Traveling with multiple dogs.

[3 Dog Nite]

Does anybody else travel with more than 1 dog? We were thinking about those small kennels to keep our dogs in while we are onsite so their leashes don't tangle. Many campsites require 6 foot leashes. Are temporary kennels allowed as an alternative? My main concern is keeping them separate from any other pet or small child that might wander into our site. I would love to hear all comments good or bad on this predicament.

[2airishuman]

hi 3 dog' and welcome to the forums...

LOTS of info already posted on traveling with pets/dogs.

search 'dog kennel' or just scan the pet forum titles...

unattended pets and how do you travel with your pets...

are 2 threads i recall, but there are several with useful info and personal experiences.

many rv campgrounds FORBID unattended pets or outside crates, rings or tie outs.

some don't mind and some don't enforce their own guidelines.

i was camping a few weeks ago at a local state park/lake.

someone had tied out their dog on a leash,

which was long enough to reach the trailer shade and with a bowl of water.

unfortunately the dog wound up the leash and spilled the water.

he was found dead in the sun by others in this FULL campground.

when the owners returned 10 hours later from skiing, they were naturally upset.

so were the many campers around them who dealt with the poor dead dog all day.

imo campgrounds aren't like being in your own yard.

people comengo, kids run through sites, and things happen, usually bad.

so the rules about unattended pets are for the welfare of the dogs AND park liability.

i've seen some use kennels inside their truck beds but again heat is a dangerous issue.

even leaving them inside the trailer with the a/c on isn't a sure arrangement.

cheers
2air'

[azflycaster]

We travel with 3 dogs as well. We mostly camp where we can let them off of the leash and run. We feel that it is just as much a camping trip for them as it is for us. When we need to hook them up it goes like this.

Bandit is 15 years old, 15 pounds and 100% deaf (that's more then me). I tell folks that she is a cat and no one every gives us a hard time.

Smokie and Gracie are much bigger and only four. I will hook them to a tree and they are pretty good about it. Usually Smokie hates to be hooked up so she goes inside the trailer and Gracie stays on the rope. We never leave the dogs unattended eve when on the rope.

Another solution I have seen is done by forum member flitzwhopper (Mike and Donna). They travel with enough fence material to inclose the area under their awning. That keeps the dogs out of harms way.

[TinShack]

We have two 100 lb Labs we always travel with. We have a camper shell on our pickup truck TV that serves as their kennel. When in the campsite, we tie them both to a 6' leash. The leashes are tied to a common heavyduty tent peg. With a single point of connection it allows them to not get tangled as easily.

[TBRich]

We travel with two cocker spaniels and they love going with us...even though we keep them on leashes at all times when we are outside the AS, even though they are not a vicious or intimidating breed. And not because they are apt to bite anyone, but rather to keep them from rushing up to an unsuspecting kid for some friendly petting or another dog who may or may not be other-dog friendly for all we know... It's as much for their own protection as anyone else's protection, because you never know how that other dog is going to react or whether that particular child is scared of dogs.

We have never been in a park...private or public...where dogs aren't required to be on leashes when outdoors...and one of our pet peeves is people who ignore this and let their dogs go off-leash, even in their campsite and even if they are the best-behaved dogs in the world. Once they decide to take off after a bird, a squirrel, or another dog...or rush up to a kid walking by, it's too late to put a leash on...the potential damage is done. If kids want to pet our dogs and it's OK with the parents, we are happy to accommodate that, but we always keep them on a very short leash during a petting session in case something goes south...kids can be unpredictable, and though our dogs like kids, they are not around kids on a daily basis. Same goes for letting our dogs greet other dogs...if the dogs seem friendly enough and it's something the other owners are OK with, we let them say "hey" and do the sniffing thing...again, we keep an eye on the dynamics and end it quickly if one of them, including our own, is not happy about it or begins to act aggressively.

When we are out under our awning, we tether the dogs to the step on the AS with 6' tethers we made with the plastic-coated metal cable (which you can get at any hardware store, along with the clamps to secure loops)...on one end is a hand-loop and the other end has a release clip like on the end of any leash... we loop these through the slots on each side of the AS step...that keeps the dogs in the awning area or under the AS for shade and cool. (We are careful to not trip over them going in and out of the AS!) Alas, we have yet to figure out how to keep them from getting tangled up sometimes. When we get back from walking the dogs, we simply transfer them from their regular leashes to these tethers. We keep a water dish outside as well...the kind that can't spill...usually just under the AS in the shade.

Our other pet peeve is people who don't pick up after their pets...very bad karma for those folks...and it's the main reason some private parks may not even allow dogs.

We always carry proof of vaccinations with us as well. Some private parks may even require this at registration. Make sure the dogs have their tags on with thier name and your phone number...it's a good idea to devise a way to put your on-the-road contact information as well as the contact info for your next distination on your dog's collar, in the event your dog is lost or runs off. Micorchipping is a good idea as well.

I'm sure much of this is discussed in the pet lover forum, but it's ok to repeat it here, since you asked.

Happy Trails, Happy Tales...and Happy Tails...TB

[Happycampers]

We have two dogs, but they are small lap dogs, so they are with us most of the time. We never leave them outside unless we are outside with them.

[Silvertwinkie]

We've traveled with 2 dogs regularly. One Shepard mix and one terrier. It can be a challenge at times, but we try not to crate the little one when outside. Space inside our 19' when we just had one was a good balance act, but with the 25', it's not as difficult. Sadly though, Penny, the Shepard Mix is close to the big dog bone in the sky........ so we'll once again be only with one for a while.......

[Wayne&Sam]

We travel with Luke (the Border Collie in our avatar) and Molly the Jack Russell Terrier. Luke parks himself under the table. I took the door off a storage bin under the dinette seat and Molly hops in there- her sleeping pad fits perfectly. Outside we use crates or just tie them up. They are never tied up any other time, but they are very good about it.

If I leave them inside the trailer when we aren't there, we close the door to the bed to ensure they stay off it. That door is one of the things we liked about the Safari, for that reason. In our previous SOB, Luke would head for the bed as soon as I left the trailer- which is odd since he never does that at home.

Sam will be heading to Montana for a month at the end of August. She'll be taking Molly, but leaving me and Luke at home. At least I'll get to fly out and spend a week with them.

[rettoc625]

One of the main reasons we got the AS is to travel with our dogs. We have 2 large Goldens and have crates in the SUV for traveling to the campsite, usually a fairground or field for an agility trial. Once there, we set up 2 four ft high x pens to create a fenced yard outside the trailer door. The fenced space spans the area under the awning and a little beyond. The pens are staked to the ground with pieces of rebar and the fence is attached to the rebar with tiny cable cuffs. This stiffens the pen and can easily be removed when packing up. One of our xpens has a door for easy egress.

The dogs love it. They don't need to be tethered to a line and the fence is tall and sturdy enough to keep them inside. We place things like the cooler and generator in strategic places to keep them from scooting under the camper.

We can place our chairs and a table and grill in the fenced area and all enjoy the yard together.

Of course all responsible dog owners always carry 2 poop bags on their leash, one for your dog and one for the friend who forgot.

Mary in CT
Logan and Blaze

"The more i try to understand people, the better i like my dog."

[Davydd]

I think we saw the record. There was an Airstream trailer at Woodland Hills public campground in Grand Marais, Michigan this past weekend with 3 adult dogs and 4 puppies! The couple had a wire fence corral to keep them all contained.

[rettoc625]

Well if you think that's something, stop into your local agility trial any weekend of the year. You will see most trailers with a wire fence corral outside the door.

We have two exercise pens that we set up just under the awning to create a fenced in 'yard' for the boys. We can setup a table with the grill and a couple of lounge chairs and have a great spot for the puppies to hang out and watch the world go by.

I have to admit, I haven't seen many people at trials with 3 dogs and a litter of puppies. Most dog people know it's just not healthy for such young dogs to be exposed to unknown germs at a young age.

Mary

[Kevbo10]

travel w/ three cats.

there so much easier...

but you need to be the sensitive type...

k.

[87MH]

A white woman, 3 papillons, 1 sheltie, and a mutt.

And we do run agility.

[Lumatic]

We enjoy traveling with Maggie the Magpie Dog and Farfel the Wonder Dog although it is a lot of extra work. This year we took them on the longest trip yet, 1 month. Outward bound it was Judy, Maggie, myself, wife and 3 grandkids in our extended cab F250. Inward bound just the dogs and us. The dogs routinely jump me at dawn to take them walkies. At this time of day I look for a spot I can let them run a bit. Maggie is the huntress, occassionally will scare up a rabbit that she never catches.

There were a couple of minor mishaps that I chalk up to the cost of doing business. On a couple of occassions we locked the dogs in the coach while we did something for a couple of hours. When they saw us returning Farfel got so excited he ripped out a screen. It was 36 years old, rotten and needed to be replaced anyway. While at Glacier National Park, where you can't go up the canyon except on a NPS tour bus, we locked the dogs in the trailer with the new AC on. When we got back found the AC had frozen and was barely pumping air and it was quite warm and getting hot inside. No harm done and a good lesson for the future.

[racoco]

Like Silvertwinkie, we travel with 2 large dogs; a Sheperd mix, "Nikita," and a Rough Collie, "Breony." Lately it's been in the 19' Bambi and it's pretty snug with both of us and the pack. Not so bad when the 31' was rolling, but that's in rehab.

We've never been to a park that allowed for unattended dogs outside. And we don't leave them. When we sit out, they love to sit with us and learned the limits of our green carpet "yard" a long time ago. We don't let them leave it or bark (even in surprise) more than once. Children are usually the problem; most have never been taught about other peoples dogs and often run up to strange dogs without hesitation.

When we do leave them in the trailer, we're never gone for more than 2-3 hours without checking on them. The A/C in the 31' never failed us, but the BRAND NEW (and already replaced once) A/C in the 19' tends to freeze if run for hours in extreme southern heat.

They usually like to go with us in the TV anyway and have even learned to patiently wait out my wife's shopping trips. I'm almost that good... sometimes.

Safe travels.

[flitzwhopper]

We travel with three dogs. Two australian shephards and one great dane/mastiff. My wife and daughter showed the austrailian shephards. We have purpose built portable pens called Ex-Pens see ( Ex Pens - Exercise Pens - Portable Dog Pens ) . We have used these at a number of state/national parks. The hosts and rangers seem to be fine with the level of containment. We have three pens which provides for a pen that is the same size as our awning. We have a piece of short garden fence that we put under the camper from front to back on the awning side to prevent under-camper escape attempts. With a cheap piece of astroturf like substance, the dogs like to sit outside and watch the world go by.