First trip to the fort and we are bringing our dog. Any suggestions?

[marclichon]

This is our first trip to the Fort. We are driving down from Cincinnati, Ohio with 27 ft. travel trailer, 4 kids (14 yo, 11 yo, 10 yo, and 5 yo) and a rambunctious 4 yo Australian Shepherd mix. We haven't taken him camping with us too often and when we have, it was usually short weekend trips and he was only left alone for short periods of time. How long do you leave your dogs alone in your rigs? Have you ever had a problem with a barky dog? I have thought about the kennel but we are concerned about him being confined in a cage (what's the difference between a cage and the trailer where he will have more room, toys, food, and water). Does anybody have any suggestions or experiences that will help us?

 

[TheBird]

We always take our dog, but we don't do the parks. We do go out to dinner and such and leave her alone in our travel trailer and she takes nice long naps. The first time we went to The Fort we circled around several times to ensure she wasn't barking before we went looping.

However, a couple across from us in a motorhome left their dog for a minimum of eight hours everyday and it barked a lot. If your dog is used to staying home as ours is they should be ok as long as they have a/c, heat, and comfy sleeping quarters. It really comes down to if you will worry too much or not while you are gone and if your dog barks while you are gone some might call and complain.

 

[retired and happy]

Some leave a TV on to provide some noise to cover whatever outside noise might trigger a bark attack. Most leave dogs for a few hours then return to take them for a walk/run, then return to a park for another few hours. And some allow free run of the RV and others cage them inside while they are gone. It depends on the demeanor of the dog and what's best for it.

 

[thecplusplusguy]

We practiced with out dog, from the time he was 4 months old. We would be at a campground where we usually hung out at the site. We would pretend to leave and go over to our friends site, where we could still hear him. He only barks if he knows we are out side otherwise he knows we are gone and plays and sleeps.

If you do the practice thing be aware, if he learns that you come back when he barks, that will ruin the whole thing. You have to pick the time and place to try it. We did it in empty campgrounds during the winter and early spring.

We keep the shades down and the AC on unless of course its cold out. We also make sure he is tired out before we leave.

I will say I have a 15 lb Pom, so the space in the 30 foot class C is pretty good for him. Plus he is used to us leaving for the day everyday going to work.

Dan

 

[BradyBz12]

I dug up an oldie but goodie thread on this very topic. CHECK THIS OUT

 

[Born 2 Fish]

We bring our dog camping with us. When we leave the camper I like to turn a radio up, outside REAL loud to drown out the dog barking . Either that or ask the pressure washing detail guys to try and wash as many rigs on our loop , to drown out the dog barking.


JUST KIDDING !!!

BradyBz12 gave a very helpful thread to check,

Hope ya'll hava awesome time on your first Fort trip,

 

[mnsprk]

What part of Cincy?

We always used to take our dogs, Labs, (no longer have one) and never had any problems no matter where we went, including Canada. Many years we even did some all day tours.

 

[marclichon]

What part of Cincy?

We always used to take our dogs, Labs, (no longer have one) and never had any problems no matter where we went, including Canada. Many years we even did some all day tours.

Thanks for the welcome! We're in the Kenwood/Deer Park area (on the poor side of Kenwood towncenter ) Where's about are you?

I'm new to the boards; is there a way to P.M. me with your favorite gas/break stops for the trip? This will be our first loooong-tow and can use experienced advice!

P.S. Impressive list of states you've got there!

 

[marclichon]

I dug up an oldie but goodie thread on this very topic.

Thank you for the link, we'll read it thoroughly.

 

[marclichon]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions; I really like the tv one and the training ideas; we'll try them along with whatever we learn from the other thread. Thank you also for taking the time to reply. We weren't sure if we should take him but we feel much better about it now.

... now, I'm back off to Mary Poppins (we binge on Disney movies in the week preceding a trip, the dog's lying by the fire and Mary just refused Mr. Banks request for references = nice evening).

P.S. Do you think that if the movie was made today she'd go by "MS" Poppins?

 

[kmccain]

We crate our Jack Russell's in the camper. We don't trust them not to go at the windows and do damage. We go for 5-6 hours then come home and walk them, eat walk them again and go back to the parks.

 

[univmd]

We never RV without our pooch Scooby. In fact we call our RV the Scooby Bus. We've been fine leaving Scooby in the RV while we are away, she actually goes to bed until we return. She's also not a barker. Barking seems to be the #1 thing that non-dog owners complain about, my advice would be to have someone stay with the dog if your dog barks. Have fun camping, you'll have a great time!

 

[2goofycampers]

Thanks for the welcome! We're in the Kenwood/Deer Park area (on the poor side of Kenwood towncenter ) Where's about are you?

I'm new to the boards; is there a way to P.M. me with your favorite gas/break stops for the trip? This will be our first loooong-tow and can use experienced advice!

P.S. Impressive list of states you've got there!

On I-24 exit 81 231 south there are 4 gas stations with OK prices, but, if you go a bit further there is a Kangaroo on the right a few cents cheaper and a Kroger just a little further if you have a card. On your way back to the interstate there will be a Cracker Barrel on your right.

 

[TheBird]

We never RV without our pooch Scooby. In fact we call our RV the Scooby Bus. We've been fine leaving Scooby in the RV while we are away, she actually goes to bed until we return. She's also not a barker. Barking seems to be the #1 thing that non-dog owners complain about, my advice would be to have someone stay with the dog if your dog barks. Have fun camping, you'll have a great time!

a

A little off topic, but if you RV with your dog there is a campground in North Carolina designated for dogs and their owners. We hope to make it there this summer. They have lots of dog parks and agility parks and ponds for swimming. The pics look like sites are private and lots of woods. I think it is called Four Paws.

 

[Disneylitch]

We always bring out dogs. They are actually better at The Fort than at home. Our dogs are crate trained at home, so we bring their crates with us. We also leave on the TV, which we also do at home. We have left them alone for as long as 8 hours, but usually it's about 5 hours. They are used to about 8 hours, give or take, at home. We come back take them for a walk, eat, relax, and then go back out.

 

[ftwildernessrick]

We always travel with our dog, she is kennel trained, but we mostly leave her out. We usually leave either the TV on or our A/C's fan blowers on to drown out any outside noise, but she usually does not bark anyway, we just do it to be on the safe side.

We usually come back after lunch for an afternoon break & I take her out then, but she can do an 8 - 5 & hold it without a problem.

The more you travel with a pet, the sooner they become accustomed to what is expected of them.