What should we do with our dog in this scenario?

[New England Weekender]

My wife and I have an aging 15 yr old dog that we'd like to bring on weekend RV excursions but many of the early booked trips are children themed amusement parks for our 2(both under 5 yrs old). I don't believe our dog would do well in a large amusement park atmosphere, assuming the park would even let us bring him in. The way I see it, we have 2 options. Bring him on the weekend adventures and let him hang out in the rig while we're in the park. Probably coming back for lunch daily and to let him out, although he has no bladder issues and routinely goes all day without needing to go outside, despite my wife being available to let him out while she WFH. Option 2 is he would stay home while we go places. Our friends and family would help with stopping by to let him out, hang with him for a bit, etc. Boarding wouldn't be a realistic 3rd option as the one time we boarded him, it did not go well at all. He seemed heavily neglected, came back filthy laying in his own urine, and took a week or two to "recover" back to his normal state. Never again.

What do you all think we should do here? Take our 15 yr old pup on adventures and hope he's fine in the RV for small hourly blocks or leave him home where he has the run of the house and knows everything and everyone he'll see? Thanks for any advice.

 

[sande005]

Need more info for good advice. At 15, how is his vision and hearing? Does a person/dog on the sidewalk going past your home set him off barking? How about delivery trucks, and other such activities? Squirrels, rabbits?
Our 16.3 yr old has vision and hearing issues, so nothing sets him off, like it did in his prime. Our 7 yr. old reacts to the above IF he can see them. Close the blinds in any window that he could look out, and he is chill for all day long periods.

Neither has ever been an anxiety or boredom barker. Nothing worse than a yapper in an RV with no one around to calm him for many hours. Many places have a "no unattended pet" rule for that reason. It may not be strictly enforced, but if the dog is an on going disturbance, I have seen places evict the campers. And even though I bought the camper to be able to bring the dogs, I support that happening. Leave yours at home if he is that kind of dog. Period.

Before any of your other trips, go on a couple with the dog BEFORE your active trips, to test him out. Leave him in the RV as you would, and drive the truck/vehicle a ways away (they can identify your vehicle VERY well). Then quietly walk back to your site, and site down with a book. Observe how he behaves over a few hours.

 

[WhittleBurner]

Need more info for good advice. At 15, how is his vision and hearing? Does a person/dog on the sidewalk going past your home set him off barking? How about delivery trucks, and other such activities? Squirrels, rabbits?
Our 16.3 yr old has vision and hearing issues, so nothing sets him off, like it did in his prime. Our 7 yr. old reacts to the above IF he can see them. Close the blinds in any window that he could look out, and he is chill for all day long periods.

Neither has ever been an anxiety or boredom barker. Nothing worse than a yapper in an RV with no one around to calm him for many hours. Many places have a "no unattended pet" rule for that reason. It may not be strictly enforced, but if the dog is an on going disturbance, I have seen places evict the campers. And even though I bought the camper to be able to bring the dogs, I support that happening. Leave yours at home if he is that kind of dog. Period.

Before any of your other trips, go on a couple with the dog BEFORE your active trips, to test him out. Leave him in the RV as you would, and drive the truck/vehicle a ways away (they can identify your vehicle VERY well). Then quietly walk back to your site, and site down with a book. Observe how he behaves over a few hours.

All that is great advice. At 15 your pup will be much happier with you even if left alone for hours. We have done many long excursions and keep the blinds closed and the TV on for background noise. At the beginning we checked with camping neighbors to find if they were noisy. Alway got the you have 3 dogs in there, they were quiet (yay)

If you are in a private campground sometimes they can refer a dog walker to check on the dog and stretch his/her legs

 

[ocbizman1]

We are full-timers and have a 16 year old dog so we have to take her with us. We are in Washington state now due to family but for decades we lived near Disneyland. We are on the road from October to April. In December we fly the kids down from Vancouver and spend a week at the Disneyland Resort. We park our trailer at a nearby campground and have a family friend come out to the trailer to dog sit. Someone that we've used in the past and our dog knows and we don't have to worry about. My wife and I stay in the Disneyland Hotel with the kids. This way we don't have to constantly go back to the trailer to walk and feed the dog. We can enjoy the time with the kids and our granddaughter.

 

[Beanstalk1970]

We've done multiple things with Juneau, our nearly 19 year old husky mix over the last 4 years of being FT. Some parks, I'm thinking Magic Mountain in California, have a place that you can check your dog in and it's kinda like a pet hotel except you have to come back to walk, poop, and feed your dog. They just have someone to watch over them in the cages. It was free... at other places we have used rover.com and found a person to come walk Juneau a couple of times during the day. They can be specifically good with our older puppy and give us peace of mind if we are out all day...as Juneau can not make it in the rig for more than 4 - 6 hours these days.

 

[trailrydr]

IMO, the bringing of any pet into a camping situation depends on multuple factors:
1) is it a public campground, boondocking, or private residence.
2) what are the rules for pets. Can the pet and pet owners follow the rules.
3) can the pet be left alone and abide by the rules or not be abnoxious.
4) can the pet be safely trusted around others especially in campgrounds.
5) does the pet need special care due to age.
6) are the owners capable of providing the required care for the pet.
7) ....Im sure there may be other considerations, but these were our primary concerns when we brought our dog with us camping, or for that matter, anywhere outside our primary home.

Our Jack Russel (prior to passing away last year) was a great dog for camping. She could be walked unleashed anywhere and still mind our commands, and let us know to go potty from the day she was born till her death. She was a special and super dog! Miss her dearly... could be left alone, wouldnt be abnoxiously barking while we were away or while being walked, and loved anyones attention as long as we allowed it.

We want another dog, but will wait till we are done RVing before getting one just incase we are not as fortunate next time. She lived to be 15 yrs old.