new to camping with a dog/puppy

[wannabeowner]

Originally Posted by Villagerjjm

Interesting posts!

I have had a Boxer, English Springer Spaniel, 6 cats and two Soft Coated Wheaton Terriers over the past 66 years. All wonderful pets. Each with their own identity and personality. Each one equally loved.

That being said, I will continue with this: I would never, never EVER try to take a dog or a cat into any establishment that serves food or alcohol. I disagree with anyone who feels the "need" to do so no matter how helpless they are without their dog or cat.


IT IS NOT RESPECTFUL OF THE OTHER PATRONS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT !!!!


There are people who are absolutely TERRIFIED of dogs.. or cats... or both. Are you saying that they do not have the right to eat (or drink) in an environment of their choice without having to tolerate the presence of a dog (or a cat) sitting next to them?

I have seen where dog owners have their dogs sit on a seat at their table in a restaurant and feed their dogs table scraps off their plate, and then continue to eat off that same plate.

I have no hesitation to complain to management in such a case. If nothing is done, I will not hesitate to move a chair "up wind" from the offenders and light up a cigar.

I believe the owner of an establishment is entitled to allow, or ban dogs as he or she sees fit, according to local laws. Most of the places I go have areas specifically designated for dogs so that customers can sit away from them if they desire. You certainly have the choice to eat at any restaurant you choose, so if you don't like the way someone runs their business you can complain or take your money elsewhere.

[NH Traveler]

We have an eleven year old Chihuahua who has been camping with us six months every year since 2014. Best thing ever is that he is piddle-pad trained and uses a piddle pad in the shower stall. (I tease him and call him George Costanza.) My husband built him a ramp up to our bed and he comes and goes as he chooses during the night. If we are away from the camper for a few hours he sits on the couch back and watches for our return. He never ever barks and never ever destroys anything. Just a great dog. I wish I could take credit for his behavior but his breeder (we called her Nancy the Nazi) was very strict with her puppies and when we got him at six months he was beautifully trained. Our only problem with him is now that he is getting elderly he does not like thunder or fireworks and lots of campgrounds have people setting off illegal fireworks late at night. He gets so scared, but I just hold him tightly. i wish people would follow rules, especially when others are living so closely to them.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wannabeowner

I believe the owner of an establishment is entitled to allow, or ban dogs as he or she sees fit, according to local laws. Most of the places I go have areas specifically designated for dogs so that customers can sit away from them if they desire. You certainly have the choice to eat at any restaurant you choose, so if you don't like the way someone runs their business you can complain or take your money elsewhere.

If one was to ask restaurant owners what they would prefer to exclude from their facilities, well behaved pets or unruly children, it would be no contest.

An example of how some pets behave, I stopped at my Daughter's place of employment (an Elementary School) and brought my pup along. While we talked he sat right in front of me on the counter and watched my Daughter like he was part of the conversation. Teachers and Assistants walked by and almost to a person commented "I sure wish our kids could behave as well as him." He had no leash, I wan't holding him, and he didn't move until I started to leave.

Compare that with your average trip to a Red Robin, Denneys, Cracker Barrel, etc. Ever had a kid come over to your table stare at your food and then ask "What's that, it looks yukky"?

The whole question of allowing animals IN food serving establishments is somewhat moot. Health Department regulations pretty much exclude them in just about every, if not all, states.

Passing comment, ever been eating in restaurant and have someone at the booth next to you change a baby diaper? Yeah, one of "that kind of diaper".

[Wolverine 1945]

I Love Dogs,,,
But I would not want to go to a restaurant and find a bunch of dogs there !!!
I would just go somewhere else !!!

We do not do restaurants when we are on a camping trip !!!

[acris60]

We have 2 tea cup Chihuahua's, and we bring them everywhere. We make sure the park is pet friendly. They stay in our fifth wheel and have the run of the trailer. They are trained, and are happy to go outside when needed. The only issue I come across is, most or all parks require dogs to be on a leash, a lot of times we come across dogs who are not on a leash, and decide they want to come and make friends with my 4th dogs... They do not need these kinds of friends, or threats... Dogs are happy to drive with us, and get excited, when they see us packing.

[boatnut]

What is a crate? Never used one for my golden doodle.
She's slept on my bed for 9 1/2 years! Well, unless I have company, lol

[doulos]

I picked up a 30’ leash on Amazon for $10. Very handy at camp.

[Skeeter63]

We carry our wireless fence with us and it works great. It has various settings so you can limit the area. Also big fan of putting them in portable crate or kennel when we leave for whatever reason.

[jeffnick]

We seldom leave Merlin alone in the camper, and never in a crate. Our camper is 16' - he sleeps where ever he wants...sometimes on the bed with us otherwise on the floor.
Most campgrounds require a leash - we attach the leash to the camper and let him 'roam' if we're nearby but he generally settles under the camper in the shade.

[emm-dee]

If your pup spends a lot of time at home and not really used to being around strangers a great place to get them ready for being around campground folks is Home Depot or Lowes. I take both of mine there on a regular basis. Some of the workers there even know their names. It's a great place for them to meet lots of people and, occasionally, other dogs.

We have a portable 36" fence (four sections) that we set up alongside the camper. It allows the dogs the freedom to move between the fenced area and inside the camper without being burdened by a leash.

A good method to safely restrain the pets without a fence is to get a piece of plastic covered steel clothesline. Attach it to the ends of your awning, put a steel clamp on it and attach their leash to the clamp. The line is "slippery" and will allow the animal to run the full length. I used a medium strength spring between the leash and the clamp to prevent excessive pull if the pup runs to the extreme length of the cable. Make the leash just long enough to allow them to lay down. Since the leash is attached to an overhead point there's no danger of the animal becoming tangled up. But, please don't leave them leashed to the overhead run if you need to leave your campsite.

[Paulred]

Dogs are happy wherever you are. That's their thing. One thing not mentioned is ID. Dogs get curious and can wander. A chip is a good thing. We also have his name tag with our email address on the back. We want our dog back.

[jacques1543]

U have never crated my dogs at home or in the trailer and have had no problems. No campsite has ever asked any more questions but do you have pets and we always check the website before we go to make sure that they say pet friendly.
We often leave the dogs alone in the Motorhome when we go visiting and have had no issue... the only concern we have is praying that the air conditioner keeps working properly but so far so good and I know there are things that can send you warnings if the temperature changes by too much but they ae expensive.
Dogs have traveled extremely well.

[wanttaberetired]

All the responses you have received are guidelines I have followed. I would like to include some that are outside of your questions but, I have found helpful.
As previously suggested, chip your friend and most importantly register the chip. It’s no good if it’s not registered. In addition to the email on the tag, include your cell phone or a cell phone number for someone back home that can contact you. The email is great for those areas of the country with dicey cell phone service. I encountered this in West Virginia.
I take a picture of my dog into the office when we register, it helps with those parks that have restrictions on some breeds. It can also be used if the dog goes missing.

As others have said, I have left my dog in the camper for short periods of time. When I return, I have checked with my camping neighbors as to whether there were any issues while we were gone. Most people won’t say anything unless asked and I have found that they appreciate the inquiry.

The following suggestions are for situations you never want to happen but, could. Whether you decide to use a crate or not please take one as you will need it should you have to go to a shelter due to weather emergencies.
If you leave your pet in the camper as I have done for short trips, include in your wallet with your emergency contact info for yourself, information about your pet and what campground you are at, the site number and that you have a pet in the camper. Heaven forbid if you are in a car accident you would not want to leave your pet unattended. This last suggestion came from a seminar at the FROG rally this year on fire safety. What would you do should you have a fire in the RV while you are there. Who goes out the emergency exit 1st? It's just something to think about and I am still thinking about it.

Enjoy your new family member.

[Grapehound]

The biggest issue with leaving your pet in your camper is those dogs (because they are a puppy or just high energy breed) who can't settle down while you are gone but are in a constant state of anxiety. These dogs can eat your couch. Or bark incessantly. They need a crate and a lot of pre-absence exercise. A tired dog is a good dog.


You may also get a pre-printed sticker which goes on your front door which indicates that if there's an emergency please check the dog(s) inside, so that folks know to rescue your dogs if needed.


We have greyhounds and they are big couch potatoes. We take a long walk before we leave them alone for a couple hours and they snooze the time away. They rarely bark so no one knows they are even home in the camper. If you don't trust a dog at home alone, your camper's no different. Use a crate or take them with you.


State parks in NY require you to have a sheet of vaccination info with you to camp with your dog. At other campgrounds that info will become important if your dog has an altercation with another dog or a human.


While some campgrounds have a rule that you can't leave your dog alone inside the camper, quiet, well-behaved dogs inside a hard sided camper are rarely a concern for the CG. Never tie your dog outside at a campground and leave him alone to be at the mercy of hot sun, other roaming dogs, wild animals or a tangled rope. That's the height of thoughtlessness.



Our biggest complaint about dogs at campgrounds is people who allow their small (or big) dogs off lead or on a 30 foot roaming tie at their campsite. Sometimes little dogs will run up to our greyhounds and we worry that some small white poodle may look like a rabbit to our dogs. We ask people to keep their dogs away and they often say, "Oh don't worry he's friendly!" as if I am worried that their 6 lb. rabbit look-alike is going to eat my 70 lb greyhound. However I know that if my dog bites another dog, even if they run up to our dogs on a 30 foot flexi-lead or run into our camper (and small dogs have run inside our camper), that it's my dog who will be blamed as the bad aggressive dog.


We had four or five run-ins with small dogs allowed to run off leash or on flexi leads (horrible invention) or they just "got loose" at various campgrounds. At one place in Montana the campground owners tiny dog kept trying to catch up to our dogs while they eyed him like a rabbit-lunch. We kept telling the owner to get his dog but the small dog just kept running away from him and we were left trying to protect the small dog from our dogs who were on six foot leashes. Unfortunately, people think behavior is cute when it's a small dog (growling, biting, running loose, going after other dogs) when the same behavior would get a Pit Bull euthanized.



Everyone needs to control their dogs and respect other campers in a public campground setting.


We also don't allow our dogs to socialize with other dogs. Who knows if they'll get along or suddenly lash out? It just takes one nip to get a big vet bill or lose an eye, and for what? Because you allowed your dog to go nose to nose with a strange dog you don't know and you'll never see again just to be "friendly." Not worth it. We enjoy our dogs and hope others will enjoy their dogs, just separately from us.


One tip: if your dog wears a collar in the camper, watch our for bottom drawers with points on the handles. Dogs can catch their collars on some types of handles and strangle themselves. I replaced our drawer handles which had pointed ends with curved handles with nothing to grab a collar.

[northerlee]

We've experienced several tense encounters with campground dogs. Worst one was a pit bull mix left unattended on a 50' lead next to the walkway we were on. The vet bill for saving my shelty was $1,300.00. I had my shelty within my control on a short leash. This happened in Washington state at Hood Canal. WA State Campgrounds, campground/park ranger, campground hosts, all totally useless; reporting no record of the perp's motor home in campground. These days I carry genuine bear spray, and it definitely works as a nonlethal way to fend off an uncontrolled vicious dog. FWIW: The principal responding authority for Washington State Campgrounds is the Washington State Highway Patrol.

[Travelbumcondo]

Originally Posted by mlrxaide

Suggestions and advice on first time camping with a pet...never took my other dogs camping with us but want to start with our new girl...she's only 14 weeks and we just got her. What should we do to get her used to the TT? Where does a dog sleep who is used to a crate. How do you keep them somewhat clean? Are you "stuck" at the site since you can't leave them in the TT without supervision? Any ideas would be appreciated...

I have traveled with my Chocolate Lab since she was a puppy. I use Rover.com and schedule a doggy day care at individual homes while we explore our new camping area. The people I have had watching my little girl have been extremely kind, loving and compassionate, I have to admit that twice they have canceled on me at the last minute so always have a back up plan. LOL

[wannabeowner]

Grapehound said "We ask people to keep their dogs away and they often say, "Oh don't worry he's friendly!"

I hear that all the time and it drives me crazy. I once had a big dog, off leash, heading towards me and a skittish dog I had so I yelled "please call your dog!". The owner said, "Oh, I can't. He doesn't come when I call." Unbelievable!

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by doulos

I picked up a 30’ leash on Amazon for $10. Very handy at camp.

How about the 6' leash rule ???

[mdstudey]

Originally Posted by Paulred

Dogs are happy wherever you are. That's their thing. One thing not mentioned is ID. Dogs get curious and can wander. A chip is a good thing. We also have his name tag with our email address on the back. We want our dog back.

The only animal not chipped is my parrot and I also have them in the databases. Very important, thanks for mentioning it.


One question asked by OP is cleaning them. I use the outdoor shower.

[PuppyDogMom]

Very interesting reading. We have 2 dogs (Golden and German Shepherd/Husky mix rescue dog). Had to get a bigger camper to accommodate their size, and us, too. From what I've read, there is no one way to travel with dogs, although there are good suggestions. Travel with records and first aid kit seems like a must.

The Golden is a barker, especially if she sees something outside or hears something. We have a small camera that I can access from my cell phone. If I "see" her barking and I'm not too far away, I can get back to the camper and fix things, like turn the air conditioning fan on and/or the tv. Works fine.

Seems like people do what works best for them and you just have to discover what that is.