Dog or Pets in Motorhomes

[w3ozwizard]

We do not have a MH yet but will be getting one as soon as I have time from home and yard fix up this year.

We have two dogs that we love very much. One of the reasons we want a MH is so we can take them with us when we travel for an extended time. Here it costs about $50.00 a day to keep your dogs in a kennel and then when you get them home they have been sickly for a time. So having them with us seems like a good idea. Questions: 1. Do you take your pets with you on long trips? 2-Do you leave your pets in the MH when you leave the camping area? 3-Do you let them have the run of the MH while you are gone and do they damage anything?

Your general thoughts and comments on the subject would be helpful Thanks

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

w3ozwizard wrote:
Thanks to all who replied to my questions. We have two dogs one Cattle dog and one Australian Shepard. Both are about 60 pounds. A good local kennel wants $25.00 each so that would be $50.00 per day and you have to have them there the day before and if you come back on a weekend (Friday) you can not pick them up until the next Monday. At least at the two places we have been. So if we were going to be gone a month you can see that we would probably spend more on them to sleep each night than we would on our camping fees in most cases.

Being separated from "their people" would kill these dogs emotionally. My Aussie wouldn't eat if we had to board him - even over a couple of days (if we had to fly somewhere), we'd pick him up and he'd be pounds lighter 😞 On the other hand, they were SO easy to travel with, that it was just a no-brainer to get an RV and take them with us. They adapted easily to new situations and surroundings - and of course I had more fun because I wasn't worried about my dogs 😉

[Rsteelie]

We have 2 smaller dogs who travel with us. We leave Az. in June and come back early Sept.Never a problem. We have adopted another for a total of 3 and this will be her first time out, so we will see. We take them with us as much as we can when on stops and don't have a problem leaving them alone for short periods when they can't go along. Depends on the dog.

That being said, we were in Panguich, Utah a couple years ago and a couple a few spots down left their dog for the day to go to Bryce and when they came home, that dog had DESTROYED the interior of that class b. I mean ripped it to shreds. We were gone for the day, so I don't know if it was noisy while doing it or not. Better have a talk with Fido and make sure you're on the same page.

There's a lot of dogs out there on the road. We saw a couple in Oregon a few years ago that had 9 yorkies in a class a. They carried a big collapsible wire kennel they would set up and turn them loose.

Have fun

[TragedyTrousers]

KristinU wrote:

Our Android phones (Samsung Galaxy S4) have temperature sensors and we can leave one behind and set it to send a text if the temperature goes above or below our set threshholds.

Galaxy S4 has temperature sensors? I never knew that. I have the S4 mini but it doesn't have them. 😞

[doxiemom11]

We are full-time and our dog has never known any home other than the rv. She isn't by herself much, but occasionally she is left home with air or heat on as needed. Longest we are away is usually 3-4 hours. She has never destroyed or damaged anything and she has full run of the motorhome at all times. Too many of our rescues lived in small confined areas for years, so I personally will never use a crate or kennel.

[w3ozwizard]

Thanks to all who replied to my questions. We have two dogs one Cattle dog and one Australian Shepard. Both are about 60 pounds. A good local kennel wants $25.00 each so that would be $50.00 per day and you have to have them there the day before and if you come back on a weekend (Friday) you can not pick them up until the next Monday. At least at the two places we have been. So if we were going to be gone a month you can see that we would probably spend more on them to sleep each night than we would on our camping fees in most cases.

The dogs are both rescue dogs the Australian was about 7 years old and had been abused quite a bit. She is afraid of everything and when we are away she tries to claw through the door especially if there is a lot of noise, wind, thunder or most everything. At home we put a gate in front of the door and she does not claw that so we are thinking we may have to use one to block off the outside door on the MH. They are both good to not bark much and stay off of furniture and don't go into rooms we don't want them in so they are used to not being allowed on chars and beds.

Anyway thanks for the great suggestions and we are more confident that we will be able to travel with our dogs and have a good experience. Thanks all.

[Pawz4me]

1 - Yes
2 - Yes
3 - We crate them. They aren't crated at home when we leave them, but in the RV there's (1) probably more chance of them damaging something and (2) crating them prevents them from being able to see outside, thereby reducing the risk that they'll bark.

[ronfisherman]

Moved from Class C.

[The_Logans]

We have 5 fur babies, and generally take two at a time with us. The other 3 stay home and the neighbors watch them. We rotate which ones get to go, and all of them are perfectly happy to hang out in the motorhome while we're out... the AC stays on if it's hot, otherwise we leave a fan running, and there is always plenty of food and water.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is security... we feel good knowing that there are dogs with us who have much better senses than we do. If we are forced to park in a Wall-Mart to get some rest, we are REALLY happy that the dogs are with us!

[ron_dittmer]

We do not have pets so we are on the receiving end of this subject matter.

Every once in a great while, someone will leave their campsite in a tow vehicle, letting their dog loose inside their motor home to jump from one window to the next, barking up a storm while we try to enjoy our time at our camp site. Placing the dog in a doggie cage would have been real nice for us neighbors. I would imagine caging the pet would also help to keep the RV in better condition.

[KristinU]

We have two labs, they are in crates when we are away either at home or in the MH. We tried no crates, but they're young and get silly and destructive when we aren't around. After the second call to the veterinary poison control line for ingestion of inappropriate stuff (trail mix/power bars and then deoderant) we decided that crates are much safer. We leave them for a few hours at a time in the MH with the a/c or fan on as long as they are good and tired and not going to be barking or whining or anything. A morning walk before us leaving is a good thing 🙂

As previously mentioned, if we're somewhere without hookups we do shorter periods of time if it is warmish out. Our Android phones (Samsung Galaxy S4) have temperature sensors and we can leave one behind and set it to send a text if the temperature goes above or below our set threshholds. Nice for if we want to go swim at a state park lake or something close within the CG. Hikes or anything else they come with us.

[JAXFL]

Sparky has a crate that sometimes when he just does not want to be bothered or for some reason is not feeling like himself and he goes and lays in it. Covers up with his blanket and naps. We do not put him in it, it is kind of his man cave. It is not too big so fits in the MH without taking a lot of room.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

We took our 2 dogs (Aussie and Cattle Dog) to Alaska - the ultimate road trip! The longest we ever left them was for 7.5 hours in Valdez, while we took a boat tour. Prior to our leaving, we walked their wheels off - they were STILL sound asleep when we returned...LOL! We never crated them and never had any problem, but they never gave us a moment's problem in the "regular" house, either.

Granted, you don't get to hike the trails in a National Park (dogs aren't allowed); and there were probably other compromises we made to bring them along, but the peace of mind knowing our dogs were happy and safely with us far outweighed a missed opportunity or two. On the other hand, I've always believed that an RV could be a tempting target for a thief - but I doubt a thief wants to tackle the RV with a dog growling/barking behind the door. So perhaps my dogs provide protection, too?

[ksg5000]

Most but not all dogs are good campers. Some dogs get car sick, some dogs have anxiety issues if you leave them in the RV by themselves etc. If your dogs bark when you leave the house it's a good sign there going to bark when you leave them in the RV which may ruin the camping experience of your fellow campers.

[rvten]

Treat our Fur Kids same in MH as we do in S&B.