Travelling with a Dog(s)

[mickeysaver]

Ok, so it's basically set....the next trip to WDW is an RV trip with all 4 Chihuahuas in tow.

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Now, I need help from those of you that have park toured and tried to remain your doggie's best friend. Our dogs can make it about 10 hours without a walk....not that we like to let them go that long, but they can make it that long. They also need a minimum of 3 hours out of their crates a day....we of course allow them to be out as much as possible, but in a pinch, they have still done ok with only 3 hours of time out. Their crates are HUGE, so it's not like they don't have room to stand up and move around. We have great dane sized crates for them. It works.....it takes up a ton of floor space, but it works.

We are going to have to wake up, walk dogs, and then go to the parks. We will most likely make this a hop a thon trip with a quick hop back to FW between parks. They will get a walk. We will most likely spend an hour or so with them when we do get back to the RV. They will get walked again just before we head out again. We can then tackle a few more good hours of park touring and then come back to the RV to walk dogs and try to give them a "normal" night with their mommies.

For you folks that have done this before, how did it work out? We will have our own car to travel to the parks and back in, so this cuts out a lot of down time in not having to wait for a bus, plus we can drive up much closer to our home away from home.

Just curious. We are planning at least an 8 night stay at WDW. We have been to WDW 5 times since 2001, so there is little that we have not seen before, but we definitely have our favorites and a few new things to experience. We hope to actually go to one of the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. I have never been to Universal, so this will be something new and different for sure.

TIA Maggie

 

[jima53]

I'm really interested in how this works out at FW. I think they require you walk your dogs twice a day. Are you being billed per day per dog or are they grouping them into one big dog price. Nothing personal, we have camped with a much bigger dog for years but how do your pups handle all the strangers going by at campgrounds. Have they camped before?. Please post after your trip if possible with your experience at FW.


Jim

 

[becky1960]

We take our dogs to FW and leave them in the camper and do about the same routine as you suggested. We don't seem to have any problems and I think a lot of people do the same. We have stayed at hotels before and put them in the kennel but that seems to be more work than the RV. Our last trip was 10 days and our pet site was backed up to a long dog walk. If you use the Rv its up to you how many times you walk your dog and the price it $ 5.00 per day for all the pets. They provide lizards, snakes and crocs for free.

 

[kmccain]

We take our dogs to FW and leave them in the camper and do about the same routine as you suggested. We don't seem to have any problems and I think a lot of people do the same. We have stayed at hotels before and put them in the kennel but that seems to be more work than the RV. Our last trip was 10 days and our pet site was backed up to a long dog walk. If you use the Rv its up to you how many times you walk your dog and the price it $ 5.00 per day for all the pets. They provide lizards, snakes and crocs for free.

It sounds like you had the perfect site, do you remember what the number was?

We camp with our dog all the time. Next trip will be the first one to Disney with the dog, we are running out of people that will come to our house to dog sit so he is coming with us. We plan on doing the same thing as everyone else, walking in the morning then coming back in the afternoon for another walk and lunch. We usually do this regardless if we have the dog just because we can't afford to eat in the parks everyday.

 

[becky1960]

I believe we were in site 853 Loop 800, there is a canal that runs around most of the loop about a 1/2-mile walk and there are doggie bags about 1/4 mile down the dogwalk as well as in the loop itself. I think all the petloops are located near the dogwalks.

 

[surferrat]

Well, we take our Jack Russell and Cat camping all the time and at the Fort we have no problems at all. Usually I get up early in the am and take Willie for a walk around the loop with a cup of coffee in my hand and by the time I get back, the kids are shuffling around and my DW is getting them ready for the day.

We head out after breakfast and hit a lot of the rides, have lunch at the parks and get back anywhere around 1-2. We let Willie out and let him out of the kennel take him for a walk and then latch him to the tether outside....Sometimes we get back a little later on so that we can get the naps in and have dinner at the campgrounds then head out so that he gets more time out of the kennel. Back out for one more walk then off to a different park for the rest of the evening...

We also take our vehicle to cut down on the wait times for the monorail/busses/boats...

Willie has been kennel trained and can make it at least 7 hours before having to be let out.

The best thing to do is to see how it goes the first day and make adjustments from there...Also leave a radio or TV on...We have found that this helps also..

 

[mickeysaver]

Awesome input folks! Thank you all!

Due to the health issues that two of our babies have, I do want to keep them in a crate in the TT. The whole idea is to keep them out of a kennel situation.

We have not been using a radio or a tv around them while we are gone, but I think that we will need to start training them now to adjust to focusing on that "noise" during the day when they are crated. We used to do this with Deuce when he was little because we lived in a noisy apartment complex and didn't want him barking every five minutes. Since then we have added more dogs and moved to a much quieter home, so they are used to a quiet space. But, I think it's going to be time for a change in order to train them to be quiet while we are gone during the day and add another bit of "home" to their day in the TT.

Again, thank you all. You have made me feel much better about the whole thing. I swear, I am going to owe everyone on this board a hug before the end of next year. lol Maggie

 

[surferrat]

Remember, you will have 8 days at the Ft. don't try to cram everything in and if you have to leave any of the parks early...go for it...This way it will be enjoyable for you and your pets...

Awesome input folks! Thank you all!

Due to the health issues that two of our babies have, I do want to keep them in a crate in the TT. The whole idea is to keep them out of a kennel situation.

We have not been using a radio or a tv around them while we are gone, but I think that we will need to start training them now to adjust to focusing on that "noise" during the day when they are crated. We used to do this with Deuce when he was little because we lived in a noisy apartment complex and didn't want him barking every five minutes. Since then we have added more dogs and moved to a much quieter home, so they are used to a quiet space. But, I think it's going to be time for a change in order to train them to be quiet while we are gone during the day and add another bit of "home" to their day in the TT.

Again, thank you all. You have made me feel much better about the whole thing. I swear, I am going to owe everyone on this board a hug before the end of next year. lol Maggie

 

[mickeysaver]

Remember, you will have 8 days at the Ft. don't try to cram everything in and if you have to leave any of the parks early...go for it...This way it will be enjoyable for you and your pets...

Oh, but I love trying to cram it all in! It's the only way to see and do it all! Just kidding, we will have at least one day off from the parks, Gabby wants to take surfing lessons and the new FW Segway tour. Ah....the plans are in the works already to go out to MouseSurplus and do HHN at Universal. More more more. Maggie

 

[TheBeadPirate]

Thanks OP for this thread.

We're DVC and found out we can finally use our points for RV sites- not just the cabins. Our "spoiled princess" is Wanna B a male Pomeranian. It kills us to leave him when we come to Disney because we've always stayed in resorts in the past- that's where our points were.

Any info at all would be helpful. We start bringing baby to Disney next year! And this mommie is a planner! (And knows nothing about FW)

TIA

 

[YorkieMom]

We eat breakfast at camper, walk the dog, visit a park, come back to campground around 3, walk the dog, rest, eat dinner at camper, go out for dessert, visit another park, watch fireworks, go back to campground, walk dog, go to bed. Repeat every day !!!!!

 

[kmccain]

I believe we were in site 853 Loop 800, there is a canal that runs around most of the loop about a 1/2-mile walk and there are doggie bags about 1/4 mile down the dogwalk as well as in the loop itself. I think all the petloops are located near the dogwalks.

becky1960, thanks so much for looking up the site for me! I wrote it down and I will request it when we check in. It would be nice to be right by the walk. I did request loop 800 too.

surferrat, thanks for including the picture of your Willie. We lost our Springer Willie a year ago but we have a Jack Russell that we got at the pound, Harley. He is a little round!

Sounds like all us dog people will be back from the parks in the afternoon for a walk, see you then!

 

[mickeysaver]

I personally HATE the water at WDW. Should I bring along a gallon or two of water from home for the dogs? I really don't want them to have upset tummies from the water.

Has anyone had and issues with their dogs and the change in water? Just curious. Maggie

 

[surferrat]

becky1960, thanks so much for looking up the site for me! I wrote it down and I will request it when we check in. It would be nice to be right by the walk. I did request loop 800 too.

surferrat, thanks for including the picture of your Willie. We lost our Springer Willie a year ago but we have a Jack Russell that we got at the pound, Harley. He is a little round!

Sounds like all us dog people will be back from the parks in the afternoon for a walk, see you then!

heheheh is he as yippie as ours? Willie yipps at dragon flies.( he thinks he is pretty tough)

 

[kmccain]

heheheh is he as yippie as ours? Willie yipps at dragon flies.( he thinks he is pretty tough)

The day DH went to look at him at the shelter he was the only dog there that wasn't barking! He took pictures of him and I told him he better get up there and get him. Our Willie dog was 13 at the time and we knew he didn't have much longer. After he brought him home it was a different story! He barks at everything! We are trying to train him to be campground friendly and not bark!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[terri01p]

We always take our dog with us camping, our next trip to WDW will be our first with her to disney , she's 8 years old and sleeps all day every day, so I don't worry about her when we leave to go to the parks, we will spend the afternoons back at camp. I plan on bring milk cartons full of water for her, so not to have to worry about water quailty, I have always done this and it seem to work out fine for us. The only thing at WDW I worry about is the electricity going off or a power surg that kicks off our air ,we have had this happen before at the campground but we have always been there to reset everything. That thought scares me.

 

[YorkieMom]

Hollie gets bottled water at home and on the road.

If anyone is at the Fort December 3 - 16, stop by and say hello, Hollie is quite the social butterfly. Look for the Alien Green Mickey head on our campsite number - YorkieMom - requested 800 loop.

 

[lucas]

We have stayed in the cabins many many times and left our dog in the FW kennel. We go to the kennel when they open first thing in the am. We bring her some turkey, dh takes her for a LONG walk. Then we go back twice during the day - time varies but maybe around noon and 6:00pm. Then we go back before they close for another LONG walk at night.

I wish they allowed pets in the cabins!!

 

[loveDmouse]

I have been saving our gallon milk jugs and filling them with water from home so her tummy doesn't get unsettled.

I would love to take her with us but not until we have more RVing under our belt. I don't want to leave her too long until she is more use to it. She loves to go in the RV. Maybe next time she can go. If our other dog liked to travel we could take them both and they could keep each other company during the times we would be out. I think it would be too long for her to be left alone in the RV just yet.

Happy camping!

 

[kmccain]

The only thing at WDW I worry about is the electricity going off or a power surg that kicks off our air ,we have had this happen before at the campground but we have always been there to reset everything. That thought scares me.

I read that someone taped a piece of paper to thier door with their cell phone number on it in case you needed to be contacted. I thought this was a good idea! At Disney, I think they would contact you if need be.