New to Rving(and with dogs)

[Keys Girl]

Hi,
My husband and I are new to the Rving world, in fact we pick up our new baby this weekend! We will be adventuring with our 3 German Shepherds (all trained and crate trained - 5 to 7 yrs. old). I have so many "new-be" questions, but most are about my dogs. Are State Parks OK with big dogs? They will always be on a leash or in the RV, they bark some but not much (only if they see another dog). Does anyone know of any parks in Florida that they would suggest (that welcome dogs).
Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing back.

[whem2fish]

i travel with my 2 german shephards and great perimese most places are ok now pits,rots ect will be on a no list try to be a good neighbor (barking,poop ect ) you will be fine
dave

[jfran304]

Carry the dogs vaccination and health records. The campgrounds probably will not ask for them but if one of the dogs has any medical problems they might help the Vet.

Jon

[Keys Girl]

Thanks Wh and JF for the input. Every little bit of info helps. We're very excited about our first trip and are working hard in hopes it goes smooth. Since we are just picking up the RV this weekend, we will be learning all about it as well. Someone even suggested a baby gate on the bedroom so they would be safely put away while we set up. Yet another great idea! I'm sure our first trip will be interesting.

[RickO]

Congratulations on your new baby!

We full time with three small dogs so we have some experience in this area. We have found that some/many parks limit the number of pets to two but it hasn't caused us a great deal of difficulty.

I would think your bigger challenge is going to be the size of the dogs. This could especially become a problem if their "little bit of barking" is perceived to be aggression. Notice I said "perceived" to be. It doesn't matter that you "know" they are harmless... people walking past with their own dogs shouldn't be subjected to three 75 lbs shepherds barking and straining at their leads to get to them. I'd suggest expanding their training to include more socialization skills and you'll be fine.

Good luck and have fun.

[Gotta_P]

Being as all three are the same breed, just take one out at a time, chances are no one will know you have more than one, unless their coloring is vastly different!

[Lued]

We have been traveling 9 yrs with a 50 lb dog. I think maybe I have seen it all.? Leashed is a must, other camper don't want dogs in there camp. I have had dogs pee on my law chair, cooler,cause dog fights, you name it. Don't forget your poop bags. Barking, it took me about 1 year to get my dog to not bark at every person that walks by the camper. Traveling with large pets can be a challenge. Hope I have help with some of your questions.

[HD4Mark]

Some CGs will not allow certain breeds I.E. Pit Bulls. We have two mixed breeds that are Bernese Mountain mix and English Shepherd mix. Both rescue dogs so who really knows. Since yours are easily identifiable there won't be much hiding what breed but we were careful not to say Chow, Rottie, Dobie and the like. One park had under 50 lbs as a rule. Our female is closer to 70 but would never hurt a thing so they told us "If anyone asks she is 49lbs" Funny we have seen some really tiny dogs way more mean than her.

If you are a Keys Girl as in Florida Keys "Pets are required, by Florida and Monroe County law, to be on a 6-foot leash at all times" We have stayed at Key Largo Kampground, Knight's Key and Boyds with 26' retractable leashes and never heard a word. Our pups are not threatening at all though.

I would definitely have proof of rabies vaccination and a kennel cough shot will protect them from other animals.

[TXiceman]

Some campgrounds have German Shepherd on the list with bad dogs like pit bulls. State parks are generally not a problem, except a few states have parks that do not allow dogs or do not allow them on the trails or beaches.

ALWAYS>>>ALWAYS pick up after your dogs and try to keep them frmm doing their business on others folks sites or play ground areas. Never tie the dogs outside unattended and always keep them on a leash, no matter how well trained the dog is.

The biggest problems tends to be the little ankle bitters that are turned loose because they "never bother anyone" so keep an eye out fro them.

Ken

[jfran304]

One other suggestion for all people traveling with pets. Have them injected with the identification chips in case they get separated from you. Tags and collars can be lost but not the chip.

[micd]

We just got an RV and have taken two trips with our dogs. During arrival and departure we put the dogs in a pen so they can spend more time outdoors while we get hooked up/unhooked. I bought two which I returned because they did not have a walk-through door and finally got a midwest one with a step through door. Here is a link.

Amazon.com: Midwest Gold- Zinc Indoor/Outdoor Exercise Pet Pen: Kitchen & Dining

You can get two and attach them together for a larger area. They work great if your dogs are pretty well trained and will just sit there and watch the world go by. Its also nice to put them in the pen while you cook and eat outdoors. With multiple dogs they would tangle their leashes up if they all on leash and with the pet pen there is nothing to get tangled up.

Pics of our dogs in their pen at the blog below.

Best,
Michelle
1994 Brave 29RQ RV

[PNWGirl]

Welcome Keys Girl from PNWGirl

Micd beat me to the punch regarding the x-pens (short for exercise pen). I make a little fenced yard next to my TT.

With Shepards I would use 42" ers. That is what I used for my Mals. This way they can not put their head over the top. While you know they would never bite or nip, no one can claim that they put their head over and did just that.

I have two of the ones in the link below. You can NOT beat the price and it is free shipping to boot. MidWest has been around forever and my oldest MidWest product, which I purchased in 1990, is still going strong.

The one below has a walk thru gate. VERY COOL!!

Midwest Pets Exercise Pen with Door in Black Finish - 55 - X

The above also comes with stabilizers. They are snaps that go on the joints of the side sections to keep them stable if a dog jumps on them. Also comes with stakes, for when put on grass.

They also sell the kind w/out doors as well. My oldest x-pen is from 1989 and I still use it.

Here are some shots, that an iRV2 member did of their spot at Fort Wilderness. It is exactly what I do.

David & Teresa's 2010 trip. - The DIS Discussion Forums - DISboards.com


I put mats under the x-pens to keep the dogs cleaner and makes easier clean up of the site.

Polypropylene Mat - Pet Supplies Sale and Discount Pet Products, dog supplies, cat supplies, dog food, cat food, pet meds, Care-A-Lot Pet Supply

I use a biodegradable solution to clean the mats and disinfect them. If you take min. care of them, they last a very long time. I still have my first on from 1989.

I travel with my five dogs and cat. I actually got the TT for them as it is too much trouble to use motels with multiple animals and my fur-kids love it as they consider it "home" and go bonkers when they realize that we are taking the TT out.

Hope some of this helped.

Sheila

[Seajay]

Go to Wallyworld and pay about fifty bucks for a ''bark box'' ..... THEY WORK VERY GOOD. We travel with three small dogs and they think they are lion killers. The ''Bark Box'' looks like a small birdhouse they have a switch on the front to controll the volume that you cant hear but your dogs can. It is above our hearing range. When they ''bark'' this thing goes off for about five seconds. a red LED shows its working. I think it takes a nine volt battery. Our dogs have grown so use to it we only have to ''threaten to turn it on and point at it and they shut up''......''You want the BOX???????'' stone silence...
With all respects your greatest problem will be the size of your dogs ..... German Shepard's are very intimidating and some folks have the perception that they love to eat small grand children and Chi wa was. Always, always keep them on a short strong leash and PICK UP THE POOP.......They can ''lay a log'' and you skate around for half a block if you step in it and it makes your ''flip flops'' unusable for about a week ..... lol....

Know this ..... I love dogs and trust them more than most people I know and we owners must be responsible for their actions just like a kid. Dont let them Pee on tires lunch boxes small children chairs campfire rings or anything that does not belong to you and for goodness sake PICK UP THE POOP...... nuff said ......

these are my killers. the middle one carries a 44 mag
Hint. for the camp grounds that limit you to two dogs do what I do. I list the Yorkie as a kitten.....lol.....

[sky_watcher]

To me as a full time rver and owner of sweet schnauzer girl Abigail, barking is the biggest problem. And the problem is not so much while you're in the rig with them but when you leave them temporarily. Abigail is not a barker by nature and I never have to correct her for barking at dogs being walked, but who's to say what she does when I go to the laundry room or grocery store?

Our newest longterm neighbors have 3 dogs: a pit mix, a german shepherd mix and a rottie mix. Although I'm a dog lover through and through, these three large dogs make me a nervous nellie. They are barkers, and they bolt their door and run free.

Best advice? Make sure your three get frequent walks; I've found that the more they can sniff and really study their environment, meeting and greeting people and other dogs alike, the more likely they are to be less reactive when observing people and their dogs walking in the campground.