Dogs in RV parks

[mz-s]

My wife and I are seriously considering buying a camper within the next year or so, so that we can travel around our great country while towing our own "home" everywhere we go. We also want to be able to travel with our cats, which will allow us to be away from home longer without needing to worry about having someone stop by every day or so to feed/water/scoop box.

I'm reading on a lot of forums that people travel with their dogs, probably for the same reasons we want to travel with our cats.

Do you find that dogs barking is an issue in RV parks? Do people with dogs make sure they're well-mannered? Obviously there will be bad apples and irresponsible dog owners wherever you go, but in general what's been your experience? The last thing we want to do is sink thousands in a camper then never use it because we're always dodging dog refuse around the RV park, or we can't sleep because people have yappers going all hours of the night.

[GKAbbott]

magicbus wrote:

Don't get me started on those Canadian geese.

I hope you carry goose poop bags... lots of them! :B

Dave

I get the little gray ones from Walmart.??

[magicbus]

Don't get me started on those Canadian geese.

I hope you carry goose poop bags... lots of them! :B

Dave

[GKAbbott]

paulcardoza wrote:
When camping in RV parks, people need to reset their expectations to a more reasonable level. You're going to be in a location with a large group of people within hearing distance of you, your kids and your pets. And you of their's!

Everyone has different expectations and ideas about what a fun camping time is. EVERYONE need to be more tolerant of others, who simply may have different perspectives than you and me.

Someone early on in this thread, made the comment that most campers don't follow the pet rules. That's totally false! MOST people absolutely follow the rules. I'm not hesitant to approach someone who does not, especially when it comes to picking up their dog's cr@p.

If you cannot go into a campground with the perspective of being tolerant of others, you should limit your camping to boondocking.

How will I be able to tolerate the sounds of nature? Hawks and eagles screeching, wolves and coyotes howling, bears and? mountain lions roaring, male alligator mating sounds. Don't get me started on those Canadian geese.

[4x4van]

RandACampin wrote:
Dogs and kids are two worse annoyances in the campgrounds. I have yet to anyone's who is well mannered and have never seen anyone that did't think theirs were angels.

Wow, if I ever get to that point, I hope I would just stop camping. You know, so that other people and their families and pets wouldn't bother me anymore...:R

[StPaddie]

As far as dogs barking i have had no problems as it is not usually during quiet time hours. However not picking up poo has been an issue in every park from florida to arizona. Read on for the worst example of inconsiderate dog dog owners.
Sounds to me like not one person in this forum has had their pets in the south west desert areas. We got stuck in this park as the area was booked and had no where to go. Signed on and after a couple of weeks witnessed owners of a year round park model using the empty site next to me as their own private dog park. For those of you in the know dog urine and or feces does not degrade in any way in the desert and is never washed away by rain as there is very little. Have sat here wondering if they used this site i am in for a dog park also. That means every time i kneel down to get in basement storage i am in pee and/or poo. this site is gravel with no cement slab of any kind. Yuma area has a big problem with this issue.

[lakeside013104]

Bumpyroad wrote:

lakeside013104 wrote:
I am a retired K-9 handler. It does not take a lot of experience with dogs to tell which ones are service/emotional support animals and those that are not. The airlines need to standardize their polices about allowing 'any' pet on the plane just because the patron 'wants' their pet with them. Very annoying to other patrons who are not comfortable around dogs / animals.

my daughter has a tiny dog (who has more dresses than her "mom") that she takes along on most of her trips in a small dog carrier. no one has ever shown annoyance and in fact when her seat mate agrees, the dog comes out and rides in her lap. I must remind her to claim that the dog is an emotional support animal, which it is I guess, in case anybody fusses.
bumpy

Sounds like your daughter is a responsible pet owner. Thanks for sharing.

Lakkeside

[Naio]

I looked into this when cat and I were stranded and trying to get home. The airline I talked to charged $100 for pets, but emotional support animals are free. My doc and I talked about it, but we were both kind if squicked by the ethics so we did not do it.

The reality was, I am his emotional support animal :). My cat has diabetes, and the stress of traveling without me (another option under discussion) would have been very hard on his health.

We ended up finding another way home, which was stressful but kept us together.

I used to think the emotional support animal things was BS, TBH, but then I learned how important it can be, for example for veterans with PTSD. So now I think it is only sometimes BS :B

[Bumpyroad]

lakeside013104 wrote:
I am a retired K-9 handler. It does not take a lot of experience with dogs to tell which ones are service/emotional support animals and those that are not. The airlines need to standardize their polices about allowing 'any' pet on the plane just because the patron 'wants' their pet with them. Very annoying to other patrons who are not comfortable around dogs / animals.

my daughter has a tiny dog (who has more dresses than her "mom") that she takes along on most of her trips in a small dog carrier. no one has ever shown annoyance and in fact when her seat mate agrees, the dog comes out and rides in her lap. I must remind her to claim that the dog is an emotional support animal, which it is I guess, in case anybody fusses.
bumpy

[sgfrye]

wife and i bought a TT about 6 months ago so we could travel easier with our 4 small dogs mini doxie and 3 chihuahua mixes. . if you walk up to our camper while they are outside they will bark at you for a few seconds because they are watch dogs, thats their job in life, but calm down immediately. they are not left alone for long periods inside the camper. when they are in the camper alone we leave the ac fan running which drowns out outside noises which could trigger their barking. they wear bark collars while camping which normally doesnt even activate because when the collars go on them they know what will happen if they bark. we always have them on leash, clean up after pooping and so far have never had a complaint. i believe the average of campers with pets is about 40 percent so it is something anyone using a campground will have to deal with. we have never had a problem with anyone else's pets while camping. we have however been annoyed by loud kids running loose without a leash. not trying to be sarcastic but its true.

[paulcardoza]

Unfortunately, "official" looking docs are available for a dime a dozen on the internet. We've decided that EVERYONE can complain and end up with the right to do whatever they choose, no matter how it may affect the majority of others.

How did we ever survive in days gone by?!?!?!? 😕

[lakeside013104]

I am a retired K-9 handler. It does not take a lot of experience with dogs to tell which ones are service/emotional support animals and those that are not. The airlines need to standardize their polices about allowing 'any' pet on the plane just because the patron 'wants' their pet with them. Very annoying to other patrons who are not comfortable around dogs / animals.

A valid certificate from an accredited agency with a phone number available to confirm the animal's status as a service / support animal would at least be a minimum. Airline personal taking the time to actually check for the animals status would actually deter most fakes.

Airlines should take this step in order to lessen the animal anxiety of passengers. Flying has it's own stressors. Additional stress from an unruly animal and the obnoxious attitude of the owner is an unacceptable and avoidable problem.

Lakeside

[Rice]

This article explains the difference between service animals and emotional support animals, and shows how ridiculous the situation is, by going into all kinds of businesses with an emotional support snake, turtle, turkey, pig, and alpaca. Not all at the same time, of course.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/pets-allowed

[jfkmk]

Rice, I agree with you 100%, these people rely on the ignorance of others to get away with their selfish behavior. It was pretty obvious the dog really bothered someone on a precious flight. I've flown a lot, and have witnessed some pretty obnoxious behavior from passengers on some flights. I have never seen a flight attendant talk to anyone about it, yet they did with this woman.

I love dogs. But I realize that not everyone does and wouldn't bring mine where it shouldn't be.

I understand there are service dogs and emotional support dogs, though I don't really agree with letting the untrained dogs where they shouldn't be. It is a complete mockery to folks like our friends who dedicate a huge chunk of their lives training these dogs to help people, by bringing your untrained mutt (no offense to mutts, they're great!) into a place they shouldn't be and claiming it is a service dog.

[Rice]

Naio wrote:
Planes do require a note from the person's doctor, but not training certificates.

That's because airlines allow "emotional support animals" to ride in the passenger compartment. This is different from a "service animal," which is trained to perform tasks on behalf of a disabled person--those are permitted to go anywhere the person goes, including restaurants and grocery stores (think guide dogs for the blind).

Most people don't realize there's a difference, and that's why you see people in stores with animals that clearly aren't trained to perform tasks on behalf of a disabled person, and therefore aren't service animals. There's no law that requires that they be allowed (and in fact there are laws say they aren't allowed in places that prepare food), but the pet owner is relying on people's ignorance about what the law is, and businesses are scared of being sued if they tell someone they can't bring in their pet.

[Naio]

Planes do require a note from the person's doctor, but not training certificates.