RVing With Dogs | RV Life

What life is really like when you RV with dog’s.

This past week I have thought about what it’s like to RV with dogs. I focus on dogs because we don’t have other pets. This week’s post is how we travel with our dogs. This is not for everyone. It is how we travel with our reactive, non-sociable pets.

Not all dogs who travel are sociable.

The park we are snow birding in there are a lot of dogs. Everyone has dogs. Most people feel it is an impossible task to travel with dogs. This simply is not the case. I think, and it is my opinion, dogs who travel have a great life. They probably get more exercise, have more opportunities to explore life on the beach, or in the forest, and for sociable dogs, more playtime with friends.

My dogs are not sociable. It does become difficult when there are a lot of dogs around. My dogs are reactive. Their outside time and walks are timed when we can see people are out for the day, and on a different time schedule from the normal morning and afternoon walks most dogs do.

Some neglected rescues never get over reactive attitudes. We take a lot of precautions to keep our dogs separate from other dogs. Sasha is the hardest task to deal with when other dogs are around. German Shepherds by nature are protective. And when they are a rescue into a loving home it intensifies. They are not going to let anyone mess with their life. They bark to let you know you have been seen and they are keeping an eye on you. This doesn’t mean aggression. It’s how they talk. One way I can tell she is not aggressive; her tail is wagging the entire time she is barking. Because she is a German Shepherd people are afraid of her. I understand, but don’t put her in a box.

The little ones, well most people laugh when Nala Bear goes into “beast mode”, they think it’s cute when she acts so tuff. She too is a neglected rescue, and she doesn’t like anybody and has zero fear of any dog. When I see someone walking near me with a dog, I pick her up and walk fast to distance or try and distract her from view. Which brings me to this past week, I saw a man walking his Shi Tzu, which I love, but he took my act as if I was afraid his dog would hurt mine. He even stopped to speak with another camper about me and how I was acting. It had nothing to do with him or his dog. It was MY dog. She goes bat shit crazy even when I hold her and tries to leap out of my arms to get to the dog. As always, I have Lightning who is friendly, but she whines loudly and it’s just a chaotic mess, for me. It never fails, someone will come around a corner as soon as my dogs squat to poop. Every. Time. ugh!

Even with behavioral issues our dogs are living a great life. Travel with dogs is not a problem, you just have to take different actions versus living in a house with a yard. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are leashed. It’s a big rule in parks and open areas. Sasha goes off leash when she is on the beach playing ball, or out in an open field when no one or other animals are around. The little ones could go off leash, but I keep them leashed, my independent little ones don’t always listen. They do go on long walks.

If you are the type who likes to explore and go on long outings that do not involve your dog, then I recommend, not traveling with dogs. It’s not fair to them to leave them locked up in the camper for hours at a time. If they bark, you might get complaints from other campers and be asked to leave. You shouldn’t (by rules) leave them outside unattended. Although people do both. There are several pet monitors on the market that track the temperature of your rig, and/or install cameras, or have a neighbor watch them. It is fine to do so under certain circumstances. BUT, know your pet, and be considerate of other campers.

So how do you contain your dog’s when at a campsite? Several people are fans of the fencing. I am not. Sasha would go through the fencing like it was paper. Nala she would root it up and go underneath. Basically, it would be a complete mess, and possibly hurt themselves. Not to mention we don’t have the space for all that fencing. Instead, Sasha is hooked to the rig with a carabiner and the little ones sit in their stroller. Yes, I have a stroller. I purchased it on Amazon years ago and had rarely used it, until we started full time travel. It is mainly used on our site to contain the little ones.

It is big and bulky; we wrap a tarp around it and lock it down on the back cage with straps during travel. I love having it. It makes sitting outside easier. Lightning Bug does not like to sit on the ground. She is a bit of a princess, but at 13 years old she has the right. They are contained and I can easily move it around for shade or sunshine.

On travel days, we have doggy car seats for the little ones, and Sasha is on her leash and sits behind the passenger seat. We bought a baby gate to put between the front seats. Sasha tries to get under Wolf’s legs when he is driving and that doesn’t work. She knows she can’t go over the gate and stays in the back. But, if we get out she immediately jumps into the front seats. I don’t have anything to tether her to, she would rip it out. She is quite strong.

The dogs know when it’s travel day. When the seats come out, they all get in their seats and know it’s time to roll.

Dogs adapt pretty good. You have to trust your dog and have faith. They learn to adapt to the routine. They know outside time, feeding time and have designated areas for rest inside. We live in a 26.5 motorhome, that is pretty small. A majority of people couldn’t do it. Is Sasha big and in the way? yes most of the time. But we wouldn’t want a huge rig just to have “room”. We all live in our tiny home together. For us, our dogs are part of the family. We are perfectly comfortable, and we are all living our best life on the road. Travel with your dogs and enjoy the journey you both will experience.

Thanks for stopping by for a read. I appreciate you!