Doggie Day Care vs Leaving in Trailer during day trips

[twestover]

We attended the Mardi Gras rally there (what a blast, by the way). Before we left, we searched Craigs List and found a dog walker with great recommendations. They came ever day, twice a day and spent about an hour or two each time with the dogs. Worked out great.

Terri

[carlc]

We leave our golden 4-6 hours in trailer,all windows open, air on if hot,water. We get tired if shopping or sight seeing more then that anyway. If gone more then that or going far away we will use a day care. but so far we did not see the need to. Carl

[JCWDCW]

My Dog goes everywhere with me. Hot sunny days are a problem for leaving him in the truck, but I have no problem leaving him in the trailer with the AC on. While not the normal situation, he stays that way at home for up to 8 hours....no different than him sleeping through the night! I agree that a Kennel is a better choice if you can't be back in a reasonable time

JCW

JCW

[Bill M.]

The main difference in leaving them in the trailer and leaving them at home is the fact that in sunny or warm weather the trailer can overheat thus endangering the dogs. The second difference is if they are noisy in the trailer people around will be alarmed and upset. The third difference may be minor, but I think there is a higher chance of a trailer catching fire than a house. I have seen one pet lost that way.

We sometimes leave our dog in the trailer for fairly long periods. If it is warm or sunny I run the air conditioner and leave the fantastic fan open and on and a couple windows open for a backup if the power goes out or the AC quits. Hopefully with a little shade. If its is very warm and sunny and not shade we just do not leave the dog. There is a lot more danger in leaving the dogs in the car for short periods. We do not do that at all. I spend a lot of time with the dog in the car in Walmart parking lots.

[InterBlog]

Many factors to consider, obviously - the dog(s), the venue, the weather, the duration.

Gradual habituation has a lot to do with dog success in any endeavor. My husband and I are in the process of acclimating our dog to our Airstream by leaving her alone for successively longer periods (usually during football games which he attends in full and where I will show up for a quarter or two).

Our dog is crate-trained but she can get anxious if left alone outside of her crate. We don't have room to take a full-sized crate in the Airstream, and so the Alcott Explorer Pup Tent has been a lifesaver for us. It's only about forty bucks and we used it at home, in place of the crate, so that she will become familiar with it. She has slept in it exclusively for about the past six months. Therefore if we have to roll it up and take it on the road and leave her for a longer period, we can set it up inside our Airstream and she will be fine with it. It'll be like any other day, almost.

[tumbleweeds]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

What is the difference between leaving them alone at home and in the trailer? Personally if they are barkers I say leave them at home or at a kennel as a courtesy to your park neighbors.

Temperature in the Airstream is what I would worry about. If this is not a problem and the guys are not barkers, leaving them "home" in the Airstream makes sense to me.

[McDave]

I've only left Lupe alone in the trailer one time. I shoot in a number of archery tournaments, and Lupe is always there with me. At one, there were a lot more than the usual amount of stickers and thistles, and it was evident that she was having a hard time getting through them. Once or twice, when pulling thistles out of her fur, I stabbed myself in a finger, and it really hurt! She started out with booties, but they came off when we were by a pond and she decided to go swimming, and they wouldn't stay on after they were wet. I have to find more heavy duty booties if we're going to do that tournament again. Anyway, after the morning part of the tournament, she seemed like she had about had it, so I decided to leave her in the trailer with the windows open, fantastic fans running, and plenty of water. I worried about that, because she almost never gets left behind for very long, but when we came back 3-4 hours later, she was asleep on the couch and gave me a look like, "Why did you wake me up?"

[Dobber]

we recently attended the RV show in Hershey PA. we would recc highly the park's dog-sitting facility (The Barking Lot). very nice (Brit) attendant and only $ 10.00 per pup. great value.

[cwf]

Petsmart may have solution... Some have individual or "group"'playtime...activities. Enclosed. No grass, areas sanitized. Minimizes chance of cross contamination of your "AS / home", also your pet's health.

Most campgrounds cannot be responsible if a power outage occurs and your pet dies due to becoming overheated.

Personally, leaving any dog locked where they cannot relieve themselves is torture. Unless you have our dog who falls asleep as soon as we are not around and sleeps until we return.

One friend who owns an SOB trained his dog to use the "facilities" in the shower. He would clean up the mess then sanitize upon return. Just how he handles his dogs "business"...

Another option is to take to a groomer for a nice bath and nail clipping. But those are usually closed by 5-6PM.

PETSMART can house overnight. Also, veterinarians in the area may know the "safe" places for your pets.

[3wd67rg]

Originally Posted by kdickinson

with our three small dogs (all under 7 pounds each) we still haven't figured the "traveling with the dogs thing" out. We just got back from a quick weekend trip which we took them on and they drove us crazy at the campground. We came home a day early partly because of them. We usually have a dog sitter watch them at our house which works out the best for everyone. I will say we have been annoyed by dogs barking non-stop that are left in trailers all day long - not fair for the dog, the neighbors, and really also the owner because they probably don't know their dog is barking non-stop and everyone looks sideways at them when they finally get back to their trailer.

If I were the mistress of that dog I would definitely want to know if my dog was barking all day! It's because I found out that my dog was barking all day while in the kennel in our backyard that I stopped leaving him back there when gone. Turbo does absolutely fine inside the house, I found out once that he can go as long as 8 hours without problem. But he does not want to be left alone in the kennel outside. I would not have known if I did not ask, my neighbors are too polite to tell, but I came home to him barking and it wasn't the kind that just began when my truck pulled in the driveway. No one can change anything if they don't realize there is a problem.

[3wd67rg]

Originally Posted by Glenritas

Be sure their shots are up to date and they have had their kennel cough treatment.

Bring their papers also, the kennel may ask for them.

Have Fun in N'Orleans .

In California you cannot kennel your dog or cat anywhere without proof of rabies shot, you cannot even have your dog groomed without proof of rabies shot.

[3wd67rg]

DOGGIE TRAVEL TIP

When we travel I keep a folder for Turbo with:
A. All of his Medical Paperwork
B. Rabies Shot Certificate
C. Dog License Paperwork
D. 50 printed Lost Dog Signs with his photos and my cell phone number on it.

I use Petsmart's Banfield, so we are covered for his medical care wherever we go. (I pay $31.95 a month for his health coverage)

[Silverflames]

We bring dog crates for our dogs. Why are crated 8-10 hours per day while we are at work. So being crated in the AS is not a big deal.

Barking can be a problem if you have an anxious dog. I've been at Camp Grounds were the camp hosts will go to a camp site after a dog barks just a few times.

[cwf]

Doggie downers...... Hey.. They are on vacation too!!!

[rmkrum]

Ours are crate-trained as well. They only bark when someone approaches too close. Typically they enjoy sleeping in the TV, walks in new places, and spending the night in the AS with their human pack. Our pups seem to settle in and really enjoy traveling with us after a day or so they seem to decide the AS is home and act accordingly, even running directly back to the AS when they get loose by accident.

Yeah, I think it's a vacation for them as well.


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[paiceman]

Our two are well trained and behave so we generally take them where ever we go. When we eat out we eat in outdoor venues and ask if it's ok to have our two Labs. We do leave them at times in the trailer, about three hours max and usually at night. We look the trailer, close all windows and have a wireless remote camera running so we can check them via internet when we want to. But as stated, generally they are with us, at National Parks one of us stays in the parking lot while the other enjoys the walk and views and then we swap. It's an accommodation we make for our family members

[Gillpine]

We wanted to walk around New Orleans for a few hours and didn't want to take the dogs and the AS was 30 miles away, so we didn't want to leave them there. So, I made reservations at a day care for 4 hrs ($30 for two dogs!). It was pretty traumatic for both pups. When we arrived the dogs were loose in the facility and just were loud and rambunctious. We closed our eyes and held our ears and walked away. When we picked them up 4 hrs later, my husband was the most traumatized. The dogs seemed to be fine but we could tell they were stressed; they slept like logs that night and wouldn't let us out of their sight the rest of the trip. We are still newbies at Streaming so they are as well. I was very impressed at how they behaved most of the time. One of them usually barks at everything or everyone new, but even she seemed to start to get socialized. Like most pet owners, we bought the AS for them so they could go with us. Some tweaking still needed but I think we'll get the hang of it.
I really appreciated hearing from all the experienced Streamers out there and will heed your advice. Hope to see you on the road!
Gillpine

[3wd67rg]

Thank you for letting us know what you decided to do. It would also be helpful if you shared the name/address of the facility you used, tell us more about it, and rated it for us. It's not exactly surprising that the dogs were stressed, new place, new people, new dogs. I always Tell Turbo when I am leaving him at the groomers, a place that still stresses him after four years even though it's the same place and same people who love him, "I WILL come back, you WILL be ok. Same thing I told my kids when they were little, lolz. It's the fact that you keep your promises to them. Trust is everything. Keep their food and water bowls in the same places, feed them at the same times as much as you possibly can; our pets are creatures of habit. Soon enough your Airstream will be home and just as comfortable and comforting for them. Turbo sleeps in the space under our bed, and the cats sleep in the bed and everyone is happy. Until Chibi jumps on top of me when I'm sound asleep and makes me sit straight up and scream, LOL!

[Gillpine]

I wasn't sure if I should put the name out there but I will. We left the pups at the Midcity Animal House on Toulouse in New Orleans. It's fairly close to the City Park and fairly easy to get to if you plan ahead on driving from the park. There are lots of one-way streets and no left turns off of Carrollton. It's not too far from the French Quarter and a straight shot from there (mostly). Lots of dogs there. They do have a dirt yard for the bigger dogs but we didn't really see much of the inside. It was full of small dogs when we dropped off our pups -- all barking.
Lulu and Boogs (two Boston Terriers) were unhurt and looked fine when we picked them up. Most of the dogs were either gone or in another room, so it was much quieter at pick-up time. The place closes at 6pm which we looked for. Some close too early.
Since we rarely leave them anywhere I'm not sure how to rate the place. My husband won't go back there but I'm not sure where he would be satisfied. It's our first time to leave in a day care -- and may be the last if he has anything to say about it. We bought the AS so we could take them with us but there are and will be times we can't take them with us, we'll have to work that out at the time.

[cwf]

Ahead of time, I presume all inoculations are in place to meet 'State' requirements.

Turns out our Bichon cannot take the medicine which allows us to 'board' him.