Doggy Day Care

[Kardon]

We went out to Moab last summer and knew it would be really hot. I called doggy daycare centers before I left and discussed my dogs issues. He weighs over a hundred pounds, had never been loose with other dogs and barks at people.(pretty scary with a dog that size) The place I chose was near our campground, my guy was there for at least 8 hours on 3 days and he loved it. I was really happy with the person who ran it, and it encourages me to travel with him more.. karin

[Donna D.]

Yeah sorry for drifting the thread. BUT if you own a pet, you must plan ahead.

I took a nearly 10,000 mile trip this past summer. One of my stops was a tour at Mt. Rushmore. A big ole sign said... no DOGs. There was a National Park Ranger at the entrance. It's NOT pet friendly. Pets are only allowed in the parking area, not on any of the surrounding grounds or trails.

I saw a woman, with her dog on a leach sitting on a bench. Overhearing the conversation between the wife and husband... she said she'd wait while he went and look and enjoyed. THAT was truly sad. They couldn't enjoy the monument together because of the dog... who could have cared less... give the dog a grassy area to run and some trees and it would be happy. Dogs know zip when it comes to monuments.


My point is to be very careful about forgoing your own pleasure (and memory makers) because you're too concerned about the comfort of a pet.

[John in Santa Cruz]

my daughter raised a boa when she was in college. 3 years it went from a little 9" pencil diameter snake to this...




hoping my dog can make a few more trips with us.... but at nearly 12, she's getting pretty creaky.

[Gerry]

The KOA, where I hold my Spring Fling Rally in new England off "Doggy Day Care" at a price. I am at the impression that a lot of KOA's may offer this service.

[monB]

Another thought...contact a local dog club and they can suggest people/places for dogsitting. Usually easier to find a vet than a dog club though, unless you're doggy.

Mon

[Carl Pa]

I see nothing wrong with you leaving your dog for few hours in the camper. Dog likes his naps and quiet time in his kennel. Which we bring along to put inside the scamp when we are not there. We leave the fan on, windows cracked. It is what we do when we are home. We only do this for maybe 3-4 hours, we get tired walking around ourselves. He is just fine, because that is what we do at home. People live in trailers and have pets, that is what they do. I think most of the rules mean unintended out doors at camp sites. There may be a time when we may take a whole day to tour something or area. I thought you can google pet borders for that area and make some arrangements. With the web you can get reviews on some and get opinions. With GPS they would be easy to find. just a thought. Carl

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Carl Pa

I see nothing wrong with you leaving your dog for few hours in the camper. Dog likes his naps and quiet time in his kennel.

Not all dogs behave equally. I've camped around too many dogs that NEVER shut up. Even when the owners are right there. Do I blame the dog? No, I blame the owner. But travel trailer people aren't all good pet owners either. And owing a trailer doesn't necessarily make them aware or caring. That's why there's often rules in camping parks about not leaving a dog unattended.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I've camped around too many dogs that NEVER shut up.

Are you talking about me (the Big Dog). I guess it could be Lisa (the Little Big Dog) as she is known to prattle on too. I know it isn't Jasper (the Dog) who is almost always quiet. We just like to talk a lot, and thought you enjoyed being engaged in conversation.

------

I do agree though, that it is all on the owner's who don't bother to keep their dogs under control. I have literally taken a dog out of a trailer before, who was whining and crying. It was a tent trailer and I could clearly see the young dog who quieted well when I came by. I was fortunately able to undo the fabric and get the pup out that way. Great dog, just young and untrained. I left a note for the owners who came by apologising. It seems they meant to leave for only a couple hours but got carried away and were gone all day.

It frustrates me to no end folks who may love their dogs to death, but don't bother to take the time to fully train them. This is the reason for so many restrictions for our beloved furfriends.

There certainly are dogs that can be left in the trailer for a couple hours with no problem. I can do that with Jasper, though we rarely have. At the Escape Rally last year we did that, left him in the air conditioned trailer at the end of a hot afternoon while we went out for supper. WE got back and found the A/C had failed, just blowing non-cooled air. Fortunately it was not all that bad inside. Still, one needs to consider this when relying on A/C while gone, as even a power failure of some sort could compromise the nice cool trailer.

I do like the idea of using a camera that can be linked to your phone, though it would not have alerted us to the failing A/C as it still was making noise as usual. Fortunately, were are not usually camping where A/C is required anyway.

Earlier this year I stayed in an RV Park in Yuma for a few nights so the wife and dog could have something to do while I was getting some dentistry work done across the border. There was someone set up there that offered doggy day care which was great to see. As well in the past we have had offers from fellow campers we had just got to know to watch Jasper for a while if we wanted, just another reason to have a well trained dog, folks love to watch him if needed.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Not all dogs behave equally...

But they do behave more consistently than their owners. Which is why I would vet my dog sitter thoroughly (no pun intended), regardless of who recommended them. And that means not leaving her with someone I just met.

[WaltP]

Rover bought out dogvacay a couple of years ago. I've used them locally
for overnight and several day stays and been quite satisfied. I don't know if they accept just day care, but it's worth checking. They do show reviews of previous clients.

Walt

[Shelley Youngman]

check out petsitters.com

[MK Evenson]

We also use Rover.com. They can provide all types of pet service from dog walks to over night care. Each pet care provider can provide whatever service they want. The caregiver registers with Rover but they set their own prices and scope of service. By logging in to Rover.com, selecting the town you need a pet care giver in, and then reviewing a list of available care givers, you can control the service you need. You communicate with pet sitter thru Rover.com, all communications are secure and kept on Rover's site. Prices vary from sitter to sitter, reviews can be left on Rover and future users can read those reviews. We are very happy with the system and glad we found it.

Mark

[RogerDat]

It can be tough to convince a dog that barking at people, vehicles, or dogs coming that close to "home" or at squirrels is wrong. So it is work to have a dog that is a good citizen at a campground.

I think you have to accept the limitations they place on your activities if you travel with dogs. Our older dog is up for a moderate walk of a few blocks but no longer up for a 1/2 day hike or rougher terrain. There has not been a problem in most cases finding a place with outdoor dining where the dogs are welcome if they behave. Most don't serve breakfast however except fast food places.

Our older dog would get her kennel cage set up in the back of the car if weather and climate permitted staying in the car for duration of the meal, don't think we ever left any we have had for activities of any length since we stopped using a motor home. And that wasn't in hot climates. Window breeze was enough and trying to enter through that window screen would be ill advised. Our dog back then was a friendly dog but would not tolerate entry by strangers.

I would be reluctant to use a doggy day care service, not that it is "wrong" but I know travel is some stress, being left alone without the pack is some stress and based on how I think our dogs would be with it I just wouldn't be comfortable with that choice. I have checked into a motel that allows dogs, they go in the kennel cage ("home") and we go out for things such as graduation ceremony or dinner. They bark at least a bit when we leave, and again when we are approaching the door. No complaints about when we were gone so I'll assume it isn't a problem. I figure if you allow dogs, charge for them to stay then I guess a bit of barking is to be expected as part of the transaction.

I would be reluctant to do the same thing at a state park as I do at a motel because the rules generally forbid it. Which makes it not part of the transaction agreed to.

[k corbin]

The big question is how much would a person be willing to pay for a pet sitter to come and watch your dogs for a few hours or even a long day?

I have thought about doing that for rallies or while staying out on BLM land in Arizona during the winter.

Now and again I have had pet sitting and dog walking jobs. It certainly helped to buy groceries and gas. Easy to fit in doing it as I am self employed.


The Rover app would certainly be useful for me to do that while boon docking for others who are staying in the same BLM or National Forest area.

[Glenn Baglo]

Best consider liability and insurance for such.

[slowpat]

Grand Canyon NP has a dog kennel available. It is over by the mule place. Friends left their dog there while we all went backpacking in the canyon. The dog was fine, we people were very sore when he was picked up.

I had a lab that I got "used" so he had some problems. One was being left alone in the car. It took almost a year to get him so he could be left in the car a while (in suitable weather). He'd howl and get into a frenzy. I finally started buying him stuffed toys to play with and he figured out that when I went into a store, I'd bring him a new "baby" which he liked, so he calmed down and became a good road warrior dog.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Best consider liability and insurance for such.

yeah for me in case I get bit.....


No seriously the dog sitting services you sign up for online such as Rover have of course thought that through. They have policies and disclaimers and such that people have to agree to before they hire a dog sitter. That is why you use those kinds of services if you want to be a dog walker/sitter for strangers. The sitter pays a commission fee to places such as Rover, not just for booking the jobs but also for covering them with insurance and such. Sitters who complain about fees just don't get it that the fees they pay are buying them things like insurance.


The biggest issue is the dog getting loose and running off. The owners take their chance when going camping with that, dog sitter or no dog sitter. That is 100x true for cats.

[Alex Adams]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

There certainly are dogs that can be left in the trailer for a couple hours with no problem. I can do that with Jasper, though we rarely have. At the Escape Rally last year we did that, left him in the air conditioned trailer at the end of a hot afternoon while we went out for supper. WE got back and found the A/C had failed, just blowing non-cooled air. Fortunately it was not all that bad inside. Still, one needs to consider this when relying on A/C while gone, as even a power failure of some sort could compromise the nice cool trailer.

I do like the idea of using a camera that can be linked to your phone, though it would not have alerted us to the failing A/C as it still was making noise as usual. Fortunately, were are not usually camping where A/C is required anyway.

What you can do is put a thermometer in the camera's view. That way when you check periodically on your "baby"(I would if I left my cat in the trailer), you can see if the temperature is rising. Either that or see if you can get a low volume alarm that goes off at a preset temperature.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Alex Adams

What you can do is put a thermometer in the camera's view. That way when you check periodically on your "baby"(I would if I left my cat in the trailer), you can see if the temperature is rising. Either that or see if you can get a low volume alarm that goes off at a preset temperature.

Good thought. [emoji106]

[Lynn Eberhardt]

We have a Highlander Hybrid which runs the AC from the drive battery and runs the motor intermittently to keep the battery up, using very little fuel. I know it works well because the dog and I have spent two hours or more at a time while dear wife is in a quilt/fabric/antique/etc. store. We leave the dog alone in the car with treats and water while we're in a restaurant or museum. I always put a sign on the dashboard:
Dog is Fine.
AC is on.
Car is very quiet.

He likes being in the car because he seems to know we'll be coming back to him. Not everyone drives a car like that but it has worked for us.