Leaving dogs in travel trailer?

[galakelady]

Newbie question here. I know many people take their pets on trips with them. We plan to travel with our two small Cavachons. Is it safe to leave them in the travel trailer for a few hours while we go sightseeing or out to eat? We would plan to leave on the air conditioning but am concerned about the power going out and leaving them in a hot travel trailer. What do you do?
Thanks.

galakelady
2015 Jayco Ultralite X213
Ford F-150
Lexus 570

[Larry G.]

Not just travel trailers but any RV.

We leave the windows open.

But stay to your plan of only a couple of hours.

[Jmooney]

Dogs like sightseeing too.....

[Larry G.]

Originally Posted by Jmooney

Dogs like sightseeing too.....

Our 2 cockers do also and would rather be with us.

But....the rig is going to be cooler than a hot truck if you get out and explore, shop or whatever.

[Jmooney]

Originally Posted by Larry G.

Our 2 cockers do also and would rather be with us.

But....the rig is going to be cooler than a hot truck if you get out and explore, shop or whatever.

I agree, they will be fine, but if they wag their tails, and say they want to come along.......

[galakelady]

We plan to take them sightseeing anytime dogs are allowed, but I know there are some places they cannot go. Thanks for your input.

[Jagiven]

If we leave ours at the tt, depending on the weather, we leave the roof vent open, and a f w w windows. If it will be hot we turn on the ac. We lots of water. She does not bark much, but I still close down the shades, to encourage her not to look out and bark.

[clubhouse]

We too leave our dog in the TT at times. Heat is really the main concern. If it's an acceptable temp our dogs have stayed as long as 6 hours...not often nor ideal to stay that long but at times it is what it is. They just lay on our bed or couch and watch out the windows. Not to different than at home.

[clutch]

We leave our dog in the trailer for short periods of time. We leave either the heat or AC on depending on what is comfortable. When we leave Abby she goes to the sofa or bed and sleeps. If your dog barks when you are gone do not leave it in your trailer to irritate the neighbors.

[Canadian couple 1983]

Usually we will only leave them for short times and usually if it's hot we leave AC on for them.... If traveling far we find people to watch them as it makes travel easier for us! Plus the 1 dog gets stressed now with travel

[FireCapt564]

Traveling with our dogs too is both a happy adventure and a challenge as we have the range if a 13 year old lab, who is reaching her limits for going up and down stairs and comfort when traveling, and a 9 month old English Shepard who loves every trip. We also have a 8 1/2 year old lab/husky mix who is becoming a bit anxious with traveling... Age I'm guessing. We have to make the tough call with our older lab for each trip based on her health at the time, but we too have great neighbors who take loving care of her when we are gone... Although this summers 5 week long trip out west has us concerned as we don't want to leave her that long, but worry about the stresses of the trip for her.

Anyway, leaving our dogs in the trailer as we hike or sightsee is always a concern. We make sure too choose pet friendly camp sites and look for activities where dogs are allowed to limit their time alone. When it's hot we do our running early and plan to spend the heat of the day with them in the camper so we don't worry about the AC or barking from loneliness or distractions. We also limit the time away as our lab/husky is becoming more anxious about separation in new places.

So after all that, I would throw my two cents into the bring your dogs pile but also the limit time in the trailer pile as you enjoy their company but also out of concern for the dogs well being and your camp site neighbors.

[Grumpy]

You could always ask the CG manager or owner to call your cell phone if there was a power outage. We did extensive sight seeing for years when we had our lab, she loved to camp, was the first one out the door when we would go to leave and did extremely well in the RV. Other than the power issue it should be no different than leaving them at home while you work.

[FireCapt564]

Good point.

[wwsmith111]

We do it all the time. One word of caution. We were in Key West last Xmas and left for several hours. It was in the 80's. When we came back the a/c had tripped the breaker and it was 100+ degrees inside the RV. Our poor dog was glad to see us. Make sure you leave plenty of fresh water for them.

[turkii]

Seasonal site, family friendly campground, 32BHDS, small Pekingese dog. No problem leaving him inside the trailer for a few hours at a time. We leave the radio on so he doesn't think he's alone. He sits on the dining table to see out the window and seems to do fine.

[Camper_bob]

We leave our dog in the RV for short amounts of time as well, no more than about 2 hrs at a time. He won't let us leave the house without him... We have been known to leave the TV or the radio on, which may help with the riff raff as well. Most times we close the blinds unless the dinette side of our trailer faces an area where no one is likely to be. He likes to watch the birds, and see the outside and most times he doesn't bark unless someone or something gets within 20 ft of the trailer. After he sees us leave, and sees what there is to see outside for a little while, he'll usually just go curl up on his bed and sleep until we get back. We know this because we have observed him without his knowledge and have spent a lot of time acclimating him to the environment. In the beginning it was like pulling teeth when we wanted to leave the trailer, but now that he knows we're coming back, he's a bit more amenable to being left for short periods. I absolutely will not leave him in a parked car for more than a few moments, and occasionally we go places where he is not welcome.

I honestly think you have to weigh the stresses of leaving him at home vs bringing him with. For a lot of dogs (even if they have someone they know and trust taking care of them) you not being around can be extremely stressful; much more so than traveling and being left in the trailer for a little while. Getting your pet accustomed to the environment is paramount. Spend as much time with them in the trailer as you possibly can. We park our trailer in the driveway for a week before any trip for preparation, and he's in there whenever we are.

I'll echo leaving the AC/heat on, and making sure that there is at least some form of ventilation in the case of failure, and plenty of water to help keep them cool if it does get hot.

[Plowtoy]

Most CG's in our area have unattended pet rules. Most say that you may not leave your pet unattended, even in your RV. All that being said, we bring our dog with every time we go camping and if we need to go away without him, we will leave the AC run (or just the AC fan if AC is not needed) and also turn the radio on for him to try and cover up any outside noise he may hear. In our camper, with out standing up, he can't look out the windows, so barking at people walking by isn't normally a problem (that we are aware of), and he doesn't normally bark until he can hear the doors of the truck closing or hear our voices.

[eldermike]

If we are camping in the open, no shade, such as water front, and it's going to be hot the dogs don't go. If we have shade and the camper will not get to 1xx degrees if the breaker trips they can go. If it's a 100 degrees outside and the camp ground if full there is going to be some tripping of breakers. Voltage drops raise the amperage draws on AC units and the voltage is going to drop if everyone is running 1 or 2 AC's in the camp ground. So assume your breaker load is going to go up at the worst possible time, just based on how the camp ground is underwired for days like that.

[RossCecil]

We don't have dogs but we do like them - and at a recent CG there were lots of dogs. Almost everyone followed the good tips in this thread. There was one TT where the folks put two beagles and two mixed breads into a small TT and left them for a good while - they were surprised on their return to learn the dogs did not enjoy being left behind and took out their frustration on the TT. It made us wonder what the inside of their house looked like! I guess that's something to think about if you travel with your pets.

[Brownie]

I might suggest getting a "Pet Guard" or other metal grating to protect the screen door . . . just in case they start pawing at the screen. It's no surprise that dogs watch us leave out the door, and realize it's the way out. My neighbors had to replace their screen after their dog scratched gaping holes in it. I've never left my dog in the trailer. He prefers being left in the truck. I guess he knows I'll always come back for that. However, I will be getting a grating for my screen doors, since I anticipate having to leave him (even for brief periods) in the near future. You can get them at CW, but Lowe's & Home Depot have them for about 1/2 the price. Just measure the width of the door to make sure you get the right size.