Large dog issues or problems?

Wow, this thread sure has taken on a life of its own! My original question was if anyone had problems while traveling with large or restricted breed dogs. The answers have been very helpful. I was worried about traveling with our Staffordshire Bull Cross, especially since we are recently retired and planned to travel to Arizona for the winter. We never intended to own a pit bull, let alone travel with one, but life takes strange turns. Our dog was rescued as a pup by our son, we were aghast at the thought of having it live in our home, yet she has turned out to be probably the best dog we have ever owned. Five and a half years on, we've retired, sold our house and are now full timeing with our dog. We are always aware that not everyone likes dogs, especially ours. So far we have not had any problems anywhere, even parks with breed restrictions. On occasion when small dogs get aggressive towards our dog, she goes into pit bull mode and responds accordingly, but thankfully nothing has ever come of that. So far so good. By the way, we are loving being in Yuma! Life is Good.

I know that we had parks stretch their weight limits to take the Bernese in. Our neighbors have had the weight limits stretched for their dogs, too. It's best to call ahead and check it out. Good Sam's guide tells you if a campground takes pets. I don't know if there is a particular guidebook, but if you can find out where the hog and duck hunters go, they are sure to take large dogs the size of retrievers and hounds. They will probably have outdoor dog excercise areas, too.

Please get back to the original topic, thank you

Yes, doxiemom, that German shepherd was protecting the house and me. But he did not bark. He was dead silent. He gave no warning. He went around the shed in complete silence to get behind the intruder and meant to take care of business. There is something unnerving about a dog deliberately stalking and hunting a human being, even a trespasser. At least he knew the difference between kids and adults. He'd lay out on the deck and watch the neighborhood kids hop the fence and steal my oranges for hours. In the daytime. Never making a sound. Some of the kids darned near had a heart attack when they realized he was there, watching them. Then, they got used to him and ignored him. It gives me chills wondering what he would have done if one of them went after the oranges after dark.

Dogs are opack animals, kinda like wolves. They do belong to their owners, and they will protect when they feel the need.

But that is not what this thread is about. This thread is about arbitrary, mostly insurance company mandated breed restrictions. These restriction exist. some parks will ignore them if talked to nice enough, many will not.

Alright folks....don't get into a shouting match or I will close this

That german shepherd was "protecting" you from an unknown assailant! Even our small dog would do that until they knew that the person belonged there. I would have felt comforted that the dog was guarding me with DH gone. What if that hadn't been your DH.

My brother got a rottie instead of a golden, and spent the next 9 years insisting that the rottie had the sweet, laidback character that goldens are known for. It did not. My son got a 120# German shepherd ( which ended up with us when he moved), and spent years joking about what a *****cat it was. It was not, and it tried to prove that one night when hubby came home from a business trip in a rented car and came around thru the back way so he would not wake me. It did not bark. If hubby had not realized he was being stalked and started talking, that dog would have nailed him.

Now, my question is this. What is it that attracts people to breeds like this, that were specifically bred to do jobs where size, strength, and aggressiveness were assets. Why are people drawn to breeds with these reputations and then insist that their dogs are "different?" Not judging, just wondering. I don't understand.

And to the person who mentioned that biting lists are different than banned breed lists, SURE they are! If you get bitten by my bichon, you really won't suffer much damage. If you had gotten nailed by that German shepherd, that would be another story, entirely.

We had a Burnese Mtn Dog mix we traveled with for a couple years - a big, doofy dog with a big appetite, a big heart, a lot of fur and no brains. Never had much trouble as long as we stayed at pet-friendly parks. Be aware that he had impeccable camping manners and had been well sociallized with both people and other animals. The only difficulty he caused was dog-smell in the rv. If your dog acts aggressively towards people or other dogs, there will be trouble. Even in some parks that welcome large dogs, you need to check aheaad about your breed. Parks that we could stay in did not allow my brother's Rottweiler.

In the end there is no one size fits all scenario. I am happy that most parks welcome my Doberman and I have no problen finding lots of places to camp with him.
Those parks that turn us away due to breed restrictions I consider it there loss.