Leaving dogs in travel trailer?

[sirrealone]

One of my pet peeves is when an owner will leave their dog in their trailer, only to have it bark the entire time that they're gone. It happens more often than you'd think. I know most people will think "Oh, my dog would *never* do that" but many dogs will prove their owners wrong on that one if given the chance.

[krackeer]

Originally Posted by sirrealone

One of my pet peeves is when an owner will leave their dog in their trailer, only to have it bark the entire time that they're gone. It happens more often than you'd think. I know most people will think "Oh, my dog would *never* do that" but many dogs will prove their owners wrong on that one if given the chance.

Yep, that's what our dog does! Barks all the while we are gone. At least the first couple of times we leave her. Then she realizes that we are coming back, and settles down. In my first TT, the first time we left her, we came back to broken shades and pulled down curtains. We decided we would try crating her while gone the next time. She was never crated before. We came back to a broken crate. She is a small dog, so we knew that the crate was out of the answer. Now, we leave the TV on, and of course the AC. She barks for awhile, but soon calms down. We have to bring her because there is no-one to leave her with. She enjoys camping except when we leave for a while.

[KLGard]

We have two Pomeranians that usually go with us everywhere we go. If we are going shopping, or out to dinner, then we leave them "home" where they would be more comfortable. I cannot stand seeing pets left in hot vehicles in parking lots, so if it is cooler at "home" that is where they stay. We are not gone more than a few hours. We leave vents open, air conditioner or heater on depending on the weather to keep them comfortable. They handle it all very well.

[norty1]

Ours stay in often. They enjoy a break from us.

[DMRGMC]

We make sure our 2 dogs (Lab & Jack) are fed, watered and exercised before they are left in the 5er. That way they are ready to sleep as per their daily routine, all the time contemplating their next move to take over the world!
20 minutes with some retrieving activity gets them tuckered quickly. We leave the ac/fan on, temperature set, to drowned out exterior noise, blinds closed, radio on, treats as we leave, like at home, tells them we are leaving and will be back. They know the routine.
When the lab was young we made the mistake of leaving the blinds open. She rearranged them, removed the fire extinguisher and chewed the pull pin but didn't dischare it and the 2 of them removed the couch cushions. No permanent damage, we never made that mistake again.
We also plan days when they come with us on the daily sightseeing where we try to get them in the water or lots of walking. They have a good life.

[Tunce the traveler]

I never leave my dog in the TT when I'm going out for the afternoon or evening. I bought a White SUV to keep her cooler and always look for a tree to park under. Back seat is always down so she has the run of the place to get herself comfortable.

[Ecfeick]

Ac on vent and bunk window open. Shades drawn. Radio on static.

I've asked our neighbors and they don't bark.

[snowbird47]

Our dogs ( two Border Terriers) WILL bark at the slightest provocation such as other dogs outside, squirrels, etc. They are well crate trained, so when we have to leave them in the CG we turn on AC if needed, close all windows and blinds and put them in crates on the floor of the MH. This seems to stop them from barking or singing (if you have never heard a Border Terrier "sing" you are really missing something - it sounds like they are being tortured!). They will know when you drive up to the CS and bark a little, but that is about it.

[William]

We take our dog for a good walk before we go close the windows & blinds turn on ac or fan and radio and take a lap around the campground to make sure no barking to bother any other campers with our past dogs we put up a wire crate our latest dog just lays on the bed. Years ago in Branson we had a cg manger told us he check our camper every hour to make sure our air was running in 100deg weather we had two dogs and we didn't even ask him great cust service.

[cekkk]

Our medium to large sized rescues are great travelers and we can leave them in the SUVs or truck or camper or motel for hours. They don't understand why they can't go with us when it's too warm to leave them in the cars of course, but they're fine in the camper. We leave the ac on for them and a radio, DW's idea, and neighbors say they only bark if someone approaches the camper. Probably a waste of time to lock up! And even if the ac shuts down, they'd be fine because it's not going to get too hot in the winter months, just uncomfortable for me. DW would never turn it on.

[Norrell]

We frequently travel with several shih tzu, and they are fine in the trailer (and motorhome before our new trailer). Be careful with your windows. They can destroy blinds if they can get to them to see out. And last summer, one of ours jumped through the screen of an open window when a ATV drove through our dispersed camping location. He was fine when we returned, but could have run off looking for us, or if we'd been in a crowded area something else might have happened.

If it's very hot and not shaded, I will run the A/C. The white noise seems to keep dogs less on edge about when their parents will return.