To have a dog or to not have a dog? That is the question.

[COGrandDes]

Over the years our family has had dogs, and really enjoyed them. None of them accompanied us on camping trips.

I know I'll get flamed for this but barking dogs are really becoming an issue in some campgrounds. I do find dog owners to be very considerate of keeping their pets on a leash and picking up after them. However, it really gets annoying to go walking through a campground and have dogs go crazy as you pass a campsite. It's even worse when dogs are left in the RV next to you and you get to listen to them bark all day while the owner is away.

It's really weird as it seems it has been in the last 10 years that I've noticed folks bringing dogs (many times 2 or 3 dogs) with them on camping trips. What has caused this new trend?

There is an increase of dogs everywhere with people now....it's not just camping. In CO, you can hardly go anywhere to include flying and airports, eating out at restaurants, camping, to the hardware store, and etc. where there are dogs.

 

[Captcolour]

My wife wants a dog.

You didn't need to type anything more .

We have 2 dogs (micro goldendoodles) and they do great. RV parks are just dog parks that allow RV's! They are crate trained so stay in their crates while we are out without them. No barking. I have a wifi thermometer to monitor temp inside the RV when it is hot outside. Never came across a RV park that didn't allow unattended pets inside the RV. Ones that say this are typically referring to leaving them unattended outside.

If you love dogs, get a dog. If you don't, then don't for the sake of the animal.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

You didn't need to type anything more .

We have 2 dogs (micro goldendoodles) and they do great. RV parks are just dog parks that allow RV's! They are crate trained so stay in their crates while we are out without them. No barking. I have a wifi thermometer to monitor temp inside the RV when it is hot outside. Never came across a RV park that didn't allow unattended pets inside the RV. Ones that say this are typically referring to leaving them unattended outside.

If you love dogs, get a dog. If you don't, then don't for the sake of the animal.

Just FWIW, we've been to several RV parks just recently that have specifically forbade dogs unattended inside an RV when no one is around. Maybe this has something to do with the proliferation of dogs. But it does occur.

 

[trailrydr]

There is an increase of dogs everywhere with people now....it's not just camping. In CO, you can hardly go anywhere to include flying and airports, eating out at restaurants, camping, to the hardware store, and etc. where there are dogs.

Yup..... we love pets too. And when we through camping, might get another Jack Russel or Rat Terrier.

But, where I get irritated with pet owners is when they bring them into grocery stores, resturants, deli's and anywhere food is served. Or bring them into any store unleashed. Especially when feeding or letting them sit at the table.

IMO, emotional support animals should be left at the kennel, RV, or home. Service dogs for the disabled are excluded from this opinion.

We loved our Jack Russel and she was very well behaved. But would never take her into a store except maybe pet stores leashed.

 

[dryfly]

IMO, emotional support animals should be left at the kennel, RV, or home. Service dogs for the disabled are excluded from this opinion.

We loved our Jack Russel and she was very well behaved. But would never take her into a store except maybe pet stores leashed.

In the near future we may see all pets classified as "emotional support animals". That way there will be no restrictions as to where pets can be taken.

I'm waiting for one day when finding my seat on an airplane I'm seated next to someone with a miniature horse or a large snake as an emotional support animal.

And I'm with you. As soon as our camping days are over we will probably get another dog, but he/she will never get to visit Walmart with us. Or maybe even a large snake............

 

[jjbbrewer]

I know I'll get flamed for this but barking dogs are really becoming an issue in some campgrounds. I do find dog owners to be very considerate of keeping their pets on a leash and picking up after them. However, it really gets annoying to go walking through a campground and have dogs go crazy as you pass a campsite.

Agree. For 5 days, we camped across from a toyhauler where there were 3 small dogs fenced in on the rear patio. They went apeshit at anything that moved nearby - walkers, bikes, vehicles, other dogs, anything. This happened well into each evening.

I didn't understand why the owners (who were inside) thought this was ok.
I wouldn't let my truck alarm go off every 5 minutes all day long in a full campground.

 

[COGrandDes]

Agree. For 5 days, we camped across from a toyhauler where there were 3 small dogs fenced in on the rear patio. They went apeshit at anything that moved nearby - walkers, bikes, vehicles, other dogs, anything. This happened well into each evening.

I didn't understand why the owners (who were inside) thought this was ok.
I wouldn't let my truck alarm go off every 5 minutes all day long in a full campground.

I couldn't agree more. I've had German Shepherds all my adult life and love them but I teach them to behave, stay quiet, and be respectful. Many dog owners today are rude and uncaring to those around them. It could be barking, noises, whining, leaving pet waste everywhere, or just letting their dog jump on other people. Be a responsible pet owner if you're going to have the pets or leave them home to enjoy. As I noted before...we leave ours home as it's too limiting when we travel or camp.

 

[Timmer]

I am an upland hunter so that is one reason I have a dog. I suppose I'm also a "dog person." I subscribe to the theory that having a dog adds to one's happiness and will admit I have a strong urge to visit with a dog just about anytime I pass by one. We mostly travel to state parks where dogs are allowed. All of the dogs we have had have loved to go hiking with us. And we have had no problems crating the dog if they don't go with us somewhere.

I will share that I have very little patience for poorly behaved dogs or irresponsible owners.

 

[sande005]

My tolerance for campground intrusions is pretty high, except for that lady one site over that spent all day, for weeks, operating a grinder on whatever hobby project she was working on...

However, being a dog owner who tries hard to be a good neighbor, I have been known to post notes on the continuously barking/howling campers doors - and yes, even complained to CG staff, resulting in an eviction or two. But that is extreme, and either isn't done very often.
Dogs bark. Even mine. But there is a difference between <5 min. once or twice a day, and many hours....

 

[JM0397]

We always travel with ours and it isn’t a problem, but it really depends on the dog and the owner. If hiking is your thing, then get a large enough dog to go hiking with you. If you like smaller size, it depends on the dog’s temperament if you want to leave it behind. Research breed types and behaviors. For example, I’d never get a high-anxiety breed like a Schnauzer.

As has been said, there are no bad dogs, just bad owners. 6-8 hours in the rig isn’t a problem for an adult dog - we leave ours for that long, usually try to keep it closer to 6. They just curl up and sleep mostly. Check out Changing Lanes youtube channel - they have a little dog and have things setup in the rig for backup power & to let them know if there are any issues - temp gauge with wifi connectivity, for example. Like all things RVing, it’s doable but takes work and effort.

If you get a dog, take the time & spend the money to get some good training (it’s more for you than for the dog, TBH). Things like excessive barking & separation anxiety can be mitigated with good training.

 

[DeeBee]

All of our small poodles have traveled with us over many years. I have found that having only one dog makes it easier to leave them alone...because once 2 start barking...at least with little dogs...they feed off each other. My present miniature poodle is a quiet dog...I have trained her that way. However when I leave her to go somewhere while we are camping, I always leave music on or the tv on...to block out small outside noises. That works very well for me. Also...I have been noticing more rv parks posting you can't leave a dog unattended in your rv for the day. I think too many have left barking dogs for the day...maybe not even realizing their dog barks in their rv while they are gone.

 

[JPS350]

I am an upland hunter so that is one reason I have a dog. I suppose I'm also a "dog person." I subscribe to the theory that having a dog adds to one's happiness and will admit I have a strong urge to visit with a dog just about anytime I pass by one. We mostly travel to state parks where dogs are allowed. All of the dogs we have had have loved to go hiking with us. And we have had no problems crating the dog if they don't go with us somewhere.

I will share that I have very little patience for poorly behaved dogs or irresponsible owners.

Same situation for us, couldn't have said it better myself. I'll add that besides travelling with an rv and a golden retriever, we spend all summer cruising our sailboat on the Great lakes, dog included. It's definitely easier to travel in an RV with a dog than a boat, but she's a natural boat dog (grew up on the boat) and she's always the retrieving entertainment at anchorages.

Travelling with a dog does take some of your freedom away because all decisions depend on the dog. Ours is very well trained, so she's not really a problem ever. However, from my experience, many people (maybe most?) don't train their dogs and they are often an issue in public.

If you do get a dog, and your wife wants one and you don't, who's going to train it? Think hard about that one first, as you both need to commit to that, and training is never really done. It's an ongoing process.

 

[reubenray]

My wife wants a dog. I do not want a dog. Dilemma ??

For those of you who have dogs, what do you do when you want to go to a National Park and explore the park for a day? Do you just don't go? Do you just go for a couple of hours? We explored Zion last year for two days and about eight hours each day, would a dog have kept us from doing this? What lifestyle changes have you made in order to travel with a dog?

For those of you without dogs, what issues have kept you from getting one to travel with? I still want to travel and explore but feel like a dog would take away some of the freedom to do that. Am I correct in this thought or just way off base? We have stayed in parks that said if you left your dog in your rv and went to town, when you came back you would not be asked to leave, you would be told to leave.

So many issues to consider. Any feedback will be appreciated, and may be very helpful in putting this disagreement behind us.

My wife and I have had dogs most of our married life. Prior to the Yorkie we have now it was 17 years since the last one died. This one broke my wife's heart when she died. After we retired she wanted another one and it had to be a Yorkie. We started traveling in RV's. a few years before. This was 13 years ago. We had a Tiffin motorhome at that time. We had to make a lot of changes in our life since getting the Sophie especially traveling in the RV. From that point on we had to make sure we was not gone to long and Sophie had food and water. Our next two RV's were picked with Sophie in mind. Sophie loves when we get to a campground, but she hates traveling in the truck. We have had to give her something to make her sleep. We pack extra stuff that we would not pack (pens, ramps, bedding, etc.) for Sophie. End result is Sophie is a PITA some time, but a loving addition most of the time and a loving addition to our family. Sophie is 11 years old now and my wife is already dreading when we will lose her. This will break my wife's and mine hearts more than the last one did.

 

[BoredWeasel]

We are still weekenders and take a couple of month long trips a year. So some general observations about people and pets at campgrounds.

Most full time people with dogs. The dogs typically don't bark a lot, at least not the constant yipping. They are considerate in they pick up the droppings and keep them out under control be it a leash or tether or verbal. no issue with these folks.

Weekenders, slowly shaking my head. Well not so much, 50 foot leash so they can pee and poop in your campsite while walking in the middle of road. Barking, don't get me started. Had one couple got up on a saturday morning and left, dog barked, howled from 7:30 to about 3:00 when they returned. And as stated in previous posts the ankle biters yipping at falling leaves all day.

I am surprised no one mentioned vicious dogs, On a couple of occasion we experienced a large very aggressive mixed bred on the end of a very long tie out that could almost reach the park road. Scared the **** out the wife and I one morning, had I been carrying he would have been dead. Mentioned it to the camp office, seems they were long term and you can figure out how that conversation went.

Not sure what it is about schoolie owners, some seem to have 4-6 large dogs, untrained, that roam the campgrounds. It is pretty easy to figure out how trained the dogs are by the state of the schoolie. Had a few of them were we couldn't be outside as the dogs wouldnt leave us alone. Experienced this in private campgrounds in north florida and north carolina

we have a couple of yorkies, they are noisy, just who they are. They stay with my son or daughter when we go. We don't want to negatively impact others trip.



If your dog is trained and well behaved bring them along. Other wise leave them home.