Traveling with your pets forum

[jbeletti]

Hi all,

So many of us RVers travel with our furry friends. It's probably one of the reasons we RV in the first place. It gives us the ability to take our buddies with us.

I created this forum for you to discuss your pets, traveling issues with pets etc. Let's have fun with it

Jim

 

[rjhewitt]

We are brand new to full time RVing. We have two "girls"- our pair of Doberman females. It looks like the breed could cause us some problems finding parks that will allow them. They are well trained (obedience) and are not guard dogs. They will bark to alert us of things, but will call off on command. We have traveled many miles with these two and they have gone into every hotel with us without any trouble- ever. How can we get around this? They will go with us, or we will not go.

Thanks for your help with this!

 

[jpmorgan37]

If you look in Trailer Life or Woodalls, they usually tell you if a park has pet restrictions. If they do, I recommend that you call and ask specific questions and you will find that many will accept large, trained, mannered dogs. Some parks limit us to one pet, some put size restrictions, ie, 20 pounds, and some have no pets at all, but we find most accept our 70 pound Brandy (we used to have two) as long as they are mannered and friendly. Call first and then you won't have to worry.

John

 

[Uncle Rog]

Our German Shorthairs are not on anybodies exclusion list. Absolutely the ONLY things I miss about our TT's is not being able to use a shell and keep the kennels in the bed, and the secure storage. With the dogs in the back seat it can be a little "crowded" after a while on the road......

 

[Draco Dog]

our little dog

I know that there are lots of prejudices regarding the larger dogs. Ofcourse, most of us realize that the trouble is not with the dog but with the owners.

I hope that you are able to find places to camp with your German Shorthairs. They are a beautiful animal.

We only have one little dog. It is a Bichon Frise. This member of our family goes everywhere with us. If he is not welcome, then neither are we.

Good Luck to you.

 

[StevieWonder]

Try it with dobies or a Staffordshire terrier (frequently referred to as a pit bull). The only mean ones are the ones that were TRAINED to be that way. Prejudice against animals is not much different than that against humans.

I have 3 rescue dogs, a German Shepherd mix, a Rat Terrier mix and a Boxer mix. I find that having more than 2 dogs is a problem at many campgrounds and large dogs of any number are a problem at a number of them also.

 

[sjrellis]

With dh on the road with his job for the next few years, we are wanting to bring our lab and blue heeler with us. The challenge we are facing is what to do with them while gone for the day. We plan to remove the dining table and chairs and they could sleep there, but they may get bored if inside by themselves (actually not bored...afraid of what they may find entertaining!). What we've kinda come up with is a "dog trailer" that I can tow (NOT with them in it, tho). We envision a flatbed trailer like for a 4-wheeler. Then have a kennel on top of it that is removable while travelling. We've got some planning to do. Until then, our dogs are at home in Texas!

Anybody have ideas?

 

[jpmorgan37]

I don't know about Blue Heelers, but we've been travelling with Lab's and Golden Retrievers for about 18 years and have never had a problem leaving them in the camper/fifth wheel for a day while we were out. When there were two together (about 5 years) they kept each other company. When there was just one, they had several toys to keep company. I know some people that play tv's or radios for their pets. If they aren't puppies, it shouldn't be a problem. I would try it for a couple of hours first, then extend it a little each day until you reach the desired time. Give them lot's of love and attention when you get home and if they mess up, verbally scold but don't punish. The other option is a couple of airline crates.

 

[J-W&E]

Traveling with Lab

We are full-time and have traveled for over a year and a half with our 5 year old black lab, named Ebbie. We have never had a problem with her. If we want her to stay in the truck when we go to the store, she will lay on her bed on the back seat floor and go to sleep. She will also stay in the trailer for many hours with no trouble.

We have never been turned down at any park. If Trailer Life states "dogs under 20 lbs", we don't even try to stay, just look for another park.

 

[sjrellis]

The lab is well trained by dh. It is that other dog that I kinda worry about. She was son's dog in college and then we inherited her. She is a sweetheart. She is kinda like a cat...her way! Anyway, we'll probably try leaving them in here for short periods.

 

[htneighbors]

Since my job has me on the road all the time, this was a major factor in our decision to buy our Cyclone 3950 at this time, (still awaitiing delivery!) I will be fulltimimg from day 1, pretty much. (Or at least when the kinks get worked out. I'm sick of motels!) When our youngest, and last daughter at home, moves out, my wife plans to join me. We have a beautiful, well-trained, obedient and mannerly German Shepherd.

When not with me on the job, he stays in the house when we're gone, and uses his 'dog-door' to go outside when he needs to. I have seen nothing mentioned about installing one of these pet doors on an RV. I know they have fence panels available one can purchase for pet yards and you would have to enclose the pen so they couldn't 'escape' under the RV. Finding a park that would allow it might be difficult.

A friend of mine had his dog on the road with him, left it in the RV during the day and the park lost power. No power, no AC - and now he has no dog. Seems like a big risk to take. I think I saw on some site, something about an alarm of some kind that monitors inside temperature and would call your cell phone if there was a problem. That may be a better answer than a dog-door.

Any thoughts?

 

[linuxkidd]

Welcome to full timing with animals.. We have a Corgie/spaniel mix and a Dachshund. Sorry to hear about your friends dog.. It's very tough going through that kind of loss.

A suggestion.. With your new RV, you will probably have whats called a 'Fantastic Fan'. With it, there is a thermostat on the wall above you AC/Heat thermostat. Believe me when I say that fan moves a LOT of air. As an option to guard against power failure -> living space over-heating, I would set the Fantastic Fan thermostat about 5 or so degrees higher than the AC thermostat, and leave a window at each end of the coach cracked open a bit. That way, if the AC goes down ( Power and cooling ), the Fantastic fan will kick on within a few degrees and help to regulate the temperature in the coach.

Hope this helps!
LK

 

[htneighbors]

Thanks, Mike. I checked this weekend, my Cyclone has 2 of the Fantastic Fans. I'm sure I'll figure things out as I go. Just concerned about his safety when I'm not around. Most of the time he will be with me anyway. Looking forward to working while full-timing. Shouldn't be too long now!

Looking forward to the Resource site all well - Good Job!

 

[JER-1]

Dog doors in campers

First camper large popup double king beds ect. I put a dog door in the entrance door fenced in around the front awning they could enjoy the heated intreior or a/c or lay out in the sun,there option just like at home.With the bigger TT I was having problem trying to firgue out a way for them to get up and down the steps and in out the dog door. So low and behold I found the Northtrail 280 BH toy hauler perfect,can take the generator, motorcycle , and with the toy door droping from front side I just put up a 23" painted osb board across the toy door entrance with dog door installed ,have a heavy duty sunbrella cloth or something like that velcrowed around inside entrance where the screen would go and the dogs go in and out to fenced in pen anytime they want and we have access to the main door works great. Getting ready next week to head to bristol nascar races I'll take a few pics and post.
JER-1
None

 

[fivernine]

Three-legged dog

Our dogs stay home (we pay them to watch the house while we camp). But I thought I'd toss this in on our oldest. We've been running (more walking these days) for years.

 

[htneighbors]

Jer1 -

That sounds like what I want to do. Dog door in garage and pen him in, let him come and go. I look forward to seeing your photos! Thanks.

 

[fivernine]

HT: We live on a mountain in the country so the dogs run free. They have a warm barn with hay to bed into, a gravity-fed feeder with 50 lbs of dry food, a watering bucket with a constant drip flow and a granddaughter in college to watch them and her own two huskies. Makes for easy travel.

I asked those dogs if they would rather go with us or stay home. They walked away shaking their heads. It was unanimous for home.

I don't want any three-dog-nights anyway. The Landmark will do just fine.

 

[htneighbors]

I asked those dogs if they would rather go with us or stay home. They walked away shaking their heads. It was unanimous for home.

I don't want any three-dog-nights anyway. The Landmark will do just fine.

Point well taken! Good thing about the Cyclone - separate garage; the boy WILL be sleeping in it!

 

[Corin1110]

I understand completely. We camped from Nevada to Michigan when we moved with our greyhound and rottie. You won't find a gentler dog than the rottie was but breed restrictions in campgrounds made it almost impossible for us. I would like to see the breed associations work harder with campgrounds and insurance companies to eliminate the breed restrictions.

We currently have an Australian Cattle Dog (ACD) also known as Queensland Heeler, and we have another rottie girl. Again, very gentle. The ACD is pretty good but we have to work with her to not bark when people walk by. She is with us all the time and quiet at night. We never leave her off leash.

Does anyone have any hints on training her to be quieter? We haven't had any complaints and we try to be sensitive to others. Still there's room for improvement.

 

[Corin1110]

Home Alone

Another alternative to leaving an unattended dog while at work is Doggy Daycare. We've used them in the past and they are great. Not only does the dog have constant supervision and climate control, but they have snacks and group play time to enhance their social skills making them less likely to object to other dogs around. They discovered our ACD's social skills drastically improved when they turned her out with small dogs because she tends to herd larger ones.

They aren't usually expensive and 2-3 days a week can make enough of a difference so the dog doesn't get bored or feel neglected.