Pets left alone in RV at campground?

wildtoad wrote:
It’s impractical to never leave your pet alone in your RV when you need/want to go out for dinner, grocery shopping, or seek medical help.

I would argue that need is different than want. If you need emergency medical attention, then that would be one thing. If you need to go grocery shopping, then surely one of you can go to the store while the other stays behind with the dogs. As for eating out, you can always take the dogs for a drive to the restaurant, order takeout, and enjoy it in the company of your dogs.

wildtoad wrote:
Taking them with you and leaving them in the car kinda depends on the weather. Lots of dogs, cats, babies have perished in what some consider a mild climate, but park their car in the sun.

Yes, it does depend on the weather. That is why I do my research BEFORE I make trip plans to be sure that my dogs will be safe and comfortable in the car. I also think about this at home with even short car drives - will the car cool down enough during the drive for the dog to be comfortable - and that's for drives that don't require me to turn off the engine and/or get out of the car.

wildtoad wrote:
We take our dogs with us all the time because they are family, they are small loving creatures that wouldn’t hurt a flea, and usually only bark as we are backing out of the campsite and they realize they can’t go too.

My dogs are family too. Because of that, I plan my trips around them, rather than planning a trip where I know I will be violating a park/campground rule because I want it both ways (to take my dogs and to leave them behind).

I'm not sure what their being small has to do with anything. Small dogs are more often yappers. Small dogs are just as likely to have issues being left alone.

Yeah, the "my dog is nice" argument is a common one. My dogs are nice too and wouldn't hurt a flea - until something happens that causes them to react like a dog. I don't pretend my dogs would never cause a problem. It can happen with any dog. And for the record, the only dogs that have ever bitten me were small dogs.

wildtoad wrote:
We leave them in a climate controlled MH, and if we ever comeback and there’s a note from the ranger we will deal with at that time. We also drink in our RV even though the signs says no alcohol allowed. I do speed on a regular basis but not by much, another rule broken..O’ Darn.

That's fine. If you choose to break the rules because you find them unreasonable or too confining, etc.

For me, I consider what the repercussions of my breaking the rule are before I do so. Over the years, I've watched many places ban dogs completely because they got tired of dealing with the rule breakers. People let their "but he's friendly" dogs off leash and the dog attacked a leashed dog or a person. People didn't clean up after their dog. People left their dog unattended and the dog barked nonstop. It's fine if it's just one person ignoring the rule and doing so "responsibly". But as I mentioned, others see you doing it and so they do it. But they aren't responsible. The campground/park gets fed up with the complaints and dogs are no longer allowed at all.

I don't follow every law to the letter (I have sped on ocassion, etc). But I LOVE being able to take my dogs camping with me. So I follow the rules to ensure that I am not the cause for dogs being banned.

I have a friend who camps with us. I can tell she gets tired of planning things around the dogs. I tell her "that's what having dogs means. Just like having kids. You fit your lifestyle according to their needs - you don't force them into your lifestyle.