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Holiday in Provence – mid September to primo October 2010 



We delayed our summer holiday by several months this year, as we wanted to allow Dovita plenty of time to get settled with us before embarking on the 1700 km  / 16 hour drive to the South of France. 
We rented the same house as last year so we knew that the garden was totally enclosed, and knew the layout of the house and surroundings.   Dovita, now 6 months old, was exposed to all kinds of
new experiences during the three weeks we were away, and at no point in time did she appear nervous, she was absolutely fantastic. 

The first hurdle was how  Dovita would tackle the noise, slippery stairs, congestion of people etc. on the ferry from Rødby to Puttgarden, but she was (like Bianca) totally unfazed by the whole thing. 
She was curious and her tail wagged continuously and that’s how she was for most of the holiday, a happy confident little dog.

We drove about 1000 kilometres on the first day stopping at numerous petrol stations and each time I took the dogs for a walk, gave them a treat or two and water whilst
Bjarne filled up the car etc.  We spent the first night in a motel in France and arrived at our final destination late afternoon on the second day. 
Needless to say the dogs were delighted to get out of the car and run around the enormous garden.     



We never leave the dogs alone in a strange house, so they were with us everywhere we went (with the exception of the supermarket where Bjarne stays with the dogs while I do the shopping). 
One evening all 4 of us we went to a special Gourmet Restaurant that we had heard about. We knew we could bring the dogs with us as we had asked when we booked the table. 
They were both quite happy to lie next to me on their rug and enjoy the delicious aroma of French cuisine!   How many Kooikers have been to a top notch restaurant, I’d like to know!!!!



We were continuously stopped on the street, at the markets etc. by people expressing how lovely the dogs are with questions about what race they are etc. We got quite used to hearing
c’est magnifique , trés elegant.   People nearly always presumed that Bianca is Dovita’s mother, and as my French isn’t that good it was difficult to explain that Dovita and Bianca are half
sisters so I had to bend the truth a bit and say yes they were mother and daughter .

                                                                                                                     

Since coming home we have seen that Dovita has become much more confident so I believe the whole experience has been a great form of socialisation for her.