RVing With Dogs

When you travel with your dog, you are an ambassador for the rest of us. So, please, please, please, please, always pick up your dog's waste. I have been in hundreds of campgrounds and seen so many people claim, in public, that they always pick up their dog's waste; only to see them, in private, leave it on the ground and hope no-one noticed.

Look, it is not a pleasant job, but neither is changing your child's diapers and you still do that faithfully.

Now, on to what to use to pick up the nasty stuff.

I have been through the gamut in using doggie bags. I have used thick silver ones that cost about a dollar a bag and I have used cheap thin ones that practically break when you look at them. When I lived in downtown Boston, a remarkably friendly dog town, I had a neighbor who bought rolls of produce bags from the local grocery store for a few bucks. Those are just too thin for my taste!

But, I found a nice middle ground. They are in the grocery store with the Ziploc bags and the aluminum foil. They are called "Food Storage Bags." They usually come 75 to a box and they also have twist ties with them. A box is about $2.40. So, they are much cheaper than specialty doggie bags, but they are thicker than produce bags. I have found them to be the perfect balance. Try them...

One of the most important things you need to think about for the safety of your dog while RVing is identification. Don't put it off until tomorrow. Get identification tags for your dog now. Make sure you put a phone number where you can be easily reached. Don't put your home phone in New York, if you will be in New Mexico traveling. A cell phone number is preferable, if you have one.

These tags are called Jazzy Tags, they come in a great selection of colors and designs. They are thick and made of solid stainless steel. I received a few samples and they are really high quality. My dogs have some old tags that I bought at a local pet store, but they are thin and the numbers are wearing out. I am going to buy one of these jazzy tags for each of my dogs.

(By the way, we do not receive any form of compensation for any of the products that we review. This website reviews products which we feel can be useful when traveling with your dog.)

Whenever you read RV magazines, there is inevitably an article or tip about being careful on RV Steps. I always read those and think to myself, "They must be talking about other people, not me." Well, here is my step story....

I feed a lot of birds right on our campsite, in fact, the amount of bird seed we buy every week is going to bankrupt us! So, along with the birds, come the clean-up crew: the squirrels, the mice, the big ground birds, etc.

So, the dogs have gotten very used to the birds and the small squirrels, BUT, the big squirrels, oh those big, tasty-looking, fat, grey squirrels!
I was at the top of the steps last week, getting ready to take BruBru (aka Fearless) for a walk, when it happened. He bolted for a grey squirrel and I came after him, flying off the steps at 90+ mph.

Needless to say, I hurt my knee. It was already a bad knee to start with, but I hurt it worse than ever. I have been limping around for days now.

Let that be another one of those little warnings to you.
Be careful on the RV steps!

I absolutely laughed out loud at this picture sent in by Virginia Petrelis. She wrote: "Lady and Jessica started out sleeping together but, by morning, Jessica was sound asleep on the floor. Lady has claimed that bed as hers for the past eight years."

I can soooo relate to Jessica. At night when I watch TV, my dogs think the bed is for the three of us. So, I have to get up and hit the fold-out button to make it bigger. They still try to crowd me out!

Julee

Here is Part 2 of a five Part Interview with Four Paws Kingdom Campground owner, Meik.

Julee: What do you think is the "favorite" activity that your campers enjoy the most?

Meik: All campers enjoy the freedom and opportunity to have their dogs run and play with others in our three 2.5+ acres of off-leash areas. Many dogs love to swim in our fully fenced off-leash pond, others like to try our Rally-Obedience Course and the "sporty ones" enjoy the Agility Ring and our new Agility Fun Park (a true playground for dogs of all ages). Many campers use our 20 acres of nature and hiking trails and almost everybody is using our exclusive doggy bath-house. Another favorite activity are our fun food and dog events.

Four Paws Kingdom Campground
Meik and Birgit Bartoschek - Owners
335 Lazy Creek Dr.Rutherfordton, NC
828.287.7324
info@4pawskingdom.com
http://www.4pawskingdom.com

In Alberta Canada, Hannes Kovac spent $26,000 to get back his lost yellow Lab. When his dog went missing, he put a $13,000 full-color ad in the local newspaper where he offered a $10,000 reward and a $3,000 donation to the Alberta Children's Hospital for the safe return of his dog. A landowner who had found the dog and planned on keeping him, returned the dog and collected his huge reward.

Hannes did the right things, he put up posters, canvassed the local shelters, and condulted a psychic. We always recommend that you bring a digital photo of your dog when you travel in your RV. That way, you can make posters immediately without having to somehow get a picture from back home.

I think some people would think that Hannes was nuts, but I would give anything to get back one of my dogs, if it was lost!

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2006/04/09/1526713-sun.html

I haven't taken my dogs to a gorgeous sand beach like this one. Greg & Kari Kijek of Roselle, IL sent in this incredible pictures of their dogs enjoying the beach. From L to R, Sadie(sadly passed away shortly after this trip, but what a last trip!) Sandie, and Brandy.

Do you know of a great RV Park with a sand beach for the dogs? Let us know, leave a comment on this post or contact me directly.

Looking forward to new beaches to explore!

Julee

Many of us are gearing up for travel. Either we are heading back home from winter destinations or we are thinking about a spring/summer vacation. Now is the time to make sure that you have packed everything for your four-legged friends.

Here is Part 1 of a two part list from our book, "Camping & RVing with Dogs." These are items that you should consider bringing for your dog...

Collars, Containers for Food, Description of Tatoo, Digital Photo of Your Dogs, Dog Bed, Dog Blanket, Dog Booties, Dog Leads, Dog Treats, Extra Food, Flashlight, Flea and Tick Medication, Flea Comb, Food and Water Bowls, Food Mat.

The items in bold are particularly important. Stay tuned for part two...

Happy Trails
Julee

Gary and Mary Glidewell sent this picture of their Lord Raggy Muffin. He is a 13 year old "Old English Sheep Dog". This picture was taken in the summer of 2005, at Misty Mountain RV Park just north of Branson, MO. There is a nice field there for the dogs to run. The park only has 10 spaces, no frills but a nice place.

Reed & Jeni Mellinger of Flyn'Dust Whippets in Lock Haven, PA sent in this picture of Reed hiking Cadillac Mtn with Cadence (wearing the pack) and Wizard.

Cadillac Mountain is in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine. The view from the top is one of the most awesome views you will find in North America. Acadia National Park is one of the most visited national parks, but somehow, you can always find a beautiful quiet spot.

There are 100 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads in the park where pets are permitted. They also have some campgrounds,
Blackwoods and Seawall Campgrounds, which permit pets.
On Isle au Haut, pets are permitted for day hiking only. And, they also allow dogs on two of the beaches, off-season. It gets cold quick in Bar Harbor, so don't wait until too late in the season to go there, unless you like cold, arctic winds.

Happy Trails
Julee

Fearless wrote a poem this morning about Rving....

Dog RVing

Standing on the doghouse
Watching all the ruckus

Outside the world goes by
In glorious colors and smells

The moving room came in
The stuff was moved around

My water in the little weird bowl
My mom in the passenger seat

I squeal with great delight
The road is ahead……

by Fearless (aka Bru Bru)

This question is in response to a post a few weeks ago on Air Conditioning in RVs. I am very interested in a product like this as well. Can anybody help?

"Many years ago I saw a product in a camping magazine. It was thermostatically controlled and called your cell phone when the temp in the vehicle exceeded a certain temp. I can't seem to find anything on this product. Does anyone have one or know where one can be purchased?"

This picture is of 7 month old Gus enjoying himself in the water while camping in northwest Michigan. His partners, Gail and Tom Schultz of Owosso, Michigan say, "Gus is a great camper...he gets so excited when we ask him if he wants to go camping"

It seems like the happiest dogs you ever see are the ones that are camping with their owners. Just ask Gus.

Happy Trails
Julee

I thought I would do a five-part interview with the owners of Four Paws campground in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. I will be spacing the questions out over the next month or so. They are an example of one of the finest dog-friendly campgrounds -- one that truly loves dogs and provides amazing activities for them.

Julee: What made you and your wife decide to open a campground that focused on dogs?

Meik: My wife is an artist and for many years we've traveled to art shows around the country with our dogs in our own RV. During this time, we discovered that there aren't many places that truly appreciate campers bringing dogs. Some offer limited areas for going potty but most places consider dogs a nuisance. On one of those travels we started talking about the idea of starting our own dog related business and after doing some research into the subject we developed the idea for Four Paws Kingdom. We have a background in dog training and marketing and it was a natural progression for us to combine our love for dogs with a business venture that incorporates our talents as well as ideas for a better vacation place for humans and their four legged companions.

Contact Info:
Four Paws Kingdom Campground
Meik and Birgit Bartoschek - Owners
335 Lazy Creek Dr.Rutherfordton, NC 28139828.287.7324
info4pawskingdom.comhttp://www.4pawskingdom.com

The absolute most important thing you can do for the health of your traveling dog is to always supply fresh, clean water. In fact, I would argue that traveling dogs should always receive bottled water. Now, before, you say.."Yea, in an ideal world, but it would cost a fortune!" You can buy five gallons of water for $1.25 out of those water vending machines. This is not true spring water, but it is water that has been filtered so that it doesn't have many impurities. We bought a water cooler for our RV, so we buy three of those 5-gallon containers and the dogs only drink that water.

Now, I happen to know a lot about water for two reasons; one is that Jack and I were in the water quality software business for a long time and the second is that we used to be big-time tropical fish keepers and underwater gardeners. So, water quality has been a big deal in our lives.

In dogs, using different water all the time or not cleaning their water bowl enough, can cause severe gastrointestinal upsets including diarrhea. So, please take the time and effort to provide your traveling dog with good, clean water at all times. This photo is one of those no-spill water bowls which we use whenever we are traveling.

I have been testing dog products for about a year now. And, you know, I never thought that I needed a shock absorbing leash because, in general, my dogs don't pull constantly. But, I felt obligated to try it out for those readers whose dogs are constant tuggers. And, you know what? I LOVED IT! The whole concept is for a stretchable section of the leash to take the brunt of the pulling, instead of your arm. I tried it for one long walk and I was sold. I guess I hadn't realized, just how much stress my arm, elbow, and shoulder were bearing on each walk. When I came back from the walk, I told Jack, "I never knew I needed it, but it is terrific."

If you have a dog who pulls you around the campground, you might want to try this leash.

http://www.saf-t-leash.com

What a stupid question? Why take you dogs RVing? I know, I know, but sometimes it is important to examine the why. I think this photo of Hannah from Dr.Dan and Jan Marsalek in Rocky River, OH, tells it all. But, I think I will let Dan's description of Hannah below speak for me as to why we take them....

"This is Hannah, our "random breed" sweetheart whom we just lost at only 9 yrs. She loved to travel with us and was exceptionally well behaved. I confess that she was rarely tethered while camping because she did not stray from us. However, at home she was the "neighborhood dog" who was always welcomed with biscuits that the neighbors kept especially for her when she made her rounds. She was never known to growl, snap or curl her lip. In fact, she couldn't stand any sort of confrontation and once stood between an attacking dog and one of our neighbors. Sweet, gentle, dedicated and loving Hannah, a once in a lifetime friend."

Click on the word "comment" below to leave any comments.
Hug Your Dog Today!
Julee

Send me your photos of your dogs and you RVing or Camping. I will put them in this blog for all the world to see! My email address is julee@desertwindspress.com.

This photo is of my two dogs, Fearless and Lilac, romping in a field while we were dry camping last summer in my nephew's field in Maine. That field was huge and and the dogs just loved playing there. Sometimes when they are sleeping, I think they are dreaming about that beautiful green summer field...

From the RVing with Pets Forum...

"There are some old posts about taking care of a dog that talks too much. The most popular answer to this is a shock (or spray) collar. But one of my kids is a teacup Chihuahua and some of those collars are bigger than her! ..."

Many people replied to this post suggesting shock collars. I just don't like the idea of those shock collars. I got an invisible fence once, and I had to put two of those collars on my dogs. I tried it first on my arm, then I promptly threw them in the trash. You cannot replace proper training with electronic shocks.

I would suggest the following:

Put some coins in a tin can and duct tape the top completely. When your little dog yaps, shake the can real hard. It should be loud and surprise them. If you do this enough times, your dog will associate barking with a very unpleasant noise. Most people find that this works!

Happy Training!
Julee