Visit our Popular Forums

Tomy · 09-25-2014, 11:57 PM

I'm interesting in learning about handling dogs on the road. My background comes from traveling cross country temp camping.

When we were traveling, we travelled with three kids and two dogs in a Westfalia Eurovan. We'd drive around 250 miles, stop for gas and lunch, and therein lies the problem. We couldn't really leave our dogs in the car in heat.

So our solution wasn't a lot of fun. I'd get lunch to go, while the wife and kids stayed with the dogs. Then I'd come back to the car to be with the dogs, while my wife and kids would go have lunch, while I ate lunch in the car with the dogs.

I realize that having an Airstream means you can stop at a rest stop and have lunch in the AS. But sometimes (especially when traveling through Louisiana, I have a soft spot for the food there) you want to eat in a restaurant.

What do you guys do if you want to stop at a restaurant while between campgrounds?

kingfisher24 · 09-26-2014, 04:04 AM

your life just goes to the dogs……stay in a cool climate…forget cajun food….

eat with the dogs

we travel with three english cockers and they rule

wahoonc · 09-26-2014, 04:40 AM

My dog travels with me a fair bit, sometimes with the trailer sometimes not. We search our restaurants with outdoors seating. So far we have never been turned down. YMMV. I will leave the dog in the vehicle long enough to duck in and ask if it is okay. Then get him out of the car/truck and go sit on the patio.

Best one so far was the Panera Bread in Roanoke, VA. Went through the drive through ordered my lunch, then drove around and parked. Carried the food over to the patio eating area. One of the young ladies inside saw me with the pup and brought him out a bowl of water.

THAT is customer service!

If we hit an area where dogs can't sit on the patio, or there are no patios we get food to go and eat together.

Aaron

karenjude · 09-26-2014, 06:31 AM

If it's cool we leave the dogs in the car with the windows half down and go in and eat. If it's hot, we eat in the trailer.

astreameddie · 09-26-2014, 11:41 AM

We leave all windows 2/3 open if on the road and we park with them (2 weimerainers) in sight of the window we will sit near or sit outside. If we are hooked up we leave the AC on and let them stay put. They are great nappers.
Best place ever stopped at was Twisp Brewery in Twisp Washington
The love having the dogs on the patio. Waitress said "well behaved or not"! Ours are very well trained

**Stefrobrts** · 09-26-2014, 11:59 AM

Eating outdoors with your pups at your feet sounds ideal. I have to admit my dogs have not had a lot of practice at that, since we do not have a lot of outdoor eating around here to practice at.

We usually just eat in the trailer with the dogs. When we know we will be doing a lot of non-dog activities on a trip, we leave them home with friends.

wahoonc · 09-26-2014, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

Eating outdoors with your pups at your feet sounds ideal. I have to admit my dogs have not had a lot of practice at that, since we do not have a lot of outdoor eating around here to practice at.

We usually just eat in the trailer with the dogs. When we know we will be doing a lot of non-dog activities on a trip, we leave them home with friends.

He lays on my feet at home under the table... why not while traveling?

My dog fits the basic description of well behaved. He is not aggressive (at least we have never seen it) and loves to meet people. His only really bad habit is wanting to jump up, but it is minimal and is controlled.

When we are camped out he goes on a 30' lead (shorter if required). We take plenty of walks around the campgrounds. I have a friend that camps that uses one of the wireless fence systems with good results for his Welsh Terrier.

Aaron

TobyR · 10-04-2014, 09:14 AM

We have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks to think of. They are very well behaved. But it does take some thought. Since my visit to the AS dealer I've been comparing how we live with our dogs now vs how we would have to adapt on the road.

Wayne&Sam · 10-04-2014, 09:28 AM

When it's too warm to leave the pups in the car we many times leave them in the airstream with both roof vents open. We set one fan to draw air in and the other to exhaust.

Of course this is only when the airstream won't get too hot, but we find many times that is the case.

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

Rawn77 · 10-04-2014, 02:31 PM

I leave my dog in the truck with the motor running and A/C on. I do this both in the summer when it's hot and in the winter when it's cold (of course the heat is, not the AC). The most I've let it run is 40 minutes. I've never once had an issue.

paiceman · 11-03-2014, 09:40 AM

I do one of the two methods already mentioned, either leave in the truck with A/C on, I can remote start the truck, OR in the Airstream with the vent system. As an aside we also use the vent system if we leave her in the AS while we go out to do something and in the summer with the A/C on in the AS. That way if the electricity in the campground goes off or something at least there is fresh air moving through the AS.

Safe Travels

airstrmdrm · 11-03-2014, 01:04 PM

We either get our food to go and eat in Clementine with the dogs or, if it's not too hot, we put them in Clementine with the vent open and fan on. Basically we make the decision based on if we ourselves would be comfortable in the camper or not

Nomad518 · 11-03-2014, 05:34 PM

Our 2012 F150 has the combination push-button pad on the driver's door by the door handle. If it's hot outside, we'll leave our Golden Retriever inside the truck with the windows up, the engine running, and the AC on. I lock the doors with the key pad, and unlock them using the key pad when we return. We try to be quick when we're in these situations just to be on the safe side.

3 Dog Nite · 11-03-2014, 05:45 PM

We full timed with 3 dogs for a year and a half (see namesake). On cool days, open windows with both ceiling vents running was just fine. On hot days, look for shady places to park. Some malls and shopping centers have trees to park by. They're not always tall enough to park under, but putting the side of the AS in the shade helps a lot. You can also park beside tall buildings for shade. We followed the weather to keep the AS from getting too hot(south in winter, north in summer). We would fire up the generator and AC when it was required. Didn't want to come back to a hot dog disaster or Officer Friendly. It used less gas then the big 454 chevy.

Make sure their water bowls are full when you leave.

cwf · 11-03-2014, 10:44 PM

If you have a generator, you could set up at a WalMart and leave it running to keep the AC on..

If you are near a city with PetsMart, you can use their 'pet hotel' for even brief (day) care.

Usually they are near large parking lots where you can park the AS... leave it 'hitched' up and hail a cab...

paiceman · 11-20-2014, 07:05 AM

For those who leave their dogs in the truck with it running a word of caution, from experience. I did that while I was standing at the back of the truck talking to someone. She jumped down onto the accelerator and the truck revved to max RPM and shut down. At least that is what we suspect happened as the person I was talking to commented that the Ford Diesels have rev limiters and shut down. Anyway that is what occurred.

Safe Travels

rmkrum · 11-20-2014, 01:18 PM

Our doggies are either on a crate secured in the back seat, or trained to stay in the back seat when we are in the TV.

We NEVER leave a vehicle running without a responsible human inside to control the doggies. Safer to shut It down and take the keys out.

If we are traveling with the AS the dogs are kept in the AS in camp and at restaurant breaks. We open windows, run fans, and feed, walk and water them before we eat. If it is too hot for them to stay in the AS we do takeout. If they are safe in the AS, they all sleep in their crates so we don't get separation anxiety or marking contests started. It's just safer for the dogs.

Have done several thousands of miles with our pack of four, with no issues. They even understand the AS is home on the road and prefer being in it.. To them, it's just a big silver doghouse, I suspect.

Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

JustSomeGuy · 01-29-2015, 04:17 AM

My tow vehicle has a remote starter. In this case, a factory installed one that will run the vehicle for 15 minutes. I don't know if this can be adjusted, but often that is enough time. My previous vehicle had an aftermarket remote starter that could run for up to 45 minutes, but I had it set to 15 minutes. What I do when I have to go someplace where I cannot take the dog is leave him in the tow vehicle, set the AC to maximum (or turn on a bit of heat, depending on the time of year, and certain times of the year, neither is required). I make note of the time and try to get back before 15 minutes is up. My aftermarket remote (actually an alarm/remote starter) had a digital screen on the remote with a countdown timer so I could see how much time was left. I tried to always be back in less than 15 minutes, but occasionally I couldn't. The remote control has a good range, so I would just restart the engine with the remote. I think it will work up to three times, then it won't restart.

The only problem is that you come across some overly zealous people who are against idling your engine and/or panic when they see a pet left in a vehicle, even if the engine is running. One time I left the dog inside the vehicle (I wasn't towing that time). Parked in a parking spot in a small strip mall with about 20 parking spaces and about 4 or 5 cars there. I went into an auto parts store. There was also a bicycle shop and I think a restaurant or deli. The outside temperature was about 22 Celsius (72 Fahrenheit). Having the AC on full was probably more than needed, but I did so just to be safe.

Within about two minutes of me going into the auto parts store, the manager walked up to me and asked if I had left a dog in my van. It seems some self-righteous individual came into to the store to report me and thought that I was being a cruel, irresponsible pet owner leaving a dog in a van with the windows up on a hot day and was calling the police or animal rescue - failing to notice that the engine was on the AC was running at full capacity on a day that wasn't even too warm, within less than two minutes of parking. My dog has separation anxiety and tends to cry and bark for 30 to 60 seconds after I leave him alone, be it at home, or in a motor vehicle, so the passerby probably heard that and jumped to conclusions that the dog had been locked in the van for ages and was in distress. I didn't want to take a chance on someone smashing a window to "rescue" my "poor, neglected and dehydrated" dog, so I decided to abandon my purchase at the auto parts store and go back to the van and leave. I did not see anyone around or looking at me, but you never know how some people will interpret things.

I've left the dog in several vehicles with remote starters over the years. He's my best friend and I would never do anything to harm him or jeopardize his health. I feel that using a remote starter with AC or heat on, for a quick 5 or 10 minute trip into a store or fast food restaurant is fine. I try to park far away from other people to avoid the looky-loos. Never had any other problems with this method, though I don't think it would work if you want to go into a nice, family restaurant where you order from a menu, wait for the food to be prepared and spend an hour in there. Unless the outside temp is cool, with no heat or AC required, maybe between 5 and 10 Celsius (40 to 50 Fahrenheit).

paiceman · 01-29-2015, 06:19 AM

like JustSomeGuy I too have remote start and used to leave our dogs inside with engine running or I'd start it remotely if I were going to be longer than a couple of minutes. UNTIL, I did so and was actually standing at the tailgate of our Diesel truck when the engine started to rev to incredibly high RPMs and then shut down with all four turn signals blinking. The puppy we have jumped down onto the drivers side and onto the accelerator and went to sleep. Now I rope her in the back seat if I leave her even for a second. I also put a sign in the drivers side door, "Truck is running - A/C is on and I am watching"

tinman54 · 01-29-2015, 06:33 AM

We built our Cruiser around the dogs. We installed fantastic fans with rain sensors so they could be left on. Also installed the for the dogs, to keep them cooler and for the white noise when we gone. Mostly though they do everything with us! Yes sometimes they are a pain in bottom side but they are part the family!!!