RV Parks and Large Dogs

Not a fan of the restrictions but that's life I guess. We have a couple dogs, one being a rottie. We have felt the hate at times. We have been told no, even put in the back of a campsite. Some politely turn us down others not so polite.

What I don't like is people judging my dog before they meet her. I have taken my dogs into campsite offices so the owners can meet them. My dogs even have references from campsites.

Should add that I would not give a second thought to anyone walking up to my dog and playing with him. He loves cats, he loves other dogs, he even lets kids pull his lips and ears. He just cant stand other dogs on a leash walking by.

We just took our Rottie for his first full weekend camping trip. He usually gets to visit for a bit and then it is back home for him.

He was a perfect angel while I walked him he just whined when we walked by other dogs, just layed around the camper and was completely silent. It was only when I would tie him out on his cables (yes cables, 2 of the heaviest dog cables I could buy used together for security) that I had a problem. He was fine with people walking buy, but when someone would walk by with a poodle yapping at him he would go balistic, and you can only imagine the response from the yapping poodle owner when a 130lb Rottweiler comes charging in full protection guard dog mode. Once he goes to red zone there is nothing that can be done. We have a large breed shock collar and it doesnt even phase him when he gets like that. I learned quickly to only tied him out when it was dark out, and the poodles were all put away so the owls wouldnt find them as supper.

And when someone looks at you and says "uh...." with that look on their face, or even walks in gripping the lead like that dog is going to eat someone, you'll know. Dog expertise NOT required.

Can you always account for every single thing the dog may encounter? No, that's not possible. But you can certainly weed out vicious and unstable dogs of all ages and if I were running a park, I would want to meet guests' dogs long before other guests had a chance to.

If I were a CG owner I would NEVER take on the liability of deciding which dog is safe to enter a CG and which is not. That's just plain ludicrous.

Hypothetically, If your park becomes advertised that the "owner" will decide if your dog is safe to enter this park? Open up your pocket book to lawsuit after lawsuit when the "deemed safe by you dog" bites a kid or gets into a dog fight".

I can bring you a dog that has so much obedience in him you'd think he was a saint, the perfectly trained cute safe dog, and at the drop of hat or gnat that flew by he'd take your face off in a nano second if I allowed him too.

AND......THE most common dog bites come from FEAR BITERS. You know the shy, unsuspecting quiet dog? :W

Unfortunately weight restrictions exist for the reasons listed above.
Fortunately there are other options and plenty of places that will take my money.
If a weight restriction keeps us out. I just go on to the next available CG I consider it their loss not mine.
I get to go camping at the closest competitor and they get the opportunity to rent their vacant site to someone with a smaller dog. We both win I guess?

If I were pulling into a park and someone wanted to meet the dogs I would have no problem.... with those dogs that are social. Since I have two these days that are not reliable around strangers (both under twenty pounds), if you said "bring the dogs in to say hello!" that's the point at which you'd find out that not all dogs in my household are friendly.

Ninety percent of the information you'd need you'd get right there. The rest when the dog walks in. Yes, there are plenty of dogs around rv parks and yes, if you have a dog social dog and you own or run a park, there's no reason not to have that dog around. Again, you're going to get most of the information you need long before any dogs need to physically meet each other. People may act stupid, but they aren't so stupid that they don't know their dog can't walk up and meet a human or another dog without an issue.

And when someone looks at you and says "uh...." with that look on their face, or even walks in gripping the lead like that dog is going to eat someone, you'll know. Dog expertise NOT required.

Can you always account for every single thing the dog may encounter? No, that's not possible. But you can certainly weed out vicious and unstable dogs of all ages and if I were running a park, I would want to meet guests' dogs long before other guests had a chance to.

As for OSHA, maybe you're not aware, but there are kennel attendants, vets and techs, groomers and trainers and for Pete's sake the people that work at the local pet store that regularly meet strange dogs in the course of their working day.

We never had a problem finding a place to stay that allowed 3 dogs, weighing 70,55, and 35.

I think the reasoning behind restricting ALL large dogs, is so that the loose Yorkie who decides he's going to kick "Big-Dog Butt" doesn't get eaten by the well-mannered Newfie who's simply trying to keep his ankles intact... ;-)

ROFL - that was only a *little bit* tongue-in-cheek ;-)

Code2High wrote:

Earl E wrote:
Other have explained it well. Your dog may be very docile, gentle and quiet. But if they let yours in they have to let the non-gentle, vicious 100# in that the next camper has. And that dog can do far more damage than a 20# dog. It is just the way it is. Rules have to be made for everyone. No way can a receptionist at the desk decide which dog is gentle and which isn't.

No, they do NOT "have to" let a vicious dog in. "They" have a perfect right to insist that all dogs are social with people and other dogs, and to see those dogs before they come in.

As for deciding which dogs are "gentle" and which are not, I'm not sure when that became a highly technical task. It requires eyes, ears, and common sense. Nothing more.

Unfortunately, most people are not so highly skilled as you. Most of us are unable to judge the disposition, breeding, training and character of either the dog or the owner at a glance. And, just exactly how many RV parks have you checked into where you were required to parade your dog(s) around for evaluation? Would the park then also be required to have a child, a dog of their own and a pet walk area at the check-in office so they can see how the dog and owner will react in different situations? I would be reasonably sure that OSHA, Child protective services or some other government agency would look with displeasure upon a child having the job of approaching strange dogs to see if they will attack them all in the interest of evaluating whether or not that dog would be a good dog to allow into a campground. But being a reasonable person, I will consider you suggestion.

Call/check ahead. If the CG has weight/breed restrictions-go somewhere else. You can't buck the system. I travel with large dogs on the restictive list-plenty of options-use them.
When you do find a CG-make sure you're following the rules. The large dog owner's are under scrutiny. The Yorkies and Toy Poodles can bark non-stop. If your large dog barks or relieves itself, people will be watching.

Earl E wrote:
Other have explained it well. Your dog may be very docile, gentle and quiet. But if they let yours in they have to let the non-gentle, vicious 100# in that the next camper has. And that dog can do far more damage than a 20# dog. It is just the way it is. Rules have to be made for everyone. No way can a receptionist at the desk decide which dog is gentle and which isn't.

No, they do NOT "have to" let a vicious dog in. "They" have a perfect right to insist that all dogs are social with people and other dogs, and to see those dogs before they come in.

As for deciding which dogs are "gentle" and which are not, I'm not sure when that became a highly technical task. It requires eyes, ears, and common sense. Nothing more.