October Instagram Q&A

Questions and answers originally received/shared via Instagram and then compiled here.

Last week, in an attempt to feel more connected to fellow dog lovers on Instagram (I found myself a little lost in the platform’s competition, surface-level virality, and associated nonsense) I put up an “ask me anything” story question box.

I’m thinking maybe I’ll do one of these each month and share them here, too, to avoid the whole stories-disappear-after-24-hours thing. (As always, I’m also happy to chat directly—though once in a while DMs do slip through the cracks.)

Anyway. Here’s what you wanted to know!

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🐺 Scout and dogs in general

What did Scout struggle with most when you first adopted her?

Overall timidity and fear-based dog reactivity hung over our heads for many years.

What seizure med is Scout on?

She takes phenobarbital twice a day since summer 2022. More on our epilepsy experiences here!

What is Scout's favorite high value reward?

I think she'd do anything for salmon cooked in the cast iron. 😂 She’s really into play nowadays though, especially tug! And we can use that as reinforcement.

Did Scout always like to play "for fun" or did you have to teach her to play using food or other methods?

We struggled with play earlier in our journey. Scout showed mild interest in toys indoors and would play a bit on her own (or, often, channel stress and uncertainty into biting/tearing a stuffed toy) but it took us years to build really clear, engaged, mutually interactive games.

What was most helpful in getting Scout to play?

It’s so hard to pick one “most”! Leaning into our social relationship (not making everything a transaction) and improving my own ability to genuinely let loose helped. More on our play progress in these articles, especially this one compiling resources we used and this one on cooperative vs competitive play.

Which toy is Scout’s favorite?

I think it’s a tie between her puller ring and her Chuckit! Air! More on her favorite fetch toys here and her favorite tug toys here.

What’s something you wish you weren’t so strict or stressed on with Scout?

This is such a good question! I’m feeling proud it’s taking me a few minutes to come up with something—a couple years ago I think I’d have a huge laundry list already. I’ve worked hard to both 1) make necessary training progress to live in harmony and 2) adjust my own expectations and perceptions to not be so micromanage-y and flustered all the damn time.

I think I sell Scout short when it comes to physical interactions with other people. She’s gotten more introverted as she ages (not to mention more sore), and most of the time our default is “just don’t touch the dog”. It’s easier to draw a hard boundary than to manage specific situations, guess if we can trust strangers on the street to follow our directions, etc.

On the one hand I’m confident in our cost-benefit analyses here! Everyone is happy. On the other, I know I could relax more. The stakes are very low. Scout is not an aggressive dog. Occasional discomfort doesn’t have to be a huge deal.

What’s something you wish you were more strict on?

Oh gosh. Sean and I have relaxed on many many many rules with Scout—we joke that her manners are worse than ever nowadays. The thing is, I used to be strict about a lot of stuff that didn’t actually impact our day-to-day life (even though, for a long time, I was convinced it did). Living in the van felt like the “final transformation” to help me ditch those last arbitrary worries.

I think we could do a better job being clear with her about when the opportunity for food is on the table (like, when her begging might be successful) and when she should just give up (if we’re eating something that’s simply not dog safe, for example).

Dog breed you'd love to own someday?

I still think we'd do well with a corgi—some of the herding traits I love with less of the wariness common in these breeds—though I do resent, just a tiny bit, how popular they’ve become in the “mainstream”. 😂

Sean wants a bully breed of some sort who reminds him of our first foster dog, Val.

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🚐 Van life

Do you ever think you'll settle back down, or van life for life?

So we definitely won’t live in a van forever. (I say this largely because we are young, and I hope we have many years ahead of us—it's hard to know what things look like even in just another decade!)

I do mull over the semantics of “settling down” pretty often. At this point Sean and I can't imagine ourselves picking one single place and saying we will live here until we die. When we someday (not soon!) decide to move out of Hermes, we’re drawn to the idea of international travel or short-term leases in different cities we’ve enjoyed.

How do you guys decide where to go?

Whimsies, mostly. (Not kidding.)

We keep a running list of places that interest us, and we’re loosely motivated by a desire to just experience different areas of the continent.

Logistically, we end up back in Wisconsin regularly because both of our families and several of our friends live there. We also consider the seasons in an attempt to avoid extreme hot or extreme cold. And we’re suckers for nostalgia, which means we’re already looking forward to spending a bunch of the coming winter near our old stomping grounds in Florida 🤪

Do you plan your trips long term or just the next few weeks?

Usually we only plan weeks or maybe a month ahead. We often draw vague sketches of where we’ll be at a certain time—like, “we want to spend fall in New England” or “we need to be back in Wisconsin for your sister’s wedding” or “Sean needs to attend an in-person work meeting”—but we rarely book specific dates and locations more than a few weeks out at most.

(Sean is, indeed, the king of setting alerts for campground cancellations and snagging last-minute sites. Just one big exception here: We really wanted to camp in a certain area of the Florida keys this winter, so we booked our reservation a full eleven months in advance. Eleven months!! Unheard of.)

Could you ever see yourself with two dogs in the van?

Absolutely not. 😂 Scout would hate every minute of it. Sean would lose his mind. I’d feel pulled in too many directions.

I do keep trying to suggest we get a van cat… but honestly I am the only one in favor of that, too. Three creatures is the perfect family size for us!

How do we store food for Scout?

We have an airtight storage bin in the bottom of our pantry cabinet. We cut the top off the food bag (we try to buy packages in the 8-12lb range) and then store it upright in the container.

What was the hardest part about transitioning to van life?

Answering this accurately feels hard. I’m now so far removed from our transition period! I journaled—and I can try to scan through old Instagram posts and texts for context—but it’s still difficult to remember everything I felt and why. I can never fully trust my past self or predict my future one.

That said: I think it was getting used to “living” in urban areas. Our first few Walmart nights deeply unsettled me. How could I relax and unwind in my own space when I realized a store parking lot (and strangers, sometimes so many strangers) were just steps outside?

Nowadays it somehow feels completely normal.

What’s become your favorite go-to meal to cook when on the road?

We make a lot of rice and bean mixes. Oh, and pancakes. So. Many. Pancakes.

Small “local” diners/shops/businesses you’ve come across that you’d like to highlight?

I love this question!! There are too many. Here’s an incomplete list:

Coffee shops

• Cow Canyon Coffee in Bluff, Utah

• Johnson Public House in Madison, Wisconsin

• Forward Craft and Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin

• Cafe Surfinista in Cocoa Beach, Florida

• Bold Cup Coffee in Viera, Florida

• Craft and Common in Orlando, Florida

Restaurants

• Capitol Burger Truck in Torrey, Utah

• Braise North in Lakewood, Wisconsin

• Alimentari in Madison, Wisconsin

• Heights Falafel in Brooklyn Heights, NYC

• Bacco Wine Cafe in Melbourne, Florida

Bakeries, snacks, etc

• Vintage Baking Company in Glen, New Hampshire

• Talkeetna Roadhouse in Talkeetna, Alaska

• Color Ridge Farm and Creamery in Torrey, Utah

• Spotted Duck Creamery in Penn Yan, New York

Drinks

• Etta Place Cider in Torrey, Utah

• Root Wild Kombucha in Portland, Maine

• Pals Brewing Company in North Platte, Nebraska

• Tropics Cocktail Bar in Cocoa Beach, Florida

Not food

• Dark Matter Tattoo Gallery (especially artist Kelsey Ganous) in Madison, Wisconsin

Favorite place you’ve been to recently?

This is hard because we’ve enjoyed southern Utah as a whole so much. I’ll say Valley of the Gods: the landscape boasted incredible scenery right from our camp.

Favorite place you’ve taken the van?

Okay, I thought the “recently” question was tough enough. This one is literally impossible. Sooo multiple favorites, in no order:

• Southern Utah in general, particularly dispersed camping on BLM land

• Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia

• New York City!!

• Much of Maine, especially the Portland area

• The Grand Tetons

• Florida’s east coast

• Alaska, particularly Seward and Homer and Denali National Park

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