St. Patrick's Day with the Dog in Chester County

St. Patrick's Day with the dog in Chester County is a drive on the back roads, a walk before the town gets busy and dinner at home. We plan it the way we plan any day out with Ella in the Camaro. Nothing about it is loud, and we keep it short and plain.

This is how the day goes for us, in order, and what rides in the console while we do it. Take whatever fits your own March 17.

How we plan St. Patrick's Day with the dog

We decide a few things early. Which road is the drive, which morning is the walk, and whether we go anywhere near a crowd at all. The treat pouch gets packed once and stays in the console. A water bottle and a bowl stay in the trunk, same as every other weekend.

The rule is the one we use all year. Park, let Ella stretch her legs, hand her a treat, get back in. A stop every hour or so keeps a morning out from turning into a chore for her.

The first drive of March

For us the first real drive of March lands right around St. Patrick's Day. We crack the windows and take the gravel roads out past the horse farms. There is mud on the gravel this time of year, and the Camaro comes home wearing it. We have stopped minding.

Ella rides shotgun for all of it. We pick the road, not the destination, and we turn around when we are tired of driving. Then we come home the long way. If you want the same roads in a colder week, our Christmas week with the dog page covers them, and when you want to go farther than an hour out, the spring road trip ideas are where we put the rest of our driving habits.

The morning walk, before the town is busy

The walk comes first. We get out early, before the town gets busy and before the kitchen starts, and we take a loop on one of the gravel roads near home. A short loop is plenty. Mud is part of the morning, and the floor mats in the Camaro take the rest.

There is nothing to rush to at that hour. Ella sniffs along the road, we walk, and a few treats come out of the pouch along the way.

The parade, from the edge or not at all

Some years we watch the parade from the edge, well back from the curb. Some years we skip it and take the back roads instead. It depends on the crowd that morning, and neither choice is a failure. We wrote down how we think about it in our St. Patrick's Day parade guide, so this page can stay about our own day.

If we do go, we park first, walk in, and leave when we are done. The Camaro is always the easy way out.

What rides in the console pouch

On this day the pouch holds Pot of Gold dog treat coins. They come in two versions, and we keep the two straight. The chicken coins are boneless chicken breast sliced into rounds and air-dried, which makes them a single ingredient treat. The gold coins are plain Greek yogurt tinted with a pinch of turmeric and freeze-dried. They contain dairy, so they are not single ingredient, and they are the version for a dog that does not do chicken. Both are cut into coin shapes that break clean for a training pocket.

The rest of the week the pouch holds freeze-dried cheddar cheese bites. They come in one 8 ounce bag, they are crunchy and not greasy, and they need no refrigeration, so they travel clean in a pouch that gets tossed onto the floor of a car. They contain dairy too, which means they are not for a dog with a dairy sensitivity. Check that before you pack them, not at the stop.

A bandana for the photo

For the picture Ella wears the circle-logo bandana. It comes in white or black, with our 3-inch circle logo on the front and a classic tie-on fit. We go with white for daylight. It ties on in a few seconds, and it goes in the wash with everything else afterward, cold water and hung to dry.

We take one photo by the car with the gravel road behind her, then the bandana comes off and the day goes on. One photo is the rule. After that she wants to be moving.

Home for dinner

We are home for dinner. The corned beef and cabbage goes on our plates and stays there. Corned beef is a cured, salted cut and the pot is seasoned, so we skip it for Ella and keep it on our plates.

Ella has her regular dinner in her own bowl, and a treat from the pouch afterward is the only extra. If your dog is on a special diet, ask your veterinarian before the day, not during it.

From the shop

Everything we put together for the day lives on our St. Patrick's Day page. The coins, the cheddar and the bandana above are the three things that ride in our car for the day.

Questions

How long does Ella ride before she needs a break?

About an hour is where she starts asking for a stop. We plan the drive and the walk around that, which is why the day turns into a few short stops instead of one long ride.

Do you go to the parade?

Some years from the edge, some years not at all. We decide that morning based on the crowd, and the back roads are always the fallback.

What goes in the console pouch on St. Patrick's Day?

The Pot of Gold coins, in whichever version fits the dog, and freeze-dried cheddar bites for the rest of the week. The pouch stays in the console from the first drive until the day is over.

Does Ella get any of the corned beef?

No. It stays on our plates. Her dinner is her regular dinner, and a treat from the pouch is the extra.

Which bandana does Ella wear for the photo?

The white circle-logo one. We go with white for daylight and black for night drives, so we match it to the hour.

Do you plan the drive ahead of time?

We plan the road, not the stops. Ella tells us when it is time to park, and we turn around when we are tired of driving.