Dog in camp site

[rav4lcrv]

We love our 10 year old mute, but do you feel somewhat deprived of all the Fort has to offer since you are not suppose to leave your dog un attended, so you are limited in what events you can do as a couple. Do you take your pet to the Kennel so you can go in the parks? We take him in Nursing homes so he's very good with people, yet I understand why Disney would not them by stores, camp fires, etc.

 

[Judique]

We love our 10 year old mute, but do you feel somewhat deprived of all the Fort has to offer since you are not suppose to leave your dog un attended, so you are limited in what events you can do as a couple. Do you take your pet to the Kennel so you can go in the parks? We take him in Nursing homes so he's very good with people, yet I understand why Disney would not them by stores, camp fires, etc.

I've only taken my dog to Disney once and we used the kennel.

She loved the kennel!

I loved the kennel!

I could go get her whenever I wanted to have her with us and it worked out wonderfully. She got a lot of attention - she's a big dog and plays hard so was a lot of fun for one particular cast member.

Now I have a second dog. Kennels are not for him. Wouldn't matter how great it was.

Sounds like your dog would do fine with a combo of daycare at the kennel and time spent with you when you are available.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I understand why Disney would not them by stores, camp fires, etc.

isn't it funny,,but yet they just turn children loose in the stores, around campfires, etc.
go figure

 

[2goofycampers]

They (pups) can be left in a hard sided camper. We do parks etc... but, exercise her before we leave and come back during the day for breaks and a long walk at night.

 

[KristinU]

Do you have a camper? Is he used to being in the camper by himself? We travel with our dogs, we only had one the last trip to the Fort but we now have a 2nd that we've done a 2 week trip with. When we go sight-seeing or swimming or whatever without them, they stay inside the camper in their crates (without their crates they do things like have pillow fights and play monopoly!) But before ever leaving them (or just the one initially), we tucked them in and walked away but still within ear shot. We needed to be sure that they don't bark or whine or anything. We camp with friends fairly regularly, so we did a lot of just visiting at friends campsites in the beginning.

We find that they are usually way tired out when we travel and camp since we walk and hike them a lot and take them to dog parks whenever it is an option. So they usually welcome a nice quiet nap time!

We don't do all-day commando park/sightseeing days, and limit it to a few hours at a time. This is actually nice for all of us and keeps us at a sane pace no matter where we are or what we're doing, but especially helpful at WDW.

The dog park at the Fort is nice and big and I've enjoyed meeting other dog parents there. Nice to take your morning coffee over and let the puppies play while you chit chat about where people are from and what things they've done around WDW. If your dog is social, he will love it!

We have used the kennel there for daycare when we have a long evening planned, and that worked out well the couple of times we've used it.

One thing, though, is that if you have your dog with you, you need to be flexible enough to change plans if you need to. DS and I had a great morning alone at the Studios on our last visit because DH hung back with our dog. The previous evening was one of the longer nights that we used daycare and he wasn't ready for us to just up and leave right away the next morning. He barked as we left the camper so DH stayed back so DS and I could make rope drop and hit the headliner rides. It all worked out well, but of course the ideal would have been for DH to be with us.

I think a lot depends on your dog and his/her age, and their personality. I'm all for taking dogs along if they'll have a fun time too and won't be all stressed out and end up bothering other campers. Sounds like your dog is the type that would really enjoy it, being a therapy dog and used to different places

 

[JanL]

In my camping club, the dog owners put the pups in a crate and leave a radio or tv turned on to keep them from feeling too lonely (also disguises some doggy barks.)

 

[jbrostek]

My two love the camper. Generally not too barky unless someone is walking by the camper my minpin can see you. But at FW that's not much of an issue, the TV is always on for them just to have sound and dround out the outside noises. Both are crate trained, but due to size for the bigger dog I dont bring one with me. They have their dog beds and seem to just settled down within a few minutes of me leaving. (even had a camera check on the minpin since she was a rescue.)

 

[rav4lcrv]

Our Dog has jumped through 4 screens now when being left alone, will sit in the car and be very content if it's not to warm. DW thinks he will be fine in the 20 Ft. camper but I not so much since he loves to be outside so much when we camp, he paws at the screen to get out even when we're resting in the camper

 

[KristinU]

Our Dog has jumped through 4 screens now when being left alone, will sit in the car and be very content if it's not to warm. DW thinks he will be fine in the 20 Ft. camper but I not so much since he loves to be outside so much when we camp, he paws at the screen to get out even when we're resting in the camper

I'd probably do some trial trips close to home if you can. Sounds like he likes very much being with you and being outside. Is he crate trained? I know my boys both feel very cozy and safe in their crates.

Since Jbrostek brought up crate size - we have two labs, so not tiny crates. What we do is set their crates up on the dinette. We drop the table down, stow the back cushions under the table, flip up the seat cushions so they're stacked on end then set a non-skid rug over the the platform area and set up their crates side by side. They fit just right there and they're happy as two peas in a pod since they can still see each other.

And I wasn't kidding about the pillow fights and Monopoly playing...we did try free roaming in the camper and it just wasn't for my young boys, at leat not yet for a length of time. (I wish I would have had the presence of mind to take pics, because in hindsight it is pretty funny that they had the Monopoly set all strewn about!) However, we can now go have dinner with friends at their campsite without setting up crates, but beyond that I think they start scheming about fun ways to pass the time