Camping with dogs?

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by North of 49°

I've been camping with dogs ever since I remember. The one thing I suggest is never make a big deal out of anything, when it comes to your dog -- within the bounds of acceptable canine behavior, that is. No matter what happens, act like it's normal, and soon the dog will realize that it's no big deal, it's just like at home, only different. Also, bring something of the dog's from home, a favorite blanket or a chew toy or something that they're familiar with and will provide them comfort. (Take my advice and leave the squeaky toys at home, or else the dog will decide that it's fun to play with at 5 a.m.)

Before leaving for the trip, bring the dog into the trailer while it's still at home and let them give everything a good sniff. Let them explore and discover the new space. What's behind this door? What's under there? This way, when you introduce them to it on the camping trip, they already have a frame of reference so they don't get as freaked out the first time. Let them find their place, even though it may not be right where you want them.

Dog behavior is based on what's familiar, so you want to control their exposure to it as gently as possible. Once they realize that this new experience is no big deal, they will settle right down. They may even get excited when they see you loading the trailer for the next trip, as they remember the fun they had.

Very very well said!!!

[cariboocreek]

We show Standard Poodles so we travel with our three all summer. They love the camper and have been camping with us since they were little puppies. We removed the dinette table and chairs and put their crates where the table used to be. They are only crated when we leave them alone in the camper. For outside the camper we cordone off a large area, 20 x 20, with x-pen panels that has direct access to the steps and to go in and out of the camper.

They are days on the road where it can be a “little” hectic but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. You know you are a dog person when every jacket pocket or pants pocket has rolls of unused poop bags. Lol.

Whether dogs or kids, try and be a good neighbor when you are jammed into a campsite.

[cruisers]

Dont need a crate after see was house trained. Now with the 321 RLDS see has plenty room she takes the couch

[shrpshtr]

My dog (3 y/o) is crate-trained but we never bring a crate with us. I guess we probably would if he was a puppy but we usually don't have an problems leaving him alone. The best advice I can give any dog owner, camping or otherwise, is to eCollar train them. It makes dog ownership so much less stressful and much more enjoyable in just about every situation. I have been doing it for more than 20 years and, after training, they don't get put on a leash unless someone's trying to make a big deal about it. Even then, once they see how well-behaved he is they forget all about the "leash concern".

shrp

[namusmc65]

Originally Posted by Ultratravler

I will post a few other things to keep in mind.
Not everyone loves your dogs as much as you do.
Not everyone enjoys listening to your dogs barking.
Please clean up after your dogs before leaving your camp site.
Keep in mind it only take's one inconsiderate pet owner to ruin it for all of us. Good luck.

Dave

X2
Nothing worse than having someone with dogs set up next to you and who start yapping every time a vehicle or a person walks by. The owners don't seem to even hear or notice all the barking!

[us71na]

We camp with our dog and have very few problems with him. He travels well and we have a safety harness that he wears at all times in our vehicles. It allows him to move around a bit, but keeps him in place if there is a sudden stop. In camp sites he is well behaved and friendly.

The problem of traveling with pets is that you can't legally leave them unattended in any vehicle in most states whether it is running or not. Most campgrounds have rules against leaving a pet unattended in your camp site or camper. It limits the attractions you can visit.

The biggest problems we see are:
* other campers with pets that are not well trained and get aggressive every time they pass a camp site with another animal.
* dog owners who don't clean up after their dogs, particularly after dark when they think no one can see.
*poorly trained owners who don't know how to control their animals and who think they will hurt the animal's feelings if the talk sternly or do anything to the pet to stop bad behavior.
*owners who allow their children who have no clue how to control a pet take them for walks.

[crumgater]

We've camped with 4 different dogs over the last 25 years, and four different RV's; two different truck-slide-in campers, a fifth wheel and now a 39ft motorhome.

Our current english mastiff went on her first camping trip in the fifth wheel when she was 6 months old. She was mostly potty trained by then, so we didn't take her crate. We did take some baby gates, in case we needed to keep her confined to the bedroom - but I don't think we ever used it.

We also took her bed, raised food dishes (allows slobber to dry between drinks), lots of towels, miracle deodorizer spray, chew toys, tug toys, treats, ropes, leashes and food.

As long as she has her humans and a couch to curl up on (a couch is always preferred over her own bed), she's a happy girl.

The fifth wheel had good floor space for a crate - just move the dining table. In the truck camper, we would have put the dinette table down, and put the crate on top of that (we never ate inside anyway).

I'd recommend you look into a raised bed for outside - like the cool-a-roo. We love our cool-a-roos! The dogs have all loved them (and we're still using the first one we bought, 18 years ago, although we did get a new cover for it), and they keep the bed out of the dirt and puddles.

[crumgater]

All the negative dog experiences... Come out to the NW!

We're all dog friendly out here and know how to train our dogs and pick up after them.

Sure there are a few exceptions, but we've never had any trouble worth remembering in 25 years.

[wags999]

Originally Posted by namusmc65

X2
Nothing worse than having someone with dogs set up next to you and who start yapping every time a vehicle or a person walks by. The owners don't seem to even hear or notice all the barking!

X3

Plus know that at most campgrounds it is against the rules to leave a dog outside without anyone attending them. The dogs also must be leashed, breaking these can get you kicked out. I can't tell you how often a dog is loose, and a kid rides a bike down the road and the dog takes off...they are in strange settings and what they may do at home, may not be what they do in public. When that happens police will come and take the animal a quarantine it for a period of time, plus, your on the hook for all costs.

[Atlee]

We took our late departed pup everywhere we went. We first started in a Class B. When underway, he stayed in a crate between the two front seats. It was a little tight, but we survived.

When we migrated over to TT's, of course, Duffy did too. But in the pickup, he was in the crate which was in the back seat of our Supercab.

In the trailer, we never kept him in a crate. He slept on the big bed with us. When we were gone, say to the game or visiting some place, he had his favorite bed, plus anywhere else he wanted to rest.

He was with us on our 2014 7900+ mile odyssey across the US. He did super. He didn't care if we were home all the time, or traveling, as long as he was with us.

When we left him for a few hours, we usually left the radio on so some outside sounds were masked, just as another precaution to make sure he didn't bark. As far as I know, he never did bark while we weren't there.

[Fyouberg]

X2

[norty1]

We picked up a rescue, Elle 4 years ago on a trip in NC. She spent her 1st 2 weeks with us in the RV. Never had a accident ever. She is so smart and quick to learn.

[CowboyCoffee]

Originally Posted by Ultratravler

I will post a few other things to keep in mind.
Not everyone loves your dogs as much as you do.
Not everyone enjoys listening to your dogs barking.
Please clean up after your dogs before leaving your camp site.
Keep in mind it only take's one inconsiderate pet owner to ruin it for all of us. Good luck.

Dave

Yes, this. Sometimes we feel like we're the only people left on the planet who don't have/want a dog, and we're surrounded by people who don't understand these points.

[John from Central Florida]

Originally Posted by Upstater88

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has any advice about camping with dogs. We have just brought home a boxer puppy and hope to bring her camping this summer. She is 11 weeks now and will be about 6 months by our first trip.

Oh, dear God, a boxer puppy. We've adopted boxers for nearly twenty years. Awesome dogs, once they mature...

Crate training is a necessity!

[TxLoser]

We've been camping with dogs since we got into this hobby. This past September we aquired a puppy. It was challenge to say the least because we had the puppy and the grumpy 14 year old dog. We crated at home but in the RV, it just didn't work. Never had an issue either.

We're concious to pick up and control the barking. I'll also add, that everyone does stop by to pet the puppy. We must always camp in the area with dog lovers.

Here's the 7 month old puppy on the couch and the old girl on the floor.

[Swardy]

We always camp with our Boxer - and he is a big boy, just over 90 lbs with a bit of winter weight. We have a collapsible crate that we leave in the back of the truck. The only time he is in it is for a few hours if we go to the beach or out somewhere he can't come with us. We just unfold the crate just inside the door. We always turn on the AC or at least the fan to block out outside noise because he likes to remind anyone walking by that he is aware of them when we aren't there.

[Tunce the traveler]

Nice to see all these dogs enjoying the comfortable life and making us smile every
day. Nothing like a dog to break the ice with total strangers and end up making new friends for us during our travels where ever we go. There’s just something about their companionship that makes every day special.

[GrandmaX8]

Ours has traveled with us for 4 years and we still can’t leave her alone. We can kennel her but she barks continuously and we don’t want to disturb the neighbors. It limits us on a lot we can do but don’t want to leave her. She was an adult stray when we adopted her so that may have a lot to do with it. Each dog is different. Good luck with yours. I think most do just fine.

[Click_here]

Here is where our smallest prefers to ride... but no, she only gets to sit there when we are parked!

[Chet & Marie]

We have been camping for over 30 years with are Scottish Terriers. We generally have two to three of them along and have never in all of those years had any problems whatsoever with the dog. We are respectful of others and clean up after the dogs. If they are outside they are always on a leash and we make sure that they get plenty of exercise to burn off some of their energy which if you have a Scottish Terrier you know they don't have much energy to begin with. We have never created a dog in our house or in our travel trailer. When traveling and they said in the back seat of our tow vehicle I'm there dog blankets which we take along every trip. We also Take Along their dog toys usual, dog food and treats so the camping is much like home. At night they sleep either on the rear couch or their dog bed which we just throw on the floor and look front of the couch for the night. We are down to one Scotty right now but looking for a couple more to rescue as we think rescues make the best family pets.