Traveling With Dogs – They Love Trailers Too!

In our 16 years of RVing, we’ve always had at least one dog who comes with us most of the time.  Our dogs love trailer trips!  Our trailer lives in a storage place.  When it comes up to the house to get it ready for a trip, our dogs know we’re going somewhere, and they get very excited about it!  Over the years we’ve learned more and more about bringing the dogs and when not to bring them.  I should probably point out that we are not full-timers.  Our longest trips are usually around 2 weeks.  As you’re reading this, take away anything that helps and leave the rest.  I know for a fact that some of this won’t apply if you’re full timing (sorry about that!).  Also, we have no experience traveling with cats.  I know people do, but we can’t help you with that.  (again, sorry about that!).

If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you’ll know I am a bit of neat freak.  I also don’t like doing extra work on vacation.  Bringing a dog or two along on a trip can be a bit of a struggle in this regard.  I’ve learned to reconcile my love of traveling with my dogs and inner neat freak.  Here’s how I handle things.  (Note:  check the bottom of this blog post for links).

Dog hair – I hate dog hair dust bunnies!  Whenever I leave to go to work, I tell my dogs, “Leave your hair on!”  They never listen!  I found a good vacuum for keeping after the dog hair and I use I almost every day.  I also use a swiffer to pick it up.  I have learned to not even bother trying to sweep it out of the trailer as it just floats back in.  I also brush out my dogs after our morning walk each day.

Mud prints – We live and travel in the Pacific Northwest.  Mud is a constant issue. We keep a mud colored (some people might call it “taupe”) towel by the door so we can wipe off their feet when we come in from a walk and before they track mud all over the trailer.  I also keep floor cleaner and a mop handy in case.

Rugs are your friends! – We have a Waterhog rug by the door.  It’s a big help with collecting dirt and mud from the dogs’ feet and ours.  I recently discovered Ruggables.  Ruggables are magical rugs that don’t slip and are 100% machine washable and dryable.  They come out beautifully!   I don’t have any in my trailer but have them in the house and I’ll probably never buy a rug that isn’t either a Waterhog or a Ruggable ever again!  

Dogs need their place. – Our dogs have their beds.  We had another dog that needed her kennel at night.  What does your dog need, so he knows where his spot is in your trailer? 

Behavior – I’ve heard it said, “A tired dog is a good dog.”  I totally agree!  We involve our dogs in our day as much as possible.  They love new smells, hikes, drives in the truck, and generally exploring with us.   We do our best to make sure our dogs are tired from having fun!  It usually makes us tired too!  We all sleep better!

Keep up with their routine – You’ll all be happier campers if you do.  My dogs go for a walk each morning after I get up.  I plan that into my trailer routine, or should I say, they plan it into my trailer routine.  They wake me up at walk time and let me know it’s morning … even if I try to explain that I’m on vacation and I’d like to sleep in.  An RV park gets low marks from me if I can’t find a nice, safe place to walk a couple of miles with my dogs in the morning.  My husband is the night guy.  He takes them on what we call, “Nine-O’clock gosies outsies.”  Every night at around 9 p.m., he takes them out on a little walk about for their last time before they go to bed.  

We don’t always bring our dogs with us.  We believe there are times when it isn’t really fair to the dogs if we bring them along.  We have been lucky to find great house and dog sitters in cases where we think it’s best to leave them at home.  Here’s how we decide.

Will we be going to a National Park? – If the answer is yes, then the dogs stay home.  Most National Parks don’t allow dogs on their trails.  The dogs would have to stay in the trailer all day.  It wouldn’t be fair to them and potentially, they could be a disturbance to others in the RV park if they bark or whine while you’re away.  Having said all that, check the website for the National Park you’ll be visiting.  They may allow dogs, or they may have kennels you can use.

Will we be going to an amusement park?  – We love to take our trailer to Disneyland.  We would never bring our dogs on an amusement park RV trip.  We are amusement park geeks and like to close the place down at night.  This would create a situation where the dogs would have to stay in the trailer too long during the day.  Again, not fair to the dogs or others staying in the RV Park.

How long are our driving days? – If it’s more than say, 4 hours, we leave the dogs at home.  This could change when we retire and are able to travel more at off season times.  We are usually traveling in July for our longer trips.  If we’re going more than 4 hours from home, it’s usually hot where we’re going.   We like being able to make stops along the way without worrying about what to do with the dogs while we go inside a restaurant for lunch for example.  We’ve seen people with dogs on long trips stopped at rest stops.  They do a great job with their dogs.  We just think our dogs (and us) would have a better time if the dogs stayed home and stuck with their routine.  

Are we going to be able to get them enough exercise? – On shorter trips where we’re planning a lot of hiking (where dogs are allowed on the trails), we love bringing the dogs!  For instance, we traveled to Winthrop, Washington and camped there for a week.  On the way, we ate lunch at a place on the way that allowed dogs on their deck.  Our dogs loved it!   We hiked all over the place in the North Cascades on trails that allowed dogs.  They got a ton of exercise and were in dog heaven!  They were also tired!   If we went out to dinner at night, they were quiet in the trailer because they were happy and tired.  We took another trip to Cannon Beach, OR that was a five night trip.  The dogs loved the walks, running and playing on the beach, and the campfires.  

Other things to consider:

Before you travel with your dog – Make sure your dog is good on a leash and behaves around other people and kids.  You can teach this by walking your dog in your neighborhood, introducing him to kids, and letting people pet him or her.  My dogs like to go to Starbucks!  I tie them up while I run inside and get my drink.  They often get lots of extra attention from other Starbucks patrons who are passing by them.  They love it!  It’s also taught them a lot about how to behave in other places.  Before ever leaving them alone outside at Starbucks, I took them with a friend and we took turns going to grab our drinks.  This way, they learned that I come back out and that they don’t need to fuss or bark – all under the watchful eye of my friend.  

Check the RV Park’s pet policies – You may have a “banned” breed.  Some RV parks ban certain breeds like Dobermans, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds.  We have a rescue dog who is a German Shepherd mix.  She is a submissive type dog who is timid around strangers.  As my husband says, “Try to get bit by her!”  We think it’s fairly impossible.  We were also told that she may be part Aussie.  So, when an RV park asks for breed of dog, we say that she’s an Aussie Mix.  Our little “un-banned” breed dog has a greater potential for being a troublemaker! 

Use a leash! – We stayed at an RV park one time and the people next door to us had Dobermans.  The people let them roam free off leash.  The RV Park didn’t pay any attention to what was going on in their park.  I’m sure the people trained their dogs and that they were good, but I wasn’t going to test it by bringing my dogs out of the trailer while their dogs were out.  It created a situation where we were “hold up” in our trailer.  Not cool!  Even if you have the best-off leash dog on the planet, put your dog on a leash in the RV park.  Not only is it usually a law, but it’s better for everyone in the park.

Dog Parks – Many RV parks have dog parks. If your dog is a dog park dog, you might look for this feature.  

Pick up after your dog – Bring lots of poop bags!  Always clean up after your dog in the RV Park, on hikes, etc.  

Is your dog a flight risk? – Our little dog is named “Chase.”  Chase is his favorite game!  If he gets out the door, we have to chase him all over the place and he’s fast!  We work really hard at “sit” and “wait” when I open the door, but every now and then, he escapes!  I have a “Whistle” on him.  This is a GPS tracker that pairs with an app on my phone.  So, if he gets lost, I can find him on a map.  It also tracks his activity kind of like a Fitbit.  I get a text every day that says, “Chase met his activity goal today!”  With the Whistle, I can make my house/dog sitter one of his “people” while we’re gone.  That way, if the dog-sitter has an issue, she’ll be able to hunt him down.  It’s also fun to see where they go on walks and runs.  Conversely, if the dog isn’t getting walked, I can see that too and check in to make sure everything is OK.  One time, our dog-sitter hurt her knee while running our dogs.  So, I had to enlist the help of a neighbor to get the dogs walked.

Our dogs have been a fun part of our RVing experience.  When they’re not with us, we miss them and catch ourselves trying to block them from coming out the door when we come back from our exploring.  Our dogs love the truck, the trailer, the hikes, the new smells, and everything about a trip!  I guess dogs need vacations too!

Dog Packing List

Links that might be helpful

1. Vacuum – Shark Rocket (corded so you don’t have to charge it) – https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Light-Anti-Hair-Technology-Steering-ZS351/dp/B07FWYLKSG/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3AZZAIUR0PQNV&dchild=1&keywords=shark+rocket+vacuum&qid=1591578435&sprefix=shark+rocke%2Caps%2C607&sr=8-5
2. Watherhog Mat – https://www.amazon.com/WaterHog-Diamond-Pattern-Commercial-Entrance-Matting/dp/B008BW6NNW/ref=sr_1_8?crid=7OO82IS4YAJO&dchild=1&keywords=waterhog+mats+2×3&qid=1591578523&sprefix=Waterhog+mat%2Caps%2C424&sr=8-8
3. Ruggable Rugs – https://ruggable.com
4. Whistle GPS Tracker – https://www.whistle.com

Next Trailer Girl Blog – Souvenirs Don’t have to be Fancy or Expensive.  Why my Windex Bottle Is One of My Favorite Treasures.