What do you do with your dogs when ...

[Belbein]

... you're hanging out under the awning or sitting by the fire watching the sun set?

... going into town to visit a museum?

... when you want to be inside and you'd just as soon they be outside?

One thing we've thought of is those metal folding playpens. Better than leashes. Not sure if they'd Steve McQueen them or not.

[Wayne&Sam]

Depends on the dog and how they behave.

When they have to be leashed, we tie ours out to the trailer steps, as long as we are out with them or we're inside the trailer.

We take them with us whenever we can if it's not too hot to keep them in the car. If it is too hot, they stay in the trailer with the A/C on if needed and definitely two roof vents open. And then we don't stay away very long.

[Bluto]

I do the same as Wayne&Sam but also try to park the truck in the shade when touring with the sun roof open all the windows an inch and then not for long. Maybe an hour max.
The other option is that some of the larger pet supply stores can board animals during business hours, and so do some local vets offices, we use the latter if we think we will be gone most of the day.
When we are in the trailer so is the dog, if we go out so does the dog. I've seen rattlers around campsites and won't leave the dog tied up without someone watching.

[xrvr]

Most cgs have leash rules, six feet or less, pens okay if you are with them, not to be tied unless you are with them outside. We leave ours with the AC on for short times, three hours or less depending on how hot it is. Just our experiences, thanks, jim

[dkrug]

If we are around the campfire, so are the dogs. If we are sitting under the awning having a cocktail, the dogs are with us. If we go into town, the dogs are in the truck.
Recently, we traveled with a new (to us) dog and left him in a crate in the trailer when we went out to dinner. Most campgrounds don't want dogs left alone to bark and annoy the neighbors.

[Rollster]

Our girl pretty much goes everywhere we go. She's part of the pack ...!

[SteveSueMac]

This is difficult and I'm glad you started the thread.

For the most part, Daisy (adopted at 2) has some understandable separation anxiety issues. Last year (our first year with the Airstream) we pretty much had her on a leash outside with us or we were in the trailer together. On one occasion, we brought her tithe local Camp Bow Wow (we use one in our home town and she loves socializing off leash with other dogs and people).

Not ideal.

We did get to the point where she could be in the trailer while we were outside enjoying the fire so she started to get used to being in 2 different places from each other.

Just returned this weekend from the Pets and Paws rally and we were able to leave her on her leash while joining the happy hours a few sites away from us and we even got her so tired on Saturday at the off leash park and then some trail hiking and beach walking, we were able to leave here in the trailer alone for about 45 minutes and she basically slept like a baby which may not sound like much, but it was huge to us.

Her first year with us - it took a while before she was ok being alone at home and I'm hoping this year the same will happen with the trailer. Looking forward to hearing more from others!

[weirdstuff]

Trixie and Dax have always been great travelers. We're comfortable leaving them alone in the RV for 4-5 hours (not frequently though). They chill on the bed.

So far we've not been camping in hot weather. When we hit hot weather, I'll be afraid to leave them for very long, even with the a/c running, in case the electric cuts off. Will cross that bridge soon.

Otherwise, like others, if we're outside, they are outside with us. We tie them up either to a rope tie out that we hook up, or to the metal tie down hook inside by our sliding door. Only problem is that, with the two of them, they always get tangled up.

Thinking about buying a large x pen for when we're hanging out outside, but then that's one more thing we'd have to cram into the back of our small Interstate.

We bought the RV so we could travel with the dogs. And I guess I'm just resolved to the fact that there are certain things that you just can not do when you travel with dogs (like leave all day to go hiking and biking, etc.).

[RangerJay]

Attica doesn't seem to mind spending time in the trailer alone if we have to be away for a couple hours - but she does take advantage of her independence and exerts her dominance over the trailer ..... when we are home she is never allowed on the furniture - but when we come back after being away we will always find evidence (a warm cushion) of her taking up residence on one of the dinette cushions - we've never actually caught her red-handed - but have sometimes heard the "thump" as she jumps down when we approach the trailer.


If we are going to be away for an extended period, and can't take her with us, then we've usually been lucky to find a like-minded neighbour in the campground who can check on her every couple hours - asking at the campground office is a good place to start.




Jay

[kswelsh]

We do travel with a pen (fits in the back our our TV). Our dogs are quite content in the pen and we always put a tarp down to keep critters off my dogs and in the shade. Keeping them on leashes was not relaxing for us - they were always getting tangled. They are fine in the Airstream for a couple of hours, but we always plan our day to come back and check on them after a couple of hours. They are great travel buddies and that is one reason we own an Airstream so they can go with us.

[weirdstuff]

Originally Posted by kswelsh

Keeping them on leashes was not relaxing for us - they were always getting tangled.

That's our thought too. Hard to relax when the dogs are constantly needing to be untangled.

[silverlabs]

We are venturing out in a month for our first long trip with our dogs. Like kswelsh, we bought the AS so they can go with us. They were comfortable in the AS this weekend on the shakedown cruise. We didn't allow them on the bed but when we left them for a bit to test them that is exactly where they went. We decided that is ok as long as they are off of the beds when we are in them!

The grand plan is to tire them out with a long walk or jog before we leave them. Most days we plan on taking them with us and visit dog friendly places. We do want to leave ourselves the flexibility of grabbing a quick dinner out if we want to.

[63air]

We try to go to dog friendly areas and attractions. Our Chesapeake Bay is pretty much with us all the time. We don't leave him in the trailer even with A/C. Most campgrounds forbid it anyway. He is quiet ,social ,well behaved ,and since Chesapeakes are not that common he gets a lot of attention and loves every minute of it. Sometimes we use a nearby dog daycare facility if we visit somewhere he can't go such as a Disney park or else we take turns going into places dogs can't go such as shops and stores.

[CampingDogs]

I don't have a trailer yet .... but this is one of my fears I wouldn't want to leave them anywhere alone...........

[Stefrobrts]

This thread shows my X-Pen solution for hanging out with the dogs in the campground.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f239...ler-77117.html

I love this more every time we use it. The dogs are never unattended. When we are not hanging out in the campground/trailer, they go with us. We like dog-friendly activities anyway. It's a shame they can't go into museums and stuff like that, but the museums often have outdoor exhibits they can visit with us, so we'll just take them and walk around on the grounds. If we're going to an activity where we specifically know it won't be dog friendly, we'll leave them home with friends.

[paiceman]

I am retired from business and now train and rehabilitate dogs who have been abused and neglected, many severely. If anyone has any particular questions I would be glad to answer them through private message and not fill up the pages here, we too bought our Air stream(s) to take our dogs with us and now may buy a 40' motorhome due to multiple dogs traveling with us.

[CampingDogs]

Bless u for the job u do! Dont know how people can hurt animals... We just did our first trip with our 13yr old rescued dog. She seems a bit confused, but we got her all her comfort items, toys, food etc.... Hope she starts feeling more comfy soon... For now i wont leave her side😊

[paiceman]

CampingDogs - best is to do very mild obedience training with a 13 year old - dogs, almost all dogs are looking for direction and if you give it to them, then they don't have to make decisions which in their genetics they don't like to do, so it then leaves it up to you and they become more relaxed and comfortable. Bless you for for adopting a senior dog. We get them in and unfortunately many spend their last years in a kennel. Enjoy.

We hate to do it but probably going to sell the AS and go SOB 40' Motorhome today or tomorrow so we can take our multiple dogs along, still trying to make the final decision - love the AS but can't swing both and don't like leaving anyone behind.

Safe Travels

[Luigi123]

Always good to have a sign, "Dog/pet inside", plus inform your camp neighbors you are leaving, about how long you may be gone, giving them a cell phone to reach you if a situation arises.,

[AWCHIEF]

Nothing worse than barking dogs that have been left in a trailer for hours on end. If you can not properly care for and control them, leave them at home. Thank you