The Tour de France with a dog
This time I decided to tell you about a project Too W'ouf! That of going around France with a dog, that is to say more than 6000 km for a period of about a year.
Léa, Bérangère and Jérémy wanted to walk around France to support the animal cause. Accompanied by their faithful companion border collie Looping, they go above all travel around France to sensitize the inhabitants to the fight against animal abandonment and abuse by visiting shelters during their adventure.
Neither one nor two Musher and I have decided to interview them in order to collect lots of Too W'ouf Addresses throughout France and of course because we share the same values.
A 100% dog-friendly team
First of all, let me introduce you to Léa, Bérangère and Jérémy. They are between 19 and 21 years old and are passionate about nature and hiking. Animal lovers, the three of them met in the Vosges. After finishing their respective studies they decided to realize their dream: to travel around France on foot but not alone! They too have their mascot, it's called Looping, young border collie 2 and a half years old, fearful, but very playful, she too will have the chance to stretch her paws for a whole year.
Léa: “My sister gave me Loop for my birthday. I went to choose her from a private individual, she was the only one of the 3 puppies who came to me and it was love at first sight. At the time, it was a small ball of very light gray fur 😉 My sister knows me well and knew that I needed a dog with energy!”
I confirm, it takes energy to cover so many kilometres.
- “Yes, we owe this crazy project to Looping, that's my main motivation. It was after a fairly complicated period in my life that I thought it was time to get some fresh air and travel, but impossible without her!”
Prepare your bivouac well with a dog
Our quartet of adventurers has therefore decided to prepare well before go on an adventure and for that what could be better than a training where they tested a first bivouac with their dog?! Equipped with their tent and sleeping bags, our hikers decided to go and test their abilities in the direction of Le Doubs, not far from the Vosges. Across the Nouailles Gorge and source of the Loue, to meet the caves and waterfalls of Syratus, they traveled 50 kilometers on foot with their dog.
To find out more about their adventure you can consult their Facebook page: A trick to the hair.
After a good preparation, Léa, Bérangère, Jérémy and Looping are finally ready for their one-year course where they plan to camp, tight budget obliges. It is accompanied by their tent that they will travel through France.
Musher and Sophie: “To know everything about the camping with a dog, I advise you to read or reread our article dedicated to this subject. You will be able to discover the equipment you need and the equipment for your dog."
The big departure
Léa: “The start was quite tough, we had a week of non-stop rain and Loop was often soaked… The tent with a wet dog wasn't ideal!
No, it's not ideal, that's why with Musher we recommend the Ultra-absorbent mat. We tested it and it absorbs up to 7 times its weight and dries very quickly!
-“Otherwise, yes 90% of the time, it's the tent that serves as our home, so in general we don't have a problem, you just have to find a quiet corner where you don't get in the way! In restaurants accepting dogs in general Loop is welcome especially at the Auberge de la source in Mouthe. The manager gave us a great welcome. I quote the boss: “We will welcome the dogs until the last one” He even offered us a night in a dormitory!”
-“We didn't visit with our dog strictly speaking because it's mostly walking. Most of the time we just pass through the villages. We mainly follow the hiking trails, the GR5 at the beginning of the adventure;)”
I remind you that the GR5 is also known as the “Grande Traversée des Alpes” The GR5 starts from the North Sea to join the Mediterranean Sea in Nice with 2 kilometers to cover. The hairy tour started on September 600, 10 at Rouge-Gazon in Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle, because that's where Léa and Looping live. Thumbs up, backpacks and hiking shoes, most people have even hitchhiked them and guess what? They were all Looping fans!
– “Looping has a Ruffwear backpack well adapted to its morphology. She carries her croquettes without worries since she never weighs more than 3 kg. She also has paw cream that I put on her about once a week. The whole thing is to make sure that she still has kibble in her bag, that her first aid kit is complete and that she is in good health :)”
I confirm ! When I go hiking with my chew I always take care to put everything necessary, because yes My dog also has his hiking bag!
We end this interview Too W'ouf on hairy anecdotes 😉
-“The first week we had hail, Loop couldn't take it anymore…She stopped and went to lie down under a tree, she didn't want to move! Impossible to leave as long as the hail was still there! We were completely stuck… At the time it was annoying but now that I think about it it must have been very funny to see!”
-“One day hitchhiking, we came across a magnificent vintage car, that was for sure… he would never have agreed to take us. But fifteen minutes after passing us he turned around and told us he had come back for the dog! Haha :)) So we had the right to a good half-hour ride in a vintage car (Mustang from 1966)”
Whaoouu how lucky you were, I can imagine Musher hair in the wind in a car like this going on an adventure, it's Too W'ouf!
Three friends, a good cause, a wonderful four-legged companion: that's all we love at EmmèneTonChien.Com. Thank you for fighting against abandonment and showing through your tour of France that traveling with a dog is Wow Good (Especially in Mustang :)) )
We can't wait to hear your next adventures in episode number 2, not to be missed!
If you want to know more about their Trop W'ouf project, head to their face book page: A Hairy Ride