Dog control while camping

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by majorairhead

From a NON dog owner.

I'd appreciate when you walk your dog, please keep him/her from sniffing, nosing, or touching me, or my kids, or my grand children, or my property.

Please keep your dog quiet. Nothing worse than incessantly barking dogs.

Please don't let your dog in your trailer all day long, while you are away, to bark, bark, bark.

Even cute, little, dogs. Please keep little fluffy from running about, jumping, licking, and sniffing others at random.

Other than that, I like dogs. I've owned several dogs over the years.

I see a woman who walks her leashed pit bull to the bus stop, yep, scares the crap out of me. Ain't no way she'd be able to control that 'well trained' dog if it decides to bolt.

I watched a highly trained drug sniffing dog, on command, hit on a hidden ham sandwich......kid you not.

Please no need to flame, just felt I wanted to put out some alternative perspective on dogs in general, and dogs in campgrounds.

Well, you certainly are limiting the number of your happy camping areas. 😂

I hope we run into each other someday so my dog and I can go thru your entire list.

Bob
🇺🇸

[trailerKat]

I am amazed by how many dog owners think that one of those 16 foot [or longer] retractable leashes qualifies as a 6ft leash. I to explained more than once to a dog walker passing me in a campground that allowing the dog to run out to the end of a 16ft retractable leash and approach to "say hi", jump up, drool on me, etc. is NOT a dog who is under control on a legal 6ft leash. Dog lover and former owner, but will never trust strange dogs. My brother's aggressive breed poorly trained dog bit me [I was wearing winter gloves so no damage]. He did not discipline the dog and laughed about it! I will no longer go to my brother's house. Sad that he is part of the problem. You can't pick your family......

[majorairhead]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Well, you certainly are limiting the number of your happy camping areas. 😂

I hope we run into each other someday so my dog and I can go thru your entire list.

Bob
🇺🇸

Shocking response. Why am I NOT surprised.

[JonDNC]

Me thinks you missed the sarcasm

[OTRA15]

Yup!




PS -- Not the first time THAT PARTICULAR POSTER'S sense of humor has been missed IMO. The blue "Roll Eyes" emoji also has this parenthetical added . . . "[Sarcastic]" .

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by majorairhead

Shocking response. Why am I NOT surprised.

Maybe because your skin is too THIN.

“Nothing is so disappointing as unappreciated sarcasm.”🤔
RLC

Bob
🇺🇸

[az-streamer]

Originally Posted by trailerKat

I am amazed by how many dog owners think that one of those 16 foot [or longer] retractable leashes qualifies as a 6ft leash......

Since I started walking with a large stick (see my earlier posts) other people tend to keep their dogs farther away!

As a dog on a leash approaches I just widen my swing. Works on large and small dogs😎

[OTRA15]

We carry matching Tasers . . .

[Phil&Sher]

With regard to the OP's question, keep in mind that you are legally liable for your dogs - especially off your campsite. Your dogs may be full of fun with you around, but left alone they may be more defensive. And some dogs can be triggered by another dog that shows fright. So with large dogs I wouldn't soley depend upon an invisible fence - even if the campground allows them.

We camp with two miniature, long-haired Dachshunds. We have to be extremely careful when walking them because you can never tell how aggressive other dogs may be - even some small dogs. We simply pick ours up and head in a different direction if there's any doubt.

In the campsite we keep them on fixed length tethers and we're always outside if they're outside.

[ORtraveler]

We use a zip line between trees and attach retractable leases with a carabiner. They can get tangled around trees etc, but overall works great for us.

[kpetchulat]

We have 2 small folding fences we travel and hook together. 1 Yorkshire and 2 mini schnauzers. I can make it any shape I want. My 3 honor the fence and get verbal reprimanded to back up if something gets them excited. We do fire drill regularly and enter or leave in a group to and from trailer / fenced area. Practice at home before you camp. Most situations can be replicated before camping with our pups.
Our biggest issue was digestive issue with camp dog park water. We start our trip with ice we make from milk jugs we store in our Yetti. The home tap water melts and we use that for our dogs water bowl. Love camping with the dogs but it takes a bit of thought to give them a safe experience.

[Diocletian]

Our 70lb energetic/strong lab mix is always either on a 6ft leash walking with us, or tied up on a 15ft rope leash (tied to trailer, picnic table, or tree) when she’s at the camp site with us - if not in the trailer. Take care not to leave your dog outside and unattended though...we had one experience two years ago where a bear poked its head out of the bushes at our campsite while our pup was tied up to the trailer and I was outside with her while my wife was inside cleaning up. We had to quickly pile into the trailer. I hate to think what might have happened if one of us wasn’t outside with the tethered dog.

[kpetchulat]

That zipline worked for us too. However...Some campgrounds have a do not do list which includes a clothesline.

[K-Train]

Ugh. I'm pretty disappointed to see this thread degenerate needlessly into an anti-pit bull rant. 'Pit bull' is a catch-all phase for a large beefy dog that got into trouble. It could be a boxer x beagle or a mastiff x lab, or whatever...Fear + ignorance = prejudice, and it does not elevate the conversation here at all. (Am I the only person who loves ALL DOGS and Airstreams? )

I have a lab x and a pit bull x and the lab is the reactive, fearful one. He's always been nervy, and I know I can't 100% trust him. My pit mix, on the other hand, has a much sunnier disposition. (And both have been attacked by off-leash dogs. My pit mix did not try to pursue the other dog. She stayed her ground and defended me, until I chased the other dog off with the help of another guy. I told her she was a good girl and we kept walking, calmly on our way. I then called animal control to let them know there was a loose dog.) Do I leash my dogs? Yes. Have they been trained? Yes. Do I walk them both at once as a petite woman? No!

It's awful and scary when dogs attack, or even scuffle. In addition to these moments with my own dogs, I've worked in shelters. I get it, and I feel for anyone who's been through that trauma. However, to spread misinformation and speculate wildly based on breed (they would've attacked me next, etc.) does nothing to help arm people with the common sense info and skills they need to manage their dogs and sometimes tricky situations with other dogs. There was not an abundance of pit-related aggression in the shelters I worked in. The pits were more likely to be confident, chill people-pleasers. It's a dog by dog, situation by situation thing. The worst case of aggression anyone at my last shelter witnessed was one greyhound (silently!) killing another in their shared pen.

Keep your dogs leashed in public. Exercise and train them. Avoid unduly stressing them. Know their triggers. Be a gentle leader. Feed them a good diet. Learn dog body language. There are many guides re: this. Dogs communicate clearly via body language. You can read your own dog's stress signals, as well others dogs'. It's not the be-all end all, but it's a great tool in your dog-managing tool belt. Any dog, regardless of breed, when supported by a responsible, loving owner/handler is set up for success.

[1okie]

Originally Posted by neck101

Question for you dog folks. I have two 70-80 pound dogs who are "active" but not crazy wild. They are typical dogs in that they are attracted to other animals, which obviously is a serious problem if they take off the first time they see a moose, elk, bear, etc. Just curious how others control / corral your larger dogs while in campsites.



I know that campgrounds have different rules...dogs must be on a leash, tethered to some type of line between trees, etc. That's fine and would be easy to use when I'm at a location for a short time overnight. I also know that methods vary depending on where you are, such as parked in a rv park versus boondocking.


X-pens or similiar light fencing would not work for me...dogs would knock them over. I have investigated portable chain-link type dog kennels, and while that would definitely work, it's bulky and heavy. Also looked into electric bear fencing while boondocking...can make it as large as needed while keeping my dogs in and other animals out. Granted neither of these would work or be allowed in state, national, private campgrounds.


Looking forward to your ideas. Thanks

Put your pets in a kennel when you travel if you cannot afford to put them in a kennel keep them in your RV. Just as there are people who love pets there are people who are intimidated by them and do not enjoy others pets.

[Grace-n-Pup]

Originally Posted by neck101

Thanks for all the replies...keep them coming. I kind of expected the 6' leash to be the standard response.



My biggest concern is related to the dog attack listed above....having my older dogs on leashes beside the trailer and another unsupervised dog comes and starts a fight. This happens too frequently when I'm walking them in my own neighborhood. I'm always amazed at the other dog owner's apathy at what just happened...no apology or anything.

For this reason our dog is not outside without being within eye site of us. If we go inside the trailer I have the door open and have an eye on him and then quickly go back outside. Or my husband and I take turns being outside with him if one of us have to be inside for awhile. If that's not an option he's inside with us. I've read to many issues as you mentioned. I know it all can happen in an instant but by not leaving him unsupervised it helps limit the chances it would happen. He is always on a 6ft leash as well. Or a flexi lead as the area/circumstances permits.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by K-Train

Ugh. I'm pretty disappointed to see this thread degenerate needlessly into an anti-pit bull rant. 'Pit bull' is a catch-all phase for a large beefy dog that got into trouble. It could be a boxer x beagle or a mastiff x lab, or whatever...Fear + ignorance = prejudice, and it does not elevate the conversation here at all. (Am I the only person who loves ALL DOGS and Airstreams? )
.

How on earth do you interpret this thread as “an anti-pit bull rant”?

Where do you find that in these posts?

I notice this is your first post. Seriously.

A pit bull is a breed of dog, however, and I dare say most of us here don’t confuse them with a boxer or a beagle.

Maggie

[KelloggKid]

We have almost always had two, larger breed dogs and spend a great deal of time training and reinforcing training. We have found our dogs to be more reliable and better company than our children so we never go camping without the pups.

While we are strong proponents of training, those who think a well trained dog doesn't need to be on a leash are missing a couple of key points:

1) Someone who's dog is not so well trained, noticing your dog off leash then feels like they are entitled to do the same.
2) If a dog who is on leash meets a dog off leash, the on leash dog may often feel at a disadvantage and threatened by the circumstance. This can escalate quickly.
3) If the campground says all dogs must be on leash, then walking your dog off leash or on an ecollar is disrespectful of the campground managers and other campers. Campground rules are put in place for a reason.

When our lab and doodle are outside, they are under constant supervision and tied to either the trailer, picnic bench or other solid object. We tried various fencing options and found them unreliable and just one more thing to have to pack around. Ropes and leashes don't take much room.

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by K-Train

Am I the only person who loves ALL DOGS .

I love all dogs, just not all dog owners.

[redhat200]

The more often you have your dogs accompany you the more often they’ll be used to meeting new friends, and humans. We will tether our dogs to a tree while hanging out at our site . Ours love taking naps in the airstream. We have two Vizsla‘s 49 pounds and 35 pounds. We have met the most beautiful gentle large dogs that love playing with ours. We never leave Luke & Grace unattended. Also we like to check out where there’s an enclosed dog run near -or where we will be Camping. We try and let them have an off leash run ( 10-15 minutes ) every day. There is an app to find dog Parks that has been helpful. Of course if you’re in an RV resort most will have a small to medium dog run. Our dogs are content to hang with us an others. I don’t believe size matters. They quickly adapt to our travel . When ever going to any of the national parks especially Yellowstone were animals roam everywhere . Be sure to read all of their suggestions for traveling safely with your pets. They did have areas that you could hike with your animals. But most were confined to only humans hiking. The most glorious beautiful dog parks we’ve ever come across were in Whistler Canada. Also camping anywhere in Canada has been fabulous. Our favorite place to camp with our fur-babies was Alabama Hills lone Pine, California. Dry camping . Safe travels with your fur-babies.