Crate trained?

[rgrstndgby]

Hi, my wife and I are Motorhomers, we spend about 4-5 months a year on the road, most of it coming in one 3 month trip to visit our kids. We stay in the MoHo while there. We are(were) dog owners for about 45 years, but always left them in "at home" care as we traveled. As our last "gal" died, we havn't replaced her, but are now considering doing so. If so, it will be a Weimaraner(I see you Murphy), and I am asking what "negatives" you dog owners encounter in your travels. Also, the term "Crate Trained" is new to me. What is that, and how might that apply to MoHo travel? I know, without knowing us, and our habits, its a difficult question, but what information can you share.. Thanks, rgr...

[rgrstndgby]

Hi, my wife and I are Motorhomers, we spend about 4-5 months a year on the road, most of it coming in one 3 month trip to visit our kids. We stay in the MoHo while there. We are(were) dog owners for about 45 years, but always left them in "at home" care as we traveled. As our last "gal" died, we havn't replaced her, but are now considering doing so. If so, it will be a Weimaraner(I see you Murphy), and I am asking what "negatives" you dog owners encounter in your travels. Also, the term "Crate Trained" is new to me. What is that, and how might that apply to MoHo travel? I know, without knowing us, and our habits, its a difficult question, but what information can you share.. Thanks, rgr...

[AKBrick]

Hi rgrstndgby,
My wife and I have been traveling with dogs quite awhile. We show dogs and also love them as pets. We fully believe in crate training. Keeping your pets in crates while you are gone is better for the pets safety at home, the homes safety and your sanity! Also your rv neighbors won't see them jumping all over the place in the MH because they see other people walking thier dogs and they won't bark about it.

One of our dogs barks when we go only if she hears our voices before we get into the car and when we get back. We've talked to our neighbors about this and they have confirmed this. She shuts up when the car leaves and figures it's fruitless I guess. I must say that everybodies dogs may be different.

The best thing for you to do is to start crating them when they are puppies and continue to do so as adults. They prefer not to have to poop in a small area where they are lying. As soon as you let them out of the crate, MAKE SURE you let them outside! If they don't go potty put them back into the crate for awhile and try again. Keep doing this until they go. And for goodness sake, PRAISE, praise, praise them when they do go and then you can let them run around the house/motorhome.

After awhile they tend to not mind going into their crate as it also provides them a little security and peice and quite. To help them learn to go into their crate, give them a dog cookie when you put them in.

Hope this helps, I've got to go and walk our dogs now as their legs are crossed. Good luck.

AKBrick

[Two Bit]

Crate training is good. Size the crate for the dog. You should start with a puppy size crate or partition off a large crate (that will fit the full grown dog) for a puppy. This is important during crate training so the puppy does'nt sleep at one end and use the other end as the potty area. This way you dont have to buy bigger crates as the dog grows. Murphy can tolerate being inside the house about 6-8 hours before needing to be let out. Puppies need to go out much more often. She no longer stays in a crate, but does have a doghouse outside she likes to use when we are gone for more that 6 hours. Otherwise she is a house dog.

A Weimaraner will be a good choice as a RV companion. They are a very loyal, long lived, and gentle breed. They need human contact and suffer if they are delegated to a yard all the time and never paid attention too, so only get one if you can spend time with them.

Housebreaking / crate training will only take a couple of days IF you can dedicate about 48 hours to being with the puppy at all times. Take them outside immediately after eating, drinking, and when they start hunting for a place to go.

Crate trained dogs think of their crate as their "place" and will go there on command. It is not a punishment to them.

We "bell trained" Murphy (and our previous Weimaraner) as we were housebreaking. Use the same door each time to take the dog out so they will know what door to go to. Hang a very small cowbell (called a turkey bell) from the inside door knob where the dog can reach it with their nose. Ring it every time you open the door to take them out. Within a couple of days they will be ringing it themselves to alert you to let them out. Always let them out when they ring the bell. They (you)will be trained in short order that the bell ringing results in a door being opened. We also place a bell inside the fiver door and show it to Murphy. She rings it when she needs out.

Murphy is allowed on the furniture and sleeps in the bed. You can easily train them to stay off furniture if desired, but keep the rules constant. Occasionally letting them do something then not letting them, is confusing to them. Weimaraners can be trained and controlled by tone of voice. Spanking is often counterproductive.

RVing with a pet sometimes causes inconvienences (SP?) but the payback to traveling with a loving pet that is really enjoying themselves is well worth it. We always say that we got into RVing so the dog could go along when we travel. It used to be that no hotel would allow pets but that is changing. Also changing is that more and more places you make day trips to while RVing are allowing pets.

Posts some pictures whatever breed you get. Murphy says HI!

P.S. Murphy loves to travel and rides in the truck cab(thus the crew cab). You will have no problem with a Weimaraner in a M.H. either in or out of a crate. Murphy is like a kid, she sets in the seats wanting to see everything going by, until her eyelids get too heavy then she falls asleep sitting down. She does not complain one bit about three days straight for 2000 miles.

[smlranger]

Robert has nailed it. We also had dogs for years and only used a crate for our current dog. Wish we had used it with all the others. It made the 'puppy' experience so much better and really helped with house training. When our dog became an adult and trustworthy in the home and motorhome, we put the crate away. He really missed it..it was his safe place.

We can't imaging traveling without our furry friend. He loves to sit and watch as we go down the road and goes most everywhere in the toad when we can take him. When we can't, he can stay 6 - 7 hours in the motorhome without problems and does not bark. He is a mutt we rescued from the side of a lonesome road as a pup and the best dog we've ever had.

[rgrstndgby]

AK Brick, Two Bit, and smlranger, thanks everyone for your insight, experience and advice. "Crate Training" was a new term to me, and I see that it is an important part of RV life for a pooch. We have had a variety of dogs over the years, Rotties, Lab, Airdale, Dobe, but always teamed with a Weimaraner ( 3 so far) so if we do this, it will be the "Grey" path again, probably a "rescue" dog. We have been so "free to roam" without a dog along, its a little scary to consider what a dog might do to that freedom, but it sounds like its workable. Whatever we decide, I'll let you all know what we do, and I'll include a pic for Murphy ...thanks again...rgr..

[Submustang]

We have had our standard poodle Leopold for almost a year and have been living full time in our coach for almost 3 months. He was the first dog we have crate trained. We almost gave up, but are so very glad we didn't. It is his home and a nice place to get him out from under foot when needed. He has started asking to go in at night. In the coach we have a piece of plywood on top of it that we use as a desk.