Unattended Pets?

[pasdad1]

Only problem with that plan is if your phone is of the type that automatically screens out background noise.....had some phones like that - normally a good thing. You could be a really noisy area, and the person on the other end of the call didn't hear the noise at all, just the voice. You will have to test by turning on the TV, and seeing how clearly can you hear it by just laying the phone on the table.

[jpharley]

There are some campgrounds that mean do not leave you pets unattended for any reason inside or out. Barking dogs are probably one of the most frequent complaints that campgrounds have to deal with. If you have ever been next to a site with a dog that barks non stop you will understand why. I am not talking about the occasional bark when someone walks by. All dogs are expected to do that. I am talking about relentless, hour upon hour barking that drives you inside your camper and even then you cannot escape the noise. We had a sweet dog that just would not stay by herself. We tried sedatives, soothing music, treats, etc and nothing worked. It only took one complaint at a campground of her barking and we re-homed her. She is much happier living with other dogs and we see her whenever we are in the area of her new home. We miss her terribly but we did what was best for her.

[JACKAL0PE]

Originally Posted by pasdad1

Only problem with that plan is if your phone is of the type that automatically screens out background noise.....had some phones like that - normally a good thing. You could be a really noisy area, and the person on the other end of the call didn't hear the noise at all, just the voice. You will have to test by turning on the TV, and seeing how clearly can you hear it by just laying the phone on the table.

Good point. I don't think ours are like that, but certainly worth testing.

[JACKAL0PE]

Originally Posted by jpharley

There are some campgrounds that mean do not leave you pets unattended for any reason inside or out. Barking dogs are probably one of the most frequent complaints that campgrounds have to deal with. If you have ever been next to a site with a dog that barks non stop you will understand why. I am not talking about the occasional bark when someone walks by. All dogs are expected to do that. I am talking about relentless, hour upon hour barking that drives you inside your camper and even then you cannot escape the noise. We had a sweet dog that just would not stay by herself. We tried sedatives, soothing music, treats, etc and nothing worked. It only took one complaint at a campground of her barking and we re-homed her. She is much happier living with other dogs and we see her whenever we are in the area of her new home. We miss her terribly but we did what was best for her.

And I can understand and sympathize with anyone subjected to relentless, never ending barking. As I said, we're going to try and see using our cell phones, what happens when we're gone. If they do that sort of barking, we'll have to look into corrective measures.

[bsirby]

When we first started RVing and then fulltiming, we carried our dogs crate with us. She was used to the crate while we worked(she could not be trusted to remain loose in the house) and it was a comfort zone for her. We would go for a walk and creep back and listen for barking. After awhile we ditched the crate and now she just curls up and goes to sleep until we literally come in and walk back to the bedroom to wake her up. We work in a campground during the summer months and really dogs are not the big problem people make them out to be. Every now and then we get some yappers that don't stop, but most dogs are comfortable staying in the camper and are fine while folks go to dinner or sightseeing.

[dieharder]

Unattended pets are unattended pets. Is there anyone with the pet inside the unit when one is out sightseeing? If the answer is no, then, by definition, that is unattended.

Of course, if they are quiet and no one knows they are there, then there is no issue, since no one knows there is even a pet in there. However, everyone believes their dog is quiet alone inside until they get back and a neighbour comes over to say that their dog barked all day or, even worse, the manager is waiting for them telling them they'll need to unhook and go. Nothing is more annoying that hearing a dog bark all day, then hearing the owner say "Oh, I didn't know he would bark alone in there" or "He never did that before".

[JACKAL0PE]

Well, that's kind of the purpose of this thread. I agree. Unattended is unattended. And if the literal meaning of this rule is to be used, then I'm in real trouble. It seems that many parks have such rules.

But somewhere between the two scenarios you described, a quiet dog who never barks and a yapper who drives everyone crazy all day, is what I think is the average dog, one who is generally quiet but will, on occasion, hear a strange noise and bark. That dog is not really causing a problem, but he is showing park management that a rule violation has occurred. That's the purpose of this thread; to discuss that average dog.

[ChileRick]

We had the same concern when we first got our RV. We even read reviews of some places we wanted to stay that indicated that the entire area was very unfriendly to dogs and expect to be harassed if you leave your dog in your coach. Since the entire reason we have the coach is to be able to travel and have a dog, this was very concerning to us. More people told us not to worry and that most parks would be out of business if you couldn't leave your dog in your coach. We also surmised that if you live in your coach, you would have to leave your dog, just like sticks and bricks, so..... What we have found, is that leaving our dog in the coach while we have dinner or go sightseeing for a few hours has not been a problem. We try to do "dog stuff" in the morning, have lunch, then do non-dog stuff. We come back, feed the dog, take her out have the required cocktail, then go out to dinner, if dinner out is on the agenda. We've learned to plan our trips for a few more days than we would think as we limit ourselves on time away without the dog. We chat with our neighbors, given an opportunity and we let the staff at the front desk know we are leaving our dog and ask them to call if there is any problem.

This approach to RVing for us has made us pickier about where we stay. Many folks aren't at their campsite except to sleep and a few hours in the morning and evening. But we are in the campsite (thanks to the dog) about half the time. It has to be inviting.

[PushedAround]

I think that the rule is pretty standard in most RV parks, more for CYA and the ability to state (if there should be any incident) that leaving them unattended is against campground rules. It also gives them cause to ask someone to leave if their dog barks constantly when they are away.

[DGShaffer]

I'd agree with you. Just like limiting you to one dog and restrictions against aggressive breeds.

[JACKAL0PE]

Originally Posted by ChileRick

We had the same concern when we first got our RV. We even read reviews of some places we wanted to stay that indicated that the entire area was very unfriendly to dogs and expect to be harassed if you leave your dog in your coach. Since the entire reason we have the coach is to be able to travel and have a dog, this was very concerning to us. More people told us not to worry and that most parks would be out of business if you couldn't leave your dog in your coach. We also surmised that if you live in your coach, you would have to leave your dog, just like sticks and bricks, so..... What we have found, is that leaving our dog in the coach while we have dinner or go sightseeing for a few hours has not been a problem. We try to do "dog stuff" in the morning, have lunch, then do non-dog stuff. We come back, feed the dog, take her out have the required cocktail, then go out to dinner, if dinner out is on the agenda. We've learned to plan our trips for a few more days than we would think as we limit ourselves on time away without the dog. We chat with our neighbors, given an opportunity and we let the staff at the front desk know we are leaving our dog and ask them to call if there is any problem.

This approach to RVing for us has made us pickier about where we stay. Many folks aren't at their campsite except to sleep and a few hours in the morning and evening. But we are in the campsite (thanks to the dog) about half the time. It has to be inviting.

Thanks Rick. That's kind of my plan as well. But of course, we've just bought the rig. We're going to a bunch of nearby state parks over the summer. I doubt that we'll go anywhere at all other than maybe to a nearby store to pick up something we forgot. But in the fall, we'll be taking our first long trip for 2-3 weeks to see my son. There, we'll camp about 12 miles from his house. Obviously, the dogs will be left some as we go to see him and I'm somewhat worried that they'll bark. That's why I'm trying to address this now.

[JACKAL0PE]

Originally Posted by PushedAround

I think that the rule is pretty standard in most RV parks, more for CYA and the ability to state (if there should be any incident) that leaving them unattended is against campground rules. It also gives them cause to ask someone to leave if their dog barks constantly when they are away.

That was my thought as well, but I was concerned about exactly where that line would be drawn. I think every dog will bark occasionally. I certainly understand the hour long yapper, but I was more concerned about the dogs that might occasionally bark.

[mojoracing]

We were concerned at first with our dogs. Two hundred pound plus fur bags roaring away would certainly upset a few people. We are fortunate that both our pups love their sleep. When we come back they both have taken full control of the master suite and barely raise an eyebrow when we come in. They have full roam of the MH and we can leave the shades up or down. We usually opt for down as our weimaraner is much more curious than the mastiff and likes to sit shotgun on the extremely soft pleather of the co pilots seat when the shades are up. I don't think I've ever heard him bark when somebody walks by. Like others, we leave the tv on and they have never been a problem.

[JACKAL0PE]

Well I think the big tip that I've gotten is to leave the TV on. I'm going to go a bit further and lock them in the bedroom/bath so they can't get up in the windshield area and look out. I'm thinking that if they're back there where we can close the blinds and make it dark, they'll just go to sleep.