Dog Dilemma

[Gleam B]

We are always conscience of our dogs well being when we travel... Especially when the temperature is high .We own a conversion van, with window coverings. We leave the windows open, look for shady spots, run a 12v fan near a window for the pooches and leave a bowl of water for them to readily access.
While in Hubbard N.S. and Halifax and Lunenburg, we encountered strong laws in effect outlawing leaving your pet in the car . Even got a threatening note on my windshield mentioning animal abuse and the wish for a brick to break my window ( open, fan running, dusk very cool. We were visiting the Halifax Maritime Museum ( a MUST SEE ). Happened a lot because a Sheepdog had recently died.
We totally understand the issue.
The problem is you typically can't leave the pooches in your air conditioned trailer in the campground ( like we all do at home ) because of rules. Can't take them into shops, restaurants or museums . And we WON'T have family, friend, sitters or kennels watch them for our two month trip. IF you can find local vet/ boarding the cost for two dogs is over the top.
I want to start a dialogue about this. Going into shops and museums one at a time seems a little extreme.
What are y'all doing about this?
Or am I in a minority view
Happy Trails ...hopefully with our pups

[Jared J]

I didn't get a dog, for that reason. The only thing I could see would be finding a local place to board it for the day.

[rabbit]

Some tough Bluenose towns there and not everyone loves tourists. There's a bit of this "feeling" in Maine also. I'm betting your Nosey Parker threat note came not from an animal rights activist but from someone with a yen to make a bit of aggro for the outlanders by a little mischief play on animal rights activism. Board the dogs.

jack

[Evergreengirl]

I'm not sure that there is a solution to this problem. We too used to travel with our two pooches and it was often a real hassle. There are hardly any places that one can take them in the National Parks and I have to say I agree with that policy. In campgrounds and parking lots, etc. we always tried to find spots where our RV would be in the shade and when we had a big motorhome we often opted for full hook-up sites so that we could leave the air conditioner going and leave them in the rig. The best solutions we found were to board our dogs for the shorter trips and to try to do our traveling during the spring and fall before and after the temperatures got too high. After our last dog passed away we made the decision to not get another dog. One of the reasons was that we wanted to be able to do more extensive travels and not be constantly worried about how the dogs were faring when left behind. Some places now have doggy day care facilities. Maybe that would be a solution sometimes?

[Evergreengirl]

I forgot to say that when we left our dogs in the rig it was usually in a private enterprise campground or RV park. They generally will be more tolerant of your leaving your pet in your rig, unless it's a big barker.

[steve dunham]

My wife has a dog,a chocolate lab to be exact . I like the dog but that being said I do not believe dogs should be allowed in restaurants , shopping malls or other public places . My wife believes her dog is well behaved and would never bite anyone but others are not of the same belief. I talked to 2 resort owner this weekend who are considering a no pet policy at their facilities mostly because a lot of pet owners do not clean up after their pet , control their dog's barking and figure the leash rules do not apply to them.

[deryk]

Its another reason why I'm holding out on getting adog. I also went camping a few weeks back and near a heavy use footbridge a tent was set up and when the owners weren't there every time someone passed the dog barked like crazy...I don't want to be that guy. During the day I don't mind the company... but at night when I go wandering I don't want to leave the dog to possibly be a nuasance. Also some festivals I go to don't allow dogs and I can't afford kennel fees and all that. So no dog for now

[hillary]

We're the kind of dog owner that's insane about them and tailors vacations to things we can do with ours (why would I want to leave them at home?!). We go places that have hiking and water and open fields for them to run in, which also happen to be the kinds of vacations we like most.
I'd think for a more touristy trip, if you can't leave them in the trailer because they're barkers or it's against rules and people actually care (versus it's against rules for insurance reasons but not enforced), you could do research online and set up doggy day care for a day or two. It'll make traveling more expensive, but would still be cheaper than boarding and you'd get to have them with you when you wanted to do more dog friendly things!

[Jared J]

I'm not going to be mr. popularity here, but 90% of the people that take their dogs around ARE bothering somebody.

The last time I went camping, there were 4 dogs (all separate camps) that I wanted to lure off into the trees...one of them got its tail ran over by my bike when it darted out in front of me. If I had crashed, that owner and I would have had some problems. The jerks were all worried about their dog, never sad a damn word to me about it. They were told by the rangers that if it was off leash again, they were out.

One dog ran up and licked my beer, knocking it over. The lady looked like I was a jerk when I asked her for $4 to replace my beer (yes, I drink expensive beer), and walked off. The park requires a 5' leash, she had about 20' on hers. She carried a different tune when the park rangers dealt with her.

I was sitting in front of the camper, and 5' away, a lady let her dog piss on my campsite (also right by the hydrant for the whole loop). I just about walked over and peed on her tent.

Between them barking, crapping, and running around loose...

Don't get me wrong, a few dogs there were angels. Not a peep, not off leash (or at least didn't run around if they were), and the owners picked up after them.

I can see why places don't want them around though, after 6 days I was tired of dealing with it.

[Brian B-P]

We have a dog - and have had dogs for decades - and I fully appreciate Jared's comments, and the concerns which have kept others from getting dogs.

The daily boarding or "doggie daycare" idea makes a lot of sense; however, it could be really difficult to set up at short notice or for a single visit. I sometimes put my dog in a local daycare, and to be able to take him there I had to apply, provide proof of vaccinations, and take the dog in for a behaviour assessment.

[Glenn Baglo]

I'm looking forward to traveling without our beagle. I'm tired of sitting in the car with the dog while others tour the museum. And I'm tired of eating at drive-through restaurants.
I like the dog, but I'm not going to miss it when we travel.

[mary and bob]

You're popular with me Jared. We didn't replace our last dog when it died because we didn't want the restrictiveness of trying to travel with a dog. The campground we winter at has lots of dogs, some nice, some annoying. Can't understand why anyone wants those yippy little dogs that bark all the time, do the owners enjoy that. The calmest, quietest dogs we have encountered are the greyhounds.

[Jared J]

All 4 of the aforementioned dogs were little ones. I don't even blame the dogs really, most of the camp wanted to strangle their kids, too. It was an adult problem.

The little dog thing has been my experience, also. I've only had one big dog bite me, I've had quite a few mop dogs bite me. I'm more scared of yorkies and shitzus than I am pitbulls,rottweilers, or german shepherds.

[Pam Garlow]

I sometimes travel with my dog if I'm going to be somewhere that I can walk him regularly (being careful to always pick up the poo) and generally spend time with him while relaxing. If I'm going camping when I want total freedom, he stays home at my daughters, or a good local kennel. And he's always on a 6ft lead. I had a small dog (more than once) run out into the road to us because he was sitting in someone's lap, not leashed. My guy just about made a meal out of him! I say STOP and think, dog owners! You may love your dog, but others don't have to

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Jared J

All 4 of the aforementioned dogs were little ones. I don't even blame the dogs really, most of the camp wanted to strangle their kids, too. It was an adult problem.

This right here is the key to most problems people have with dogs. It is almost never the fault of the dog, but that of an irresponsible owner. I would venture to say that the vast majority of dogs are not properly trained, and do not get enough exercise. This is not to say that people don't love their furkids, they are just to lazy, or not strong willed enough to bother doing the right thing.

Any dog can be trained to follow basic commands, to heel, recall, sit, down and stay. They can also be trained to not jump, bark, or any other nuisance trait.

Our dog is not angel, but he responds instantly to any of the basic commands, he just knows that he must. Any dog I have even had was in training from the moment they came into my life. After showing them the appropriate reaction to a command and having them learn it, I would never allow them to not do as I say. By the time they are 6 months, they will be fully trained. Our dog knows his place, loves his life, and totally loves us too.

He also gets at least an hour run every day without fail. Even if it is raining, snowing, super hot, or -35°C, he gets his exercise.

We just love to take him camping, and do so on most trips. We too plan around where he is allowed. We mostly prefer to boondock, so finding a place to exercise him is not problem. We have left him at home when going to US National Parks, as they don't allow dogs almost everywhere there, and given how poorly behaved the average dog is, I don't blame them.

We are fortunate to have a great family and friend network that will gladly take care of Jasper for any length of time, and we can rest assured that he will be well cared for. Nonetheless, we do still miss him when he is not with us. We both work from home, so almost always he is with one of us.

He is only 5 years old, so we will have him well into retirement which I hope is within 5 years. We hope then to do some extended trips of multiple months in length, but will have to plan around him. Trips that would be more difficult to do with a dog will have to wait, or be of a 2 week nature.

Having had a dog most of my adult life, I really have trouble imagining not having one, they truly are man's best friend.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Jared J

The little dog thing has been my experience, also. I've only had one big dog bite me, I've had quite a few mop dogs bite me. I'm more scared of yorkies and shitzus than I am pitbulls,rottweilers, or german shepherds.

Many people who get small dogs don't bother with training of any sort (offering 'treaties' in order to have a positive result is not training), is one of the biggest problems with them. There are a few well trained, but not many. I have been around all sizes of dogs through my entire life, though mostly of a larger size. Only once was I ever bit by a dog. I just dare any dog to threaten me. I am much larger and can be even more fierce then they can if provoked. Other than that, I really am a softy, and just love all dogs anyway.

[hillary]

It's an owner problem 99.9% of the time unfortunately (the .1% is where early neurological development goes wrong, and is probably really more like .001%)! And the little dogs are the worst because so many owners don't do any training with them since they can just pick them up and solve any problem (tongue in cheek).

I'm a sighthound girl. They need to run their demons out for a few minutes a couple times a day, but otherwise are couch potatoes. Unless we want to go on a 7 mile hike, and then they're fine with that. Or I can combine a walk with a bunch of training and tire them out mentally instead of physically if I'm in a place where they can't run...

I will let them off leash in places I'm not supposed to if I can find a safe, mostly deserted spot to do it. A couple weekends ago we were camping at Jarrel Cove State Park here in WA with friends who both drove and boated in. It just so happened there was a meadow about a 5 minute walk from our site with one way in and one way out, so if people were coming (which happened twice in a long weekend with many stops at the meadow), I called them to me and leashed them. One of the dogs is a 4 month old puppy. No issues. We also bring at least one x-pen so we can make a little yard right by our trailer where they can see us and we can see them from the campfire, but they aren't ever just off-leash hanging out at our site. I'll also let them off at beaches if we can get proper sighthound fighting distance away from other people, which is most of the time.

It just takes a little extra preparation and management to have decently behaved dogs at a campsite, if you've done the training and have decently behaved dogs to begin with. I hate yappy dogs left in an RV just as much as I hate the generator left running at a big RV, or the screaming kids at the next campsite over! To each their own, I'll just try to be considerate and hope others do the same.

[Byron Kinnaman]

We travel pretty extensively in the winter months, mostly National Parks. Lots of dogs around and very few well trained, if trained at all. Most people will pick up after their dog, not all, and that where it ends. Most will have these long extendable leashes with the dogs tugging at the very end of the maximum length. When I see that I know the has not been trained.

My encounters with dogs off leash has not always been a good encounter. People seem to think that the moment they get into the woods it's ok to let their dog run free. One of those free running dog almost knocked my wife off a trail with 200' drop on side. I've been bitten, ran into dog poop on a X-C ski trail, the list goes on and on. Dogs locked up in an RV barking all day. A generator running all day so a dog could be locked up an air conditioned Motor Home.

Every once in a while you run across a really nice dog, well trained and well behaved. They can be a pleasure to be around.

I'm a firm believer that dogs need to be left at home and not annoy people that paid for a quiet few days of camping.

[hillary]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I'm a firm believer that dogs need to be left at home and not annoy people that paid for a quiet few days of camping.

So if the only way you know that people have a dog is that you see the dog, you still think they should be left at home? Sorry Byron, I'm not going to ruin my vacation for you...

[deryk]

heh...this thread is sounding alot like the generator threads... can't please everyone... everyone pays to be at that campground/park etc so we should all try to be as curteous as possible and carry ear plugs as a backup plan (works for kids too )