Traveling with dogs
I will be full-timing in just a few months. I have two small poodle-mix fur babies that I would like to take along, but I have serious concerns. In my quest to find RV parks on the first route I have...
Forum Discussion
Work on the "wait" command at home. Ours are required to sit and wait while I open the door (takes some work/patience to teach some dogs this - be consistent at all times, or they'll never learn it). They're not allowed to go outside until I say "okay, go". If you don't want to fool with this, then definitely leash your dogs before opening the door. I leave the dogs in the car while setting up our x-pen, then leash them to transport between car and x-pen. The x-pen is one of the first things we set up upon arrival.
While in the camper, crate the dogs when you leave (if they're not crate trained, work on this at home first), keep blinds closed to create a darker environment (encourages sleep better), keep the t.v. or radio on loud enough to drown out exterior noise, but not loud enough to disturb your neighbors. Give your dogs a stuffed Kong (smear peanut butter around the inside with a knife and freeze (freezing makes it last longer). This gives them something to keep them occupied while you're gone.
As a last result, if you have a hard core barker (no one likes one, trust me!), invest in a bark collar and use it (I got mine at Wally World). My westie mix is a barker, so I use one when we go camping. To those who think they're cruel, it beats having to leave them at home, or getting kicked out of a campground.
A quiet dog doesn't catch the attention of anyone at the campground, whether you're there or not.
While in the camper, crate the dogs when you leave (if they're not crate trained, work on this at home first), keep blinds closed to create a darker environment (encourages sleep better), keep the t.v. or radio on loud enough to drown out exterior noise, but not loud enough to disturb your neighbors. Give your dogs a stuffed Kong (smear peanut butter around the inside with a knife and freeze (freezing makes it last longer). This gives them something to keep them occupied while you're gone.
As a last result, if you have a hard core barker (no one likes one, trust me!), invest in a bark collar and use it (I got mine at Wally World). My westie mix is a barker, so I use one when we go camping. To those who think they're cruel, it beats having to leave them at home, or getting kicked out of a campground.
A quiet dog doesn't catch the attention of anyone at the campground, whether you're there or not.
