dogs in national park campgrounds

[steveandjil]

Dear All,

I have not been active in the forums for some years, but a recent experience brings me back to the pet forum. We just finished a 2 week trip through some Arizona, Colorado and Utah national parks we have not yet visited. In particular we camped in Fruita CG in Capitol Reef NP. Truly wonderful - BUT, they have a no dog left alone rule. We have been camping in RV's for 15 years all the time with our dogs, and not only has this not been a problem; it has truly never occurred to me. In fact 3 months ago we camped in Watchman for a week with no problems.

This trip we happened to have our daughter with us, so one of the 3 of us could take turns not hiking and staying with the dogs. Most of the time now, my wife and I are alone - we simply could not have done anything like hiking or taking our Jeep into the back country.

Have the rules changed, or are they only now being enforced. I would hate to think that we can only stay in commercial campgrounds when we go to national parks, which are our main destinations. Have any of the other RVers who frequent NP's had a problem recently?

Steve

[SteveAE]

Steve,

Because of the "dog rules" (mainly not allowed on trails), we just avoid the National Park scene completely and hike, backpack, ski, snowshoe, raft and canoe with our dog on BLM, Forest and State lands. There is plenty of such land out there (at least in the West) and almost all of it is open to dogs.

Have fun with your pup.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Re Nat'l Parks: We take the dogs along on our daily jaunts. We tend to visit parks during the cooler months, so that leaving the dogs behind in the car while we take a short walk to see a sight, isn't life-threatening.... or, if a longer hike is required, one of us stays with the dogs.

My experience has been that most places that don't want a dog left behind in an RV - are VERY explicit about that (or they simply don't accept dogs). Otherwise, "don't leave a dog unattended" usually means outdoors (and I have seen that plenty of times). But it never hurts to ask specifically.

[GMandJM]

We have encountered the dogs-in-a-camper-barking constantly a few times. I always feel sorry for the dogs.

More often I've seen/heard dogs barking when the owners are sitting right there with them.

[DOTLDaddy]

dturm wrote:
...

That being said, in the decades we've been camping I can count on one hand the number of times we've heard dogs constantly barking...

That has been our experience as well, with the emphasis on "constantly". I do not count times when you are walking by another RV, and the dog(s) bark at you from inside.

I can only remember one time in over 20 years that non-stop barking got ridiculous. But, that's a whole nother story.:R

[Dog_Folks]

Like the "No campers over ten years old" rule, it is there IN CASE they need it to control non stop barking.

With well behaved dogs, that stay quiet inside the camper, it will not normally be enforced.

That has been my experience traveling with dogs.

[Crowe]

that means you either do not travel with your dogs or you drive presumably long distances to national parks then sit in a campground. My family are fairly active outdoors people, and this would simply not be worth the effort to us. In addition, I wonder - for those who rv with dogs, do you never get in a toad to tow vehicle and go out to dinner?

I visit Acadia on a regular basis. When we had the Endura, the dogs went with us because the Bar Harbor KOA doesn't (or at least didn't) have any such rules. We didn't stay in the park because we wanted full amenities. We did have a toad and took them as often as possible but there are times when it's just not feasible. We, too, are very outdoorsy and the boys would go to the "doggie hotel" as it was one less stress to deal with. Fortunately we have a top-notch kennel facility that we've boarded at for years. I understand the desire to take pets on vacation but everyone has to be realistic that this may require some concessions.

I don't camp in National Parks-most are just too far for me to drive to. However I still feel that "no unattended dogs" means just that. But a quick phone call will clear up any question. My hunch is that rules are phrased in such a manner so that some will just not take their dog or go elsewhere.

The no dogs left unattended (even inside an RV) rule is redundant and unnecessary in my opinion. Every campground has a no barking rule and if an animal is guilty the owners can be asked to leave.

How I wish I could agree with you on this one! Not all campgrounds enforce and it's not just barking. An unattended dog outside presents a potential safety hazard not only to others but to himself.

Before I continue, please remember that I, too, am a dog lover. However, I'm starting to see the trend that the "rights" of dog owners should supersede the "rights" of the non-dog owning public. You can march down to the next campground that has better rules but I can guarantee you that there is someone else doing the exact thing-in the opposite direction. Due to health reasons I couldn't camp where fires were allowed for a while, so we camped where they weren't allowed. I witnessed people leaving because they couldn't have one. You can stomp your feet, complain and go elsewhere, but I'm not sure it's having the impact you might think. And it only takes one that thinks the rules don't apply to them (and I've seen it MANY times on this forum) to ruin it for everyone else.

[dturm]

We may be more sensitive to needless barking than many as we spent 37 years in an animal hospital setting where animals in a kennel would bark due to stress, fear, boredom ... It does get on the nerves after a while, and it's not particularly good for the dog either.

That being said, in the decades we've been camping I can count on one hand the number of times we've heard dogs constantly barking. We've camped in state parks, COE parks and private campgrounds and even with those incidents they really weren't a bother to us as we'd have to walk into the offender's campsite to really hear the barking at a level that was irritating. We actually felt worse for the dog than were upset for our peace being disturbed.

There have been far more incidents of loud, obnoxious, partying (probably intoxicated) people than dogs barking.

The no dogs left unattended (even inside an RV) rule is redundant and unnecessary in my opinion. Every campground has a no barking rule and if an animal is guilty the owners can be asked to leave. That is really all that is necessary. I suspect just about every RVer that has dogs will leave them in the RV unattended at some point, whether to go to the store, sightseeing, to dinner or just for a walk, and a huge percentage happens without incident.

[4aSong]

We recently stayed in a campground and a motor home pulled into the site next to us and one day they decided to leave there yapper dog in the motor home while they left around 10am for the day, the yapper never quit yapping all day while they were gone, not good pet owners. The campground manager could do nothing but said he would address it when they returned which was around 9pm.

[Pawz4me]

Crowe wrote:
Our dogs are well behaved, and we are serious hikers.

Mine are well-behaved, too, but since I don't have a camera on them when I'm not with them I can't say with 100% certainty they never bark.

The last part of that is open to interpretation. I think most campers take it to mean unattended while outside the RV, "in the campground".

Sorry but I believe you are incorrect. My experience has been it is NOT open to interpretation and if you read it without bias there IS only one interpretation. No dog unattended means just that-no unattended dogs inside or outside. If there are any questions then it's easy enough to call the campground

My experience is with private campgrounds (not state/national parks).

If I doubt that our dog can be left alone I always call. With only one exception I've always been told it's fine to leave our dog alone. And FWIW that one time I told them why we'd be staying somewhere else.

There are many ways besides a camera to tell whether or not a dog barks when left alone in an RV. A voice activated recorder is one, or software like Bark Sentry. And of course there are often neighbors who can be asked. It's really not hard at all to know with reasonable certainty how ones dogs behave most of the time when left alone.

[GMandJM]

Yep, poorly worded on my part. Fixed now.

[DOTLDaddy]

GMandJM wrote:

We all have choices to make.

A dog left behind in a camper all day doesn't.

Ours have choices, yes indeed. Like, "Should I sleep up in the bedroom, or down in the living room?":@

Or, "Should I keeping chewing on my nylabone, or should I get up and get a drink of water?":@

[GMandJM]

steveandjil wrote:
My family are fairly active outdoors people, and this would simply not be worth the effort to us.

We all have choices to make.

A dog doesn't get a choice about being left behind in a camper all day.

[DOTLDaddy]

steveandjil wrote:
...For those of you who agree so strongly with no the dogs unattended rule, that means you either do not travel with your dogs or you drive presumably long distances to national parks then sit in a campground...

Yes, that sounds like a fair assessment.

[steveandjil]

Tyler0215 wrote:
First off I have not had a dog for several years. I don't hate dogs, just don't want to take care of one.
Dogs are like 8 year old boys, somewhat able to take care of themselves, but still need supervision. Why would you take a dog with you to leave alone in a camper for several hours?

Because days are much longer than several hours. I have dogs and go to work long hours each day, as does my wife. They sleep most of the day, and we all enjoy each other upon return. I have no need to justify this, but it seemed such an obvious answer, I could not resist.

[Tyler0215]

First off I have not had a dog for several years. I don't hate dogs, just don't want to take care of one.
Dogs are like 8 year old boys, somewhat able to take care of themselves, but still need supervision. Why would you take a dog with you to leave alone in a camper for several hours?