Large dog issues or problems?

[stamppeddler]

This may sound like an odd question, but does anyone out there have large or restricted breed dogs that they live and travel with? Have you had troubles at parks or campgrounds, or with local ordinances?

My wife and I both retired in early spring, then proceeded to sell our house and most of our possessions in the summer. We bought our new 5'er and started living in it full time in August. Thing is, we have a spayed 6 year old 50lbs Staffordshire Bull cross. They are considered pit bulls. Where we live in Kamloops BC our dog isn't restricted, so we never gave it much thought until just recently. We are in Surrey BC now researching warm places to spend the winter, only to discover that our dog is not welcome in what looks like an awful lot of Resorts, Parks and communities.

If anyone has experience with this problem or knows of anyone else dealing with it, we sure could use some guidance. Giving up our pet to live our dream seems like too high a price, but so is putting her in danger of being euthanized for being in the wrong place.

Thanks in advance

Laszlo & Gail Soltesz
2010 Ram 3500 HD Mega Cab 6.7 Cummins
2013 Mountaineer 295RKD

[stamppeddler]

Wow, this thread sure has taken on a life of its own! My original question was if anyone had problems while traveling with large or restricted breed dogs. The answers have been very helpful. I was worried about traveling with our Staffordshire Bull Cross, especially since we are recently retired and planned to travel to Arizona for the winter. We never intended to own a pit bull, let alone travel with one, but life takes strange turns. Our dog was rescued as a pup by our son, we were aghast at the thought of having it live in our home, yet she has turned out to be probably the best dog we have ever owned. Five and a half years on, we've retired, sold our house and are now full timeing with our dog. We are always aware that not everyone likes dogs, especially ours. So far we have not had any problems anywhere, even parks with breed restrictions. On occasion when small dogs get aggressive towards our dog, she goes into pit bull mode and responds accordingly, but thankfully nothing has ever come of that. So far so good. By the way, we are loving being in Yuma! Life is Good.

[Jean_S]

I know that we had parks stretch their weight limits to take the Bernese in. Our neighbors have had the weight limits stretched for their dogs, too. It's best to call ahead and check it out. Good Sam's guide tells you if a campground takes pets. I don't know if there is a particular guidebook, but if you can find out where the hog and duck hunters go, they are sure to take large dogs the size of retrievers and hounds. They will probably have outdoor dog excercise areas, too.

[DianneOK]

Please get back to the original topic, thank you

[Jean_S]

Yes, doxiemom, that German shepherd was protecting the house and me. But he did not bark. He was dead silent. He gave no warning. He went around the shed in complete silence to get behind the intruder and meant to take care of business. There is something unnerving about a dog deliberately stalking and hunting a human being, even a trespasser. At least he knew the difference between kids and adults. He'd lay out on the deck and watch the neighborhood kids hop the fence and steal my oranges for hours. In the daytime. Never making a sound. Some of the kids darned near had a heart attack when they realized he was there, watching them. Then, they got used to him and ignored him. It gives me chills wondering what he would have done if one of them went after the oranges after dark.

[JimM68]

Dogs are opack animals, kinda like wolves. They do belong to their owners, and they will protect when they feel the need.

But that is not what this thread is about. This thread is about arbitrary, mostly insurance company mandated breed restrictions. These restriction exist. some parks will ignore them if talked to nice enough, many will not.

[DianneOK]

Alright folks....don't get into a shouting match or I will close this

[doxiemom11]

That german shepherd was "protecting" you from an unknown assailant! Even our small dog would do that until they knew that the person belonged there. I would have felt comforted that the dog was guarding me with DH gone. What if that hadn't been your DH.

[Jean_S]

My brother got a rottie instead of a golden, and spent the next 9 years insisting that the rottie had the sweet, laidback character that goldens are known for. It did not. My son got a 120# German shepherd ( which ended up with us when he moved), and spent years joking about what a *****cat it was. It was not, and it tried to prove that one night when hubby came home from a business trip in a rented car and came around thru the back way so he would not wake me. It did not bark. If hubby had not realized he was being stalked and started talking, that dog would have nailed him.

Now, my question is this. What is it that attracts people to breeds like this, that were specifically bred to do jobs where size, strength, and aggressiveness were assets. Why are people drawn to breeds with these reputations and then insist that their dogs are "different?" Not judging, just wondering. I don't understand.

And to the person who mentioned that biting lists are different than banned breed lists, SURE they are! If you get bitten by my bichon, you really won't suffer much damage. If you had gotten nailed by that German shepherd, that would be another story, entirely.

[Jean_S]

We had a Burnese Mtn Dog mix we traveled with for a couple years - a big, doofy dog with a big appetite, a big heart, a lot of fur and no brains. Never had much trouble as long as we stayed at pet-friendly parks. Be aware that he had impeccable camping manners and had been well sociallized with both people and other animals. The only difficulty he caused was dog-smell in the rv. If your dog acts aggressively towards people or other dogs, there will be trouble. Even in some parks that welcome large dogs, you need to check aheaad about your breed. Parks that we could stay in did not allow my brother's Rottweiler.

[Lantley]

In the end there is no one size fits all scenario. I am happy that most parks welcome my Doberman and I have no problen finding lots of places to camp with him.
Those parks that turn us away due to breed restrictions I consider it there loss.

[AISTQM1]

My Rottweiler is the reason I own a motorhome. Wouldn't go on vacation without him. Infrequently we find a campground who won't take us but we just move on. We always call ahead and check. Hasn't been a problem.

[JimM68]

That's the problems with rash all ecompassing statements like I made above. I really wish I could stop my fingers from typing such things...
In an ideal world, all dogs would be "good" like that, and all camground owners would be flexible even though it would end up being their responsibility and their problem if they ignored their own rules and something bad did happen.

Fact is some campgrounds have breed specific rules thst seem arbtrary to us.
And some dogs, regardless of breed, are very "owner specific". Though they don't do well in a crowd or outside of their comfort zone, to their owners they are still good dogs and that's what counts.

And there are people out there who are not dog people. They naturally distrust or even fear strange dogs, and the dogs sense this, it puts them on thier gruard, makes them uncomfortable.

[Dog_Folks]

Lantley wrote:

JimM68 wrote:


When you have a good dog, convincing the rv park is not a problem.

I wish this were true. I have been to parks that have bent their breed policy and I have been turned away.
I understand the CG's have the right to set rules as they see fit.
I do respect a CG's rules. However, I don't always agree with them!

It is not always the campgrounds fault. Many times when there is a specific breed list it is being required by the campgrounds insurance company in an attempt to lower liability.

[Lantley]

JimM68 wrote:


When you have a good dog, convincing the rv park is not a problem.

I wish this were true. I have been to parks that have bent their breed policy and I have been turned away.
I understand the CG's have the right to set rules as they see fit.
I do respect a CG's rules. However, I don't always agree with them!