Dog fencing at campsite

toedtoes wrote:
I have walked my dogs around campgrounds (on their leashes)

only to have those nice dogs snoozing in the campground jump up and come attacking my dogs.

Seems the owners didn't see us coming and didn't grab a hold of their dog in time. Even when I am in a place that does not require leashes, my dogs are always on a leash. It's just safer all around and I never have to worry that my dog will catch sight of something/someone and take off on me.

X10

NO owner can 100% know that their dog: won't leave their site, stop when given the command (and usually these types of owners dogs have never been properly taught any commands let alone react to one).

The most dangerous dog situation in a CG?
The 'owner' that states "my dog won't leave my CG site and always listens to me".:R

The house dog with no training will bolt whenever the moment seizes them. And any owner that believes different? Well those are the ones that will have their dog be involved in a dog fight or even worse a dog bite situation. Henceforth why the no dogs off leash in a CG is IMHO imperative for everyone's safety.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
We require pets to be on a leash when they are not in the RV. Do we look the other way when people are sitting outside with them? Yes. Do we allow fencing? No. Reasons: We are an RV park not a kenneling facility. If we wanted our sites to be fenced, we would fence them. A pet confined by a fence is not under anyone's control. They will evacuate their bowels and there will not be anyone there to clean it up. If a child wanders up to the dog, there is no one to assure their safety. And finally, I haven't seen too many portable fences that actually will confine a pet intent on going elsewhere. It is a false sense of security.

WRVPO you are still the man! There was a recent post concerning an off leash dog on a beach. I suggested if the owner was present and had the dog was under control then there was no harm no foul and the rule could be overlooked.
I'm glad we can agree on this issue. Many mmembers were in the no rule can ever be ignored camp.
Where we agree is that common sense must be factored in. No tolerance is fools gold.

Lets see, I'm in a 800 site RV Park right now(Emerald Cove), there are more dogs than you can shake a stick at, many are multiple dog owners. I walk the CG daily and see plenty of X-pens, including my own and Yes some dogs are in the pen's unsupervised (owners in RV) but I've yet to experience any barking or aggressive behavior. I suggest, dog's in X-pens are more under control than leashed dogs but that's just my opinion. Most X-pens can be set up without using stakes in the ground although I can attest that stakes in the ground help but there certainly not driven in to any depth.....mine are maybe 3"!

Now, an RV Park owner certainly can make there call on this but just as an example, Jackson Rancheria, a noted northern Calif park that's highly rated and whom maintain an excellent appearance/landscaped sites, has no problem with X-pens and it does not distract from the Beauty of the Park. Quite frankly, they didn't mind it you set them up on the beautiful grass even though I set ours up on the concrete(when finished at the site, we always wash the complete area and disinfect).
(I believe they rate that Park 10/10/10...just sayin!).

To each their own and once again, an RV owner can chose what's best for them, I just disagree with your rational. Oh well, we'll both get over it...:-).

westernrvparkowner wrote:
We require pets to be on a leash when they are not in the RV. Do we look the other way when people are sitting outside with them? Yes. Do we allow fencing? No. Reasons: We are an RV park not a kenneling facility. If we wanted our sites to be fenced, we would fence them. A pet confined by a fence is not under anyone's control. They will evacuate their bowels and there will not be anyone there to clean it up. If a child wanders up to the dog, there is no one to assure their safety. And finally, I haven't seen too many portable fences that actually will confine a pet intent on going elsewhere. It is a false sense of security.

We travel out west most summer. We spent more than a month in Montana 2 of the last 3 years and will be out there again this summer. We certainly respect your right to have whatever rules that work for you and except for one thing, we could stay at your park without using our X-pens But you lose credibility with your belief that a dog off leash with their owner is more under control than a dog in X-pen and their owner sitting there. I know, you describe the golden retriever sleeping at its owner's feet, as if that is all golden retrievers will do. Let a squirrel or some other small animal go running by and see how quickly that golden retriever can move. It is that loss of credibility that causes me not to want to stay in your park.

We use X-pens with our dogs, mainly for letting them dry after swimming; but sometimes just because we wan them out with us, when we are sitting out.



Oh, do you really believe that those who use X-pens don't pick up after our dogs if they defecate in the X-pen? I assure you that those owners are much more likely to pick up after their dogs than the people walking around your campground with their dogs on leash.

Tom

doxiemom11 wrote:
The parks we have worked at do not allow dog fencing. One dog owner asked about using the invisible fence at his season site at one of them, and was told "no" by the owner. They want leashes used. As hosts, we would say something if someone was walking their dog with no leash,or letting them roam, but if someone was sitting on their site with their small dog on their lap, or their big dog laying at their feet, we would not say a thing.

I have walked my dogs around campgrounds (on their leashes) only to have those nice dogs snoozing in the campground jump up and come attacking my dogs. Seems the owners didn't see us coming and didn't grab a hold of their dog in time. Even when I am in a place that does not require leashes, my dogs are always on a leash. It's just safer all around and I never have to worry that my dog will catch sight of something/someone and take off on me.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
It sure would be nice if we lived in a black and white world, but we don't. Most things are shades of gray. Someone sitting outside their RV, with their golden retriever sleeping at their feet is just not someone I am going to hassle over a leash. The nature of the RV Park business is you have to make dozens of judgment calls on a daily basis. Zero tolerance is something preached from a high horse, it doesn't work in the real world.

Of course we live in a grey world, that's why there are usually exceptions to the rules. But when the rule itself is the exception, then it's no longer a rule, it's just something that is pushed on people not liked. I have seen too many places that excuse the dog wandering around the campground "because she's so sweet" - and everyone ignores that those owners aren't controlling the dog, cleaning up after the dog, etc. But someone else's dog reacts to the wandering dog in their site and THAT dog gets labelled as a problem.

You obviously are comfortable with the way you do things. I know I'm not going to change that. But yours is the type of place I don't stay at because the posted rules and reality don't mesh.

The parks we have worked at do not allow dog fencing. One dog owner asked about using the invisible fence at his season site at one of them, and was told "no" by the owner. They want leashes used. As hosts, we would say something if someone was walking their dog with no leash,or letting them roam, but if someone was sitting on their site with their small dog on their lap, or their big dog laying at their feet, we would not say a thing.

toedtoes wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
And you are obviously a thoughtful pet owner. However, my Crystal Ball does not have an option to sort the good owners from the bad owners, so we have to have policies that work for us. As I previously stated, we are very flexible when it comes to pets that are outside with their owners on their sites. We don't enforce the leash rules unless it becomes necessary. We don't pretend to be the park for everyone. We have an image that we are comfortable with and our guests have come to expect. Keeping the sites neat and clutter free is part of that image. Fencing does not fit into what we want our park to be and hence it is not allowed. We don't spring it as a surprise. It's on our website, repeated on our confirmations and printed on our check in materials. We understand that it doesn't work for some people and we do everything we can to prevent a problem situation from arising.

This annoys me. If you have a rule - enforce it. If you are going to let people ignore the rule then don't bother having the rule. It is very irritating to be the one following the rules only to see every other person ignoring them. I'd rather stay at a place with strict enforcement of the rules, than stay at a place where the rules are enforced willy nilly.

It sure would be nice if we lived in a black and white world, but we don't. Most things are shades of gray. Someone sitting outside their RV, with their golden retriever sleeping at their feet is just not someone I am going to hassle over a leash. The nature of the RV Park business is you have to make dozens of judgment calls on a daily basis. Zero tolerance is something preached from a high horse, it doesn't work in the real world.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
And you are obviously a thoughtful pet owner. However, my Crystal Ball does not have an option to sort the good owners from the bad owners, so we have to have policies that work for us. As I previously stated, we are very flexible when it comes to pets that are outside with their owners on their sites. We don't enforce the leash rules unless it becomes necessary. We don't pretend to be the park for everyone. We have an image that we are comfortable with and our guests have come to expect. Keeping the sites neat and clutter free is part of that image. Fencing does not fit into what we want our park to be and hence it is not allowed. We don't spring it as a surprise. It's on our website, repeated on our confirmations and printed on our check in materials. We understand that it doesn't work for some people and we do everything we can to prevent a problem situation from arising.

This annoys me. If you have a rule - enforce it. If you are going to let people ignore the rule then don't bother having the rule. It is very irritating to be the one following the rules only to see every other person ignoring them. I'd rather stay at a place with strict enforcement of the rules, than stay at a place where the rules are enforced willy nilly.

We use a 36 in. x-pen for our two little dogs covered with the top half of a beach umbrella for shade, and water is always available. They're only in the x-pen when we're outside to supervise. Our boxer is on a cable tie-out when on our site - again, only when supervised. His tie-out is placed so that he can't reach anything/anyone off our site. Our dogs are always on leash when walked around the campground, and we don't allow them to bark (SO annoying!!).