Camping with dog breeds considered dangerous

[ONG]

Morning Folks,

We RV'd quit a bit when the kids were younger, they are all grown with kids of their own. We are waiting on a Winnebago View and plan on doing some traveling.

The question for you is that we want to travel with our Doberman. He is well bred, very well trained, and loves people. He is 7 years old goes to work with me every day and is our self appointed greeter at our office. If he is napping when customers show up they demand to know where the dog is so that they can pet him. My grand kids will lead him around and even use him for a pillow. Unless you are a squirrel, ground hog or raccoon he does not have an aggressive bone in his body.

I noticed that some Good Sam and KOA campgrounds consider a Doberman as a dangerous breed. Do you think this ignorant fear will cause us problems on our journeys?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[BCSnob]

Dog size (genetically controlled) is the primary function for how much damage it will/can do when biting.
Dog temperament (genetically controlled) is the secondary function for how much damage it will do when biting.
Dog training can modulate how the dog responds to stimuli that trigger instinctual responses.

Pet & show breeders are likely the biggest cause of the dangerous breed issue; because they likely did not test the dogs they bred for how the dogs responded to stimuli that would trigger instinctually driven aggression .

[ONG]

westernparkowner, would it make any difference in the view of the other guests if the dog was never off the leash while in the campground? Certainly not arguing simply trying to understand.

[Halmfamily]

We have two dogs, one is a Chow-Rot mix and the other a Husky-Pit Bull mix. I have received many snide remarks from campers about why I have these dogs in the campground. Both are well behaved and are command driven both verbally and visually. My Chow-Rot is very protective of us and therefore we warm everyone to stay away, our Husky-Pit will lick you to death. We have never had an issue with a campground, hard to enforce since they're mix breed anyways.

Call ahead and have fun camping with your dogs.

[westernrvparkow]

dturm wrote:

ONG wrote:
Back in the day I drove a delivery truck for 18 years making deliveries to farms, bushiness and homes. From that experience I can assure you that there are NO nice breeds of dogs...

Being a practicing small animal veterinarian for 37 years, I've probably seen more individual dogs than most. I totally agree with most of the observations made above, including the one quoted. While there are behavioral tendencies within breeds, blanket condemnation because of breed is only valuable to insurance underwriters and politicians trying to score points.

Also, breed bans and restrictions may give us a false feeling of security in that if a breed isn't on the list, it must be OK. Given the right circumstances ANY dog can bite, even the nicest most even tempered and trained individual.

Doug, DVM

Yes, any dog can bite, but based on the pure physics involved an attack by a pit bull is going to be much more serious than an attack by a Pomeranian. It is very easy to research the bite force of various dog breeds. It is also very easy to research the breed tendencies of various dogs. I suppose it is very possible to have a Great Dane that is a terrific herding dog, but if you were looking for a herding dog a border collie would be a much more likely candidate. Same with unknown dogs that are potentially dangerous.

The owner of a specific dog is likely to be well versed in it's behavior. The management of a park and the guests of that park are not. Before we had to make the difficult decision to no longer accept certain breeds we would often receive calls from guests who were upset that those certain breeds of dogs were in the park. It was not unusual for those concerned guests to leave early due to their concerns, whether factually based or not. Any policy we would have would displease a certain segment of the market. We took the policy that appeared to offer the lowest risk.

[Walaby]

I get that stereotyping dogs based on certain breed being more aggressive than others is not really fair. Having said that, assuming it is an insurance restriction on the business, probably not much else can be done about it.

Unfortunately, businesses can ill afford to take a dog owners word for a well behaved dog.

Mike

[dturm]

ONG wrote:
Back in the day I drove a delivery truck for 18 years making deliveries to farms, bushiness and homes. From that experience I can assure you that there are NO nice breeds of dogs...

Being a practicing small animal veterinarian for 37 years, I've probably seen more individual dogs than most. I totally agree with most of the observations made above, including the one quoted. While there are behavioral tendencies within breeds, blanket condemnation because of breed is only valuable to insurance underwriters and politicians trying to score points.

Also, breed bans and restrictions may give us a false feeling of security in that if a breed isn't on the list, it must be OK. Given the right circumstances ANY dog can bite, even the nicest most even tempered and trained individual.

Doug, DVM

[Old-Biscuit]

YES.....
You WILL encounter 'breed restrictions'
Dobies, Rotties, German Sheperds, Mastiffs, Chow, Pit Bulls, Akitas, Malamutes, Huskies and Wolf-Hybrids are the MOST common based on Insurance Company 'bad dog list'

But that is not the only dog restrictions one encounters while traveling.
20#, 45# weight limits & 2 PET limits are also common.

We traveled FT for 7 yrs with a 70# Border Collie/Lab mix. Not on the 'banned breed' list but did run inti the weight limit issue a few times.

I have no problem with 'RULES' ----private business has that right and should be able to do what they feel it best for them and their bottom line.

When ever we encountered a RULE that limited us we just choose to move along.
No big deal, no 'getting panties in a wad' over it. Their business/their RULES OK Fine

Stopped at one place that restricted the use of electrical adapters and charged $5 day extra for 50A. We didn't need 50A and didn't want to pay the higher fee so we pulled out and went down the road to another place.

Got wheels.......MOVE ON. Simple.

[Farmerjon]

we have traveled coast to coast with 2 Dobermans and we always call ahead and make sure they are welcomed.
We haven't had any problem finding places to stay even some places with restrictions on their web sites have said OK.
Our dogs are well trained and well behaved and have AKC Canine Good Citizen certificates and we carry the certificates with us.

[ONG]

wowens79 wrote:
If we are going to have a dangerous breed list, can we add chihuahuas, and dachshunds to it. I don't know why but everyone I've met has hated me and wanted to attack.

Heard that! I called one camp ground that banned all dogs but cats were allowed. To me that made more sense than banning certain breeds.

[wowens79]

If we are going to have a dangerous breed list, can we add chihuahuas, and dachshunds to it. I don't know why but everyone I've met has hated me and wanted to attack.

[BizmarksMom]

One of my dogs is a pit bull. I have never not been able to find a campsite in a given area, it just sometimes takes a few phone calls.

Don't assume that your dog will be welcome because it doesn't say anything about pets on the website. More than once, I've found out about the breed ban while checking in. So now I make sure to call ahead while I'm stopped for lunch anyway.

[WonderingWoman]

I have been camping with my Doberman(s) for over 13 years (one passed to the bridge and the new one is 2 1/2), I usually go to state parks or places that will accept the breed. I always call first.

It does fall on the "choice" of the insurance company the campground chooses on what breeds to restrict if they have restrictions. Not so sure about size issues.

The only time we ever had an issue is when on a walk around the CG our leashed, well trained Dobie was attacked by an unleashed Chi-mix, my dog listened and went to the down position and stayed when I commanded. The Chi-mix tore my son's pants and tried to bite my dog. The owners only tried to "call back" their dog and had to physically come to the road to pick it up while it fought them!

I am totally against Breed Legislation for many reasons. I know not everyone will agree. But you don't see some breeds that should be on the lists. My Vet can tell you what breeds give the staff the most problems.

So yes, call ahead.

[ONG]

Back in the day I drove a delivery truck for 18 years making deliveries to farms, bushiness and homes. From that experience I can assure you that there are NO nice breeds of dogs. I have had close encounters from many sizes and shapes of dogs. All breeds have some bad actors. I know one fellow that called his pack of Chihuahuas "land piranhas." A dog bite from even a small dog is painful, and yes I have that T shirt. LOL.

I want to tell you folks that I am really surprised by the number of comments and the prompt responses, both public and private. I really think that I am going to like this forum.

[Lantley]

kalynzoo wrote:
Whether the rule is silly or not is not the issue. Either for insurance reasons or because of the campground's owners rules, there is a pet limitation. I've seen limitations on pets over 20lbs, and breed limitations. You will not be welcome in these campgrounds and if spotted you may be asked or forced to leave. Taking you well trained dog is great, it just means you will have to do some extra research and/or make phone calls to make sure you are welcome.
Happy Trails

Correct but there is not any need to make phone calls etc. If the CG has bred restrictions on their web site vote with your wallet and choose a different CG.
95 per cent of CG do not have breed restrictions.
I have never been shut out of any area due to breed restrictions

[kalynzoo]

Whether the rule is silly or not is not the issue. Either for insurance reasons or because of the campground's owners rules, there is a pet limitation. I've seen limitations on pets over 20lbs, and breed limitations. You will not be welcome in these campgrounds and if spotted you may be asked or forced to leave. Taking you well trained dog is great, it just means you will have to do some extra research and/or make phone calls to make sure you are welcome.
Happy Trails