Introducing Dogs To TT

[CarpFishermanAn]

I am sorta worried about our first trip with our 2 dogs: 2-year-old German Shepherd sisters. One is fine, the other is a chewer & I worry if we are out during the day away from the TT what might happen. They are crate-trained & I have thought about bringing 1 crate for this reason. They do have plenty of chew toys/bones but this has not stopped the one in the past from chewing on a baseboards & even the loose piece of fabric (that gets tight when you recline it) on the back of a recliner when left alone not in their crates. They generally do not bark unless they hear noises & I worry about this too. We are just weekend campers. Suggestions?

[CarpFishermanAn]

Steve B. wrote:
I don't think I've ever been to a campground that didn't say that you couldn't leave your pet unattended. As I usually camp single with my small dog, I do have to leave him when I head to take a shower or to the bathroom. He is completely at home in the camper so he is fine. I've never left the campground without him, except last summer when I was passing a kidney stone and had to head to the emergency room in the middle of the night. When I returned he was still sleeping on the bed and didn't seem to notice I was gone. Acclimate your dogs to their new house and they should be fine. But, I don't recommend ever leaving them behind at the campground and going out for a few hours. If they are noisy, it is not fair to the neighborhood. If this past weekend was your first trip, let us know how it went!

Yes, we had our first trip but decided not to take dogs for the first time - too much we needed to check out and make sure we were doing right. We boarded them as we have no relatives to keep them/check on them at home. We fished on the pier within site of our TT and that would be the only time we would leave the dogs in the TT without us.

[Steve_B_]

I don't think I've ever been to a campground that didn't say that you couldn't leave your pet unattended. As I usually camp single with my small dog, I do have to leave him when I head to take a shower or to the bathroom. He is completely at home in the camper so he is fine. I've never left the campground without him, except last summer when I was passing a kidney stone and had to head to the emergency room in the middle of the night. When I returned he was still sleeping on the bed and didn't seem to notice I was gone. Acclimate your dogs to their new house and they should be fine. But, I don't recommend ever leaving them behind at the campground and going out for a few hours. If they are noisy, it is not fair to the neighborhood. If this past weekend was your first trip, let us know how it went!

[rockhillmanor]

dadmomh wrote:
Yes!, same as ours and they're wonderful. We have 1 lab/golden mix at home who still has his big old airline-type crate and he is happy in it, but these are so much better and easier to handle.

Great idea on the "Pets Inside" sign....assuming leaving them is not against the rules and regs. We just know that if a particular trip is going to involve being out for several hours, Foxy stays home with her Uncle David and the others.

I have a sticker I put on my RV door when I leave. It has my phone number on it also. Then they can call you asap in case of emergency.

And actually even if you don't have pets, if something happens or is happening to your RV having your phone number on the door allows your camping neighbor to call you if the need arises.

[dadmomh]

Yes!, same as ours and they're wonderful. We have 1 lab/golden mix at home who still has his big old airline-type crate and he is happy in it, but these are so much better and easier to handle.

Great idea on the "Pets Inside" sign....assuming leaving them is not against the rules and regs. We just know that if a particular trip is going to involve being out for several hours, Foxy stays home with her Uncle David and the others.

[Major_Dad]

rockhillmanor wrote:
X2
I was parked next to a camper that brought their TT up the night before they were going to stay in it AND left their dog inside. :R

That dog had all the shades ripped down in 10 minutes, almost broke down the sliding glass door, then started on the couch, AND barked ALL night.

I felt sorry for the dog, his owners were just plumb ignorant.

Just a note if you use airlines crates. Once you get past the 200 size crate the larger ones will not fit thru the door. You will have to take it apart and reassemble it inside.

We have two dogs who travel with us, a 65 lb flat-coated retriever and a 60 lb greyhound. The crate dilemma is easily solved by these Remington folding wire crates. They come in several sizes and lie flat in the bed of my pickup or on the dinette when it's folded down. They are so easy to fold and unfold; no assembly required. I just carry them through the trailer door like a suitcase and unfold them inside. We use them at home occasionally when we have company, so they (the dogs, not the company) are comfortable in them. I bought one on Amazon and one on Walmart's website.
Remington folding dog crates

[doxiluvr]

I would take their crates and just leave them for short periods of time at first. Also turn on the air and leave on a radio or the TV. And then see how they do. If they do okay and you plan on leaving them for a little longer time, I would put sign in a window that says "Pets Inside" or something similar in the event something does happen while you are gone and rescuers will know. Some campgrounds don't like it if you leave dogs alone in the RVs due to the possibility of barking and disturbing your neighbors. If they travel well in the truck and are under control while walking on a leash, I would take them along.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, we travel with a small dog and he does quite well. His first ever real car ride was for 50 days and over 10,000 miles. (Dusty was 13.5 years old then, now 16.5 years old) We took him to Alaska with us. He went with us in the car whenever possible, but sometimes had to stay in our trailer. We would only leave him alone for no more than four hours and only when cool out. We hired a pet sitter for him when we had an all day boat cruise. He will usually only bark for three minutes at most and sometimes not at all. When ever we leave him alone in our trailer and sometimes at home, I turn on a voice activated recorder, so I know how much he barked and why.

[usmc616]

We camp with our 3 dogs. First thing I did was to put plexiglass on the storm door so they did not damage the screening or hurt themselves. the next thing I did was to bring a crate for my chewer. Anytime I leave them for more than 10 minutes I close the doors and put the radio on.

[dadmomh]

Speaking of crates....we have folding wire crates that are large enough for a lab.....2 labs/2 crates, the latest in bedroom décor. Got them at Petsmart. Luckily got them both on sale - different times - they're around $75 - $80 each otherwise. Very handy to haul around. Also very sturdy.

[rockhillmanor]

X2
I was parked next to a camper that brought their TT up the night before they were going to stay in it AND left their dog inside. :R

That dog had all the shades ripped down in 10 minutes, almost broke down the sliding glass door, then started on the couch, AND barked ALL night.

I felt sorry for the dog, his owners were just plumb ignorant.

Just a note if you use airlines crates. Once you get past the 200 size crate the larger ones will not fit thru the door. You will have to take it apart and reassemble it inside.

[westend]

I'd suggest you leave the dogs at home in their outside kennel with daily care or find a relative willing to board them. If you're adamant about taking the dogs with you, they should have a period of training in their new settings that acclimates them.

You are not going to be doing your dogs any favors by taking them for a long lock up in a vehicle and then kenneling them in a TT that they are not used to, their first instinct will be to tear their way out of the TT the first time you leave.

I raised German Shepherds and trained them for a while. We even did training for people with pet issues. You and your dogs could do with some training, by reading your post. Inappropriate chewing and barking can be eliminated with proper training.

[Bisker]

chezmoose wrote:
You may want to check the campground's rules regarding unattended pets. Many have policies prohibiting it. A chihuahua left in a camper isn't going to make a big racket. Two GSD's on the other hand...

I personally never leave my dogs behind. If we have to make a store run, the dogs go with us. If it's too hot to leave them in the car, one of us stays in the car with them with the AC running.

X2

[myredracer]

We tried a dog boarding place near our CG on the weekend for the first time. The one and only time we left him alone inside our TT, he ruined the screen door while we were down at the clubhouse. Since then we've never left him alone inside. I've now bought lexan to replace the screens in our new TT. We've usually left him back home with a friend of ours who boards and trains dogs but there's times when we take him with us but want to go do some shopping.

The boarding place was $5 an hour and it was great for him and for us. He got to spend a few hours with some other nice dogs. He got a summer time clip while there too. Happy dog, happy dog owners....

Now, the next trick is to train him to stay off the queen bed while camping. We still both have aches and pains from the 3 of us being so cramped up. He's smarter than he looks, lol - he jumps up around 4-5 am and thinks we won't notice. :R

[rbpru]

We have a Goldendoodle that travels with us. He rides on the back seat of my F-150 super cab. We have a board and cushions for him to ride on. He is a fairly large dog.

It is rare that he does not go with us but when he must be left in the TT, he sleeps on the couch until we get back. He also sleeps in the truck if we go somewhere for a hour or so.

A major setback is the National Parks rule which will not allow dog on the trails. We have had no problems at the various State Parks; he even goes with us on group hikes as he is a people dog, waiting for the next person to pet him.

My DW will look for "No-leash Dog Parks" or we will ask the camp manager if there is an area "out back" where he can run.

We are going to do a trip to Glacier National Park this summer and will stop at several other National Parks on the way back. For the first time we are going to leave him with my daughter and her dog.

It is a tough call but probably better for the dog on this trip.