Our first trek in the RV. Bring the Dog? Yes or No?

I take my pups with me every camp trip I go. Most private campgrounds allow pets or have a section for pets. Even the state campgrounds here in PA have become extremely pet friendly. When I leave them behind, I put on the air conditioning if it is hot. If not hot, then I open all the windows and the bed hatch and run my Fantastic Fan to keep things circulating. Before we leave though, we run the heck out of them, so they are exhausted and lie down while we are gone. I currently have a 75 lb Pointer/Husky and a 40 lb German Sheppard, who is wheel chair reliant due to being paralyzed.

Have you ever left the dog on the camper alone before? Put the dog in the camper in your driveway some day and see what happens.

They might allow pets but do they allow unattended pets? If you are going to leave the dog in the RV for long days I'd suggest either hiring a pet sitter at home or boarding. Some campgrounds offer pet walking services-this would be another thing to consider.

Does your dog bark constantly when you're gone? If so, I'd leave her home. You should also be aware that dogs aren't allowed on trails in National Parks. FYI, the Twin Cities have some great parks and a very nice trail system.

One of the reasons we bought our trailer is so we can bring our pups along. That being said, we would never leave them unattended for more than a very brief period. We usually have a group of a few families and 4-6 dogs on our trips so it generally works out for activities that may not interest someone. We'll take turns hanging out at the campsites with the critters.

Have been around too many campgrounds with dogs left barking for hours, unfair to other folks.

There are several pet boarding services near MOA.



Whether you take your dog or not really depends on the type of 3 week vacation you are planning. If you are planning to be in locations that offer natural areas (state parks, national forests, etc), you plan on doing a lot of hiking or being outdoors where the dog can be with you, then it might be ok.

However, if you are planning on doing a lot of indoor things (museums, shopping, historical building visits, etc.) then it may not be the best idea to take your dog.

How would you like to be left alone in the camper all day? A bored dog is an unhappy dog.
I think your dog will be much happier left at home with family or boarded.

Most every RV'er has a pet, if someone actually has any stats you'd find it's a very high percentage.
My dogs are the reason we bought the rv...
Ok, many parks say you cannot leave your dog unattended, when questioned they usually always tell you that is meant for leaving your dogs tethered outside and leaving.
But it also helps them evict people that have loud obnoxious dogs that are left for hours on end.
Best thing you can do is see how your dog behaves in the rv alone while you are still at home.
We always find parks that allow our dogs, some of the more difficult ones with rules are in New England and specifically Cape Cod...other than that we have never had a problem.
When we leave them it's usually anywhere from two to six hours max.
We leave the air on, sunshades down so they can't see activity, we also leave the tv on for noise.
When we first started this we also had a recorder going just out of curiosity.
Go Enjoy just prepare your dog well.

Sher
PS..we have on many occasions asked neighbors if they were disturbed at all with our dogs, we've been asked many times if they ever bark...

K Charles wrote:
Have you ever left the dog on the camper alone before? Put the dog in the camper in your driveway some day and see what happens.

Great idea Thank you!

Tyler0215 wrote:
How would you like to be left alone in the camper all day? A bored dog is an unhappy dog.
I think your dog will be much happier left at home with family or boarded.

Beg to differ with this statement...a well trained and behaved dog enjoys it as much as we do and being with you is all that matters to them...
I will say, lots of walks and activity...a good dog is a tired dog!

Sher