities, traveled with the dog, felt very relaxed, and made a lot of dog lovers and expanded her social circle. At the same time, the club and companions will also take photos of everyone during the trip, and she also left a lot of beautiful photos with the dog.

More importantly, she found that after a few trips with pets, her dog became more friendly and obedient, not only getting along with herself, but also showing intimacy with strangers and other dogs. "Dogs are really like children, they also have to learn and grow in social activities." Jingjing concluded.

Whether it is a peach or a quick one, they can feel the boom of the pet economy over the years. Pet tourism has become an emerging incision in the pet economy industry.

When Peach first held the event, the number of participants was far less than it is now, including many regular customers. And now, every time she initiates an activity of thirty or forty people, she can report full in a few days, or even a large party of one or two hundred people, and it is not difficult to report full, "This shows that the market for outdoor social pets is still very large." ”

In the future, she hopes to build a pet tourism community and platform, contact some pet-friendly restaurants and hotels, and connect pets with pet-friendly businesses.

This edition / Reporter Zhang Ziyuan Intern Zhang Yujia

Coordinator/Lin Yan Zhang Bin

Source: Beijing Youth Daily