No pets left unattended

[PA BAMBI II]

So...I have been camping for a long, long time. Growing up, we always took our dog with us in the AS. Now- every campground we read about that allows pets says you cannot leave pets unattended on your campsite.

Does this mean that you cannot leave them unattended outside your trailer (say- as you walk to take a shower, go to the pool, etc.) or does it mean you cannot leave them unattended in your trailer when you leave for a few hours to go sightseeing?

My wife and I have two beagles and take them when we can, but boarding them or getting pet sitters is breaking the camping budget when we have to leave them home. Would love to take them more, but I am unclear about what the rules are at these "pet friendly" campgrounds.

Can anyone share some insight or experiences?

Thanks! Ben

[nessie1020]

We take it to mean unattended outside. We take our dog with us every time we camp, and if it's too hot to come out/be left in the truck while we shop or sight-see, she remains at camp, with shades down, music and air conditioning on. We've never had any negatives coming back to us on this. There is one campground I know of in PA, Otter Lake, which specifies pets are not to be left alone inside a camper, as well:

Q: Are pets allowed?

A: We allow quiet pets that are kept on a leash and cleaned up after. Pets may not be left alone at your site, in your RV or any other area of the park. Proof of rabies vaccination should be provided upon request. Pets must be kept quiet and not allowed to disturb other guests. Barking dogs will be asked to leave.

Although it is open all year, with an indoor pool, too, we've never camped there for this reason. I don't know how well enforced the rule is, but another couple we know left there over pet issues. I do think it's ridiculous to expect someone with a pet to stay at their site for an entire stay,since pets are not permitted inside common areas.
This trip, our first in our new Serenity 30', our two cats are here with us, too! That's one of the best parts of the RVing experience to us--
Rose

[eubank]

It's kind of tough. We've got a few guests here now who seem to be deathly afraid of pets, even the kindest, most friendly dogs in the world. And they complain. Loudly.

Lynn

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by eubank

It's kind of tough. We've got a few guests here now who seem to be deathly afraid of pets, even the kindest, most friendly dogs in the world. And they complain. Loudly.

Lynn

Most dogs I meet are better behaved than a lot of people. Maybe the complainers should be asked to leave if the dogs were there first.

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by eubank

It's kind of tough. We've got a few guests here now who seem to be deathly afraid of pets, even the kindest, most friendly dogs in the world. And they complain. Loudly.

Lynn

Good thing they are not afraid of prairie dogs...

[sandlapper]

Another one of those situations where one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Most any pet that is adaptable to camping is likely friendly. Issues arise when owners leave for the day and leave their yapper inside, yapping tirelesly for hours until the owner returns. Can be very annoying, even quite a distance away. I say whip the owner, not the dog.

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by eubank

It's kind of tough. We've got a few guests here now who seem to be deathly afraid of pets, even the kindest, most friendly dogs in the world. And they complain. Loudly.

Lynn

Yes, I know what you mean. Several years ago I was walking our Standard Poodle (on a leash) on a sidewalk in our subdivision. As we approached a couple from the neighborhood, the male brandished a walking stick and shouted "get that damn dog out of my way or I'll kill It" at which I replied, "you'll have to kill me first". His wife grabbed his arm and pulled him away. I couldn't believe the hatred on his contorted face. Later that night his wife called and apologized for his behaviour explaining he had been attacked by a black dog in his childhood and hadn't reacted that way in years.

[Woosch]

We always thought this meant outside. We try to take the pups with us wherever we go but occasionally we need to leave them in the stream for short periods of time. I think this may be intentionally vague so that the interpretation may fit the situation.

[Ahab]

We camp with two standard Poodles. We only stay at RV parks which post the normal restrictions for pets. It's very infrequant that we come across one that requires otherwise.

[ROBERT CROSS]

The only pet complaint we ever had was when we were training our last PWD for a Water Trial. (thought we were "playing")
Our nearest neighbor complained that we were using the area between the sites... which was interfering with the noisy children's play area.
I offered to train the children, we settled it over some adult beverage, and the children spent hours playing with "Bo" in the Lake.

POI...we never leave "Fado" alone in the trailer.
His "duty" walks are always done where allowed and all solid duty cleaned up.

[Scott J-24]

We never leave our Std. Poodle Heidi unattended outside when we leave the area, but may leave her in the TT when we make a run to the store to restock supplies. We leave the A/C and music running and have the 2 fantastic vents set up to turn on in the event of a power or A/C failure. We haven't had any issues with neighbors or camp hosts... yet...

[Gene]

Over the last 10 or 20 years it has become harder and harder to have a dog. I sympathize with you, Lynn, having to sort between all the constituencies.

Years ago no one worried much about dog poop, it was just part of the life. Now it is a major sin and must be cleaned up. I agree in areas where there is a lot of foot traffic, something had to be done, but somehow the country survived for centuries without it being picked up.

Some people are terrified of dogs. I was bitten when I was a kid and I got over it, but not everyone does. Terrified people should not be making the rules, however, because fear makes for draconian ones.

The campground rules means whatever they say they mean. I know that's not much help, but it is their campground and what choices do you have? Ask what they mean before you reserve or pay. Some dogs go berserko when locked in an RV. It seems the small ones are the most irritating with their high pitched barking. Some owners don't know their dogs do that, but I think most do know and want to ignore the problem.

There seems to be an overreaction to the dangers of leaving a dog in a car. If it's hot, yes it is bad for the dog. But some people now think leaving a dog in a car anytime is dangerous.

I think the problems with having a dog have become so difficult, if we had a dog I think we might just stay at home and go nowhere. You can't leave them in the truck, the car, the RV, you can't bring them to federal lands in lots of places, you pay extra in motels and probably in lots of campgrounds by now, people insult you or are scared of your dog. Now everyone has to have a bag, but soon will they need bottles for #1? You need to bring a dog minder with you. With about 40% of households having a dog, you'd think they'd have more political clout.

Simultaneously, enforcement of laws has become far more strict than it used to be. At the rate we are going, everyone will have spent time in jail before they are 30—maybe in 25 years. Will we be able to bring dogs to the slammer? The Puritan side of the American character seems to be in charge now and it feels uncomfortable to someone raised in a more forgiving and less regimented time.

Gene

[Stefrobrts]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

There seems to be an overreaction to the dangers of leaving a dog in a car. If it's hot, yes it is bad for the dog. But some people now think leaving a dog in a car anytime is dangerous.

I won't leave my dogs in the car out of my sight (I'm barely ok with it if we're eating in a diner and I can watch them through the window) just because I've read of so many dogs getting stolen out of cars. In one recent case in our area a kid stole a dog out of the car, took it to the grocery store and sold it to someone in the parking lot within an hour, and the owner was using the press to try and get a hold of that person to get it back! What a nightmare that would be on vacation in a strange town!

It's tough. I bought my trailer specifically so my dogs could travel with us without having to stay in the 'dog rooms' in hotels, but I know mine might bark if left alone, so if we aren't planning on staying at the trailer the whole time, I'd rather just leave them home with a friend.

I also worry that our adorable little trailer would be too easy to just hook up and tow away with the dogs inside it. It gets a lot of attention wherever we go, and people are always asking how much it's worth.

However, we have left the dogs in the trailer on occasion and never had a complaint. I think most of the rules are just there to give them a rule to point to if you make a nusance of yourself.

[Gringo]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Good thing they are not afraid of prairie dogs...

no kidding. And I had some problems last weekend with some off-brand hot dogs. Now I am afraid of those!

[TBRich]

Like Stephanie, we started RVing because we were unable to leave one of our cockers with anyone because of severe health issues. (Even vets were uncomfortable taking care of her.) We had many good years with her camping. She's gone now, but we are still camping and we still have dogs... We do not leave them unattended outside when we are gone, and they are ALWAYS on leashes. We also faithfully pick up after them. But we do leave them in the trailer when we have to go off without them. Never for very long, but alone never the less. We have never had a problem with it from campground management. We leave the AC or fans on and the music playing so they are less likely to hear outside noises. We also never allow kids to rush up to them or pet them unless one of their parents has given the OK.

[steverino]

Yes, there are a lot of downsides with bringing dogs camping - rules about where and where not they can be, inspired, I guess by a few ill-mannered dogs, and more likely, irresponsible owners. As a result, we carefully select which outings our Golden Retriever joins us on. If we are planning back country hikes or to camp on beaches restricted due to endangered species, she stays home. But she brought great joy to countless people on the (paved) trails at Yosemite last weekend - people were frequently stopping us for meet and greets, which Lucy happily obliged. Those moments remind me it's worth the compensations you sometimes need to make to have such great 4-legged companions ....

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by steverino

....... people were frequently stopping us for meet and greets, which Lucy happily obliged. Those moments remind me it's worth the compensations you sometimes need to make to have such great 4-legged companions ....

Our problem is too many people make assumptions that aren't necessarily true.......they even stole the name from our "Bo".

[CanoeStream]

We only travel with our dogs. We'll go biking, fishing or into town with the AC on with its fan on 'low' so that it's running even if the compressor is not.

Ben, I've known beagles to be quite vocal. Have you experimented with how they tolerate outside noises with the Airstream closed up and the A/C on?

Originally Posted by Scott J-24

We leave the A/C and music running and have the 2 fantastic vents set up to turn on in the event of a power or A/C failure.

Scott, tell me more about how you did this.

[Scott J-24]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Scott, tell me more about how you did this.

We set the swith on the Fantastic Fan to "on" (not the 'open' switch) and turn the temp knob to a slightly warmer temp than the AS is currently at. Then, if the A/C tripped a breaker or shore power goes out, when temprature rises to the pre-set level, the Fantastic Vent automatically turns on (top opens and fan starts). Hope that helps...

[ROBERT CROSS]

POI...only our rear FF has a separate thermostat and operates that way.

The front will stay open, (til it rains), and the fan will switch on/off with the on board thermo.

I guess not all have the same features.