We love dogs. We realllllly love dogs around here. But we DO know that dogs can be a pain in the you-know-what! Especially the barking kinds… As much as we love dogs, we don’t particularly want to be staying right next to a campground neighbor with a loud, obnoxious barking dog. Who would?
If you had the choice between two RV parks across the street from each other, both equally as nice, would you choose to stay at the RV park that allows dogs, or the one across the street that does not allow dogs?
We know your answer may depend if you have a dog or not. If you have a dog, you don’t really have a choice, but if you don’t have a dog… what’ll it be? Feel free to leave a comment after you vote, of course.
Screaming dogs and barking kids, no thanks, just the same as fingers on a chalkboard, or balloons, not from China…(;+)…
Well, I don’t know, UpriverJouce. Screaming dogs and barking kids sounds at least a little more “entertaining” than fingernails on a chalkboard. But that reminds me of about 45 years ago when my neighbor’s 3- or 4-year-old son was copying their dog and crawling along the side of our almost-always empty dead-end street and barking at invisible cars. (No cars were going by.) 😆 Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I’m a “don’t care what park rules about dogs are,” but I do care if irresponsible dog parents do not clean up after their children or allow them to bark constantly.
I’m with you.
Dogs are not the problem. Owner’s are. They think everything their dogs do is cute. I don’t think so when they bark all day, go potty everywhere (owners don’t pick it up) and create a disturbance. They always say “my dog is different” but unfortunately they are not. I love dogs. I don’t love owners who do not take responsibility of controlling their pets.
Agree,the dog only knows what it learns from its owners
I would pay extra for a campground that does NOT allow dogs. It seems every single place [that allowed dogs] we stayed for the past two years, there is at least [often many more] dog that barks incessantly – often when the owner is in close proximity. Owner’s are often indignant if you mention ANYTHING about it, no matter how polite, or they make excuses “he’s little, so his bark isn’t that bad, is it?” Some owner’s with scrawny dogs don’t even make an attempt to pick up the feces because “but it is small and goes into the grass and hard to pick up” (actually had a hugely obese dog owner tell me that). We have also found that campgrounds have rules on unattended/excessive barking dogs, they seldom enforce THOSE rules, especially if it comes from their “seasonal” residents. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs (and will probably get another when our lifestyle changes). I just despise most dog owners. Rant over. 🙂
Could not agree more. Thanks.
Have 2 dogs.
Owners need to follow the rules
Not everybody thinks that barking fluffy is Cute. The wife and I walk the camp grounds roads and paths for exercise and the continual barking of a dog disturbs everyone
We take Casper with us when we leave the RV, he wouldn’t know what to do if we left him behind.
Since we have a 6 lb Maltese we must stay where dogs are welcome, our dog does not shed. Having said that I do not understand people who travel with even one or more large dogs that shed constantly. I have seen as much as 3 big shedding dogs in a medium sized RV and wonder what that RV looks and smells like inside. To each his own I guess.
Dogs provide so many good things to our lives. Ours go everywhere we do. With that said, dogs are not necessarily the problem in campgrounds. The owners are the problem! Train your dogs, pick up the poop YOUR dog leaves and most of the negative comments will disappear. My grand daddy told me that if a dog did not like a person, avoid that person. I agree. To answer the question, if my dogs aren’t welcome I don’t go there.
My wife has a service dog, trained to brace if she falls and go for help if she can’t rise. We have encountered a few parks who have refused to let us stay because of the dog. As bad as we hated to do it, we have filed a complaint.
Sorry for the disrespect that you were shown! True service animals are always welcome in my eyes but a “Comfort Animal”. Is not a service animal, it is a pet and should not have the same privilege as a service animal. Fake vests are sold on the internet with a fake certification. By the way, I love well behaved dogs or other pets. It’s the owners that irritate me.
I really don’t care I’m a dog lover. But they don’t need to constantly bark as they can be trained and clean up after them though it appears there are humans that can’t be trained. But on a safety note I believe dogs are a great alarm for something lurking around camp rather an animal or someone getting ready to steal or worse break in. That low growl alerts me to be prepared.
I have had dogs & cats in past years & enjoyed them very much, but haven’t had animals for the last 30 years. I obedience trained my dogs so I could take them anywhere off-leash & they would heel perfectly. Dog ownership is a responsibility & no one should own a dog if they are not willing to properly train the animal to not bark at anything that moves, & to behave around other people. Obedience training should be a mandatory part of dog registration & all owners should be required to re-certify & update their training every few years. Untrained & noisy dogs are a scourge on society.
We travel with two indoor only cats who panic when we take them from the house to the coach and will not even approch the door if we are anywhere near it. I hate when we mention we have two cats and they immediately assign us to the pet section with all the damn dogs with improperly trained owners. It stresses our cats and it stresses us. If I don’t mention the cats, they will be seen as they like to lay on the dash and I don’t want to be that jerk who gets kicked out for breaking the rules. I do wish they would really enforce the dog rules about 6 foot leashes, barking dogs and picking up the crap they deposit for others to step into.
If we can’t take our two little dogs with us, we will stop rving all together!!
I must have a dog space. There’s no excuse for not following the rules. Keep on six foot or less leash is the rule where I go. Yet they are loose or on a retractable leash 20 feet out and trying to get to mine. My dog minds his own business, on leash, and does not bark unless someone comes into our space, uninvited. And I do not leave him. People need to be trained because many people and dogs try to get to mine, and I don’t allow it. So, he ignores everyone, and it’s a shame the people don’t get it. I guess they are all “special.” People yelling at their dogs is Just as obnoxious as the barking, and their dog doesn’t mind anyway. It’s very simple to follow the rules.
I totally agree! Love your name.
We’re have 2 large dogs. We do not board them. So, if we can’t bring the dogs, we’re not going. Lucky for us, some of our travel is for dog sports, so we have to bring them. We do everything we can to keep them from barking. We don’t want to hear the barkers, yappers or howlers in the other site (s), either.
I like dogs. My Wife and I would like one but right now we are not wanting the responsibility of one as we do not feel that we should force others to have to deal with one even though it is well behaved. Some people have allergies. I don’t believe that a dog should be allowed or tolerated in a grocery store or clothing stores, (True service animals are the only exception). By the way it’s not the dog’s fault, it’s the dog’s owner that makes it a pain at times!
I’m happy people can bring their well behaved pets with them as they are family. We have cats so having barking dogs creates stress in our RV that we don’t need. Ownership is also responsibility & something we all need to practice. We can all get along & enjoy our 4-footeds by being kind to others. Always.
We currently have 7 full time dogs and one foster dog. Needless to say, we love dogs! We only take 2 or 3 with us camping. Yes we want dogs wherever we go.
How do you choose which dogs for which trips? Same dogs usually?
We travel with our dog and only stay where he is permitted. Once he passes, DW will get another dog and we’ll travel with that one.
We only camp in Pa state park campgrounds in the pet section. While I can understand sections for pets only. I don’t agree that they won’t let you walk your dog on the road thru the no pet camping area. Some of the non pet camping areas have the better campsites. When we camped last year in NY, they didn’t have non pet camping areas. I don’t agree with allowing dogs that bark excessively.
Surprise, not every one wants to meet, be jumped on, be lunged at, or slurped by your dog. Nor walk around your 10-foot leash radius to avoid it. Be glad most places are totally dog friendly, don’t begrudge us a few no-pet zones.
I feel that ^^^^ and travel with two medium-sized dogs who don’t bark at other dogs or humans, don’t get to lunge at other dogs or humans, get walked on a short leash right beside us until we’re the only ones in the fenced dog-park, and who always have their poop scooped/bagged and thrown away. I loathe dog owners who have their leashes fully extended or dog off-leash, and let their dog bark at and chase our dogs who are in the vicinity, on-leash and minding their business, or worse- the owners who walk right up to us with their dog, assuming our dogs will be friendly. Just yesterday I was walking both my dogs on a short leash, on either side of me, and here come SIX dachshunds, off-leash, running at us and barking their heads off, nipping at my dogs ‘ feet, and the owners just laughing it up. Thankfully my dogs were listening and I kept them moving without as much as a bark. We’ve had a huge Rottweiler off-leash charge us and that was a nightmare! I had to run up and climb on top of picnic table and try dragging my dogs up with me. The Rot’s owner was unapologetic, (Halle Barry- Rot’s name- I see you) 😆 campground couldn’t care less despite their having a leashed rule. How any dog owner fails to realize their dog IS an animal, and even the best trained ones, even/especially the tiny ones can and will lose their minds when the conditions are just right, blows my mind to see any dog off a leash anywhere in public.
We’ve never seen or heard of a campground that’s not pet-friendly, just 55+ not kid-friendly resorts, and motorcoach only places, which I’m sure have to be dog-friendly considering nearly every coach comes standard with a tiny, barking dog. 😉
I’d pick the no-pet park. Too many bad experiences over the last few years. When people bring pairs of big dogs, who bark ferociously if I step outside, it’s just one symptom of a growing problem. If your pet can’t be calm in a public park, don’t bring it to one.
Dogs are ok at National Park campgrounds as they keep the bears away. Elsewhere they are a problem.
I hate to burst your bubble about dogs keeping bears away, but the primary reason that dogs are not allowed on any trail in the Smoky Mountain National Park is because dogs actually can attract bears. Typically bear hunters use dogs when they hunt bears. So, a bear will see a dog, and if it is a single dog they are more likely to charge that dog out of self-defense. This scares the dog, and the dog goes running back to its owner, which leads to unfortunate incidents. When I worked in the Smokies at Cades Cove, and we had instances there where people did not keep their dogs on leash, and were incredibly lucky that they and the dog were not injured. I was in Custer State Park in South Dakota and saw a man letting his German Shepherd wander up to a small herd of burros. Even with several of us yelling at the man to get his dog away, that did not end up well for the German Shepherd. They did charge and the dog got injured.
Generally speaking, it is the dog owners that lead to the problems, not the dogs.
I like dogs (and cats) but don’t have one. I checked “prefer no dogs” but it wouldn’t matter either way IF THOSE INCONSIDERATE INDIVIDUALS would pick up after their pets and keep them from barking constantly.
Love dogs, but “Not allowing” wouldn’t stop me from staying.
I thought my dog was “problematic” because she would sometimes bark in the RV for a few minutes after we left (she does settle down). Then I went to an RV park and experienced…
I totally understand why many RVers have a negative impression of pet owners.
We try to find “no pet” parks, but they are few, and even so people sneak pets in anyways. Sick of the barking at all times of day and night, dog poo everywhere, and moron owners who leave them off leash, or at the site when they leave for the day.
Amen
I have heard that somewhere around 60% of full time RVers travel with pets. Most say that the ratio of dogs vs cats is 4 to1 but I think it’s a much bigger ratio. I also have issues over breed restrictions. We’ve good friends whose 2 pit bulls are big babies.
Animals do what animals do. Pet owners are what makes or breaks others encounters with those animals. Never met a bad pet just lousy owners. Rules at parks are set up for the safety of the pet and pet owner and the non pet owner.
As far as aggressive breeds I totally agree they should not be allowed in public parks. They are more difficult to control and are unpredictable.
Its all up to the pet owners. Live by the rules and don’t bend them or just plain ignore them.
On the one hand, you say that owners are the problem, not the pet. A few lines later you condemn breeds simply by virtue of being a certain breed. Those dogs have no control over their breed. Then you finish with blaming the owners again. Any breed can be trained to be aggressive.
Absolute truth! On Cesar Millan’s show you will see that it is the owner, not the breed, that determines it’s temperament.
ALL breeds can be unholy terrors if not trained and handled correctly and the so called “aggressive breeds” will be absolute angels with proper upbringing.
Pets are welcome in RV parks, just some of the owners need to be reeducated.
Responsible owner like us~ enjoy. We keep ours leashed, scoop the poop and try to control her barking.
Since we have 2 fur babies, we only stay at places that allow dogs.
I wouldn’t be an RVer if it weren’t for dogs. After a month-long car trip across the USA several years ago, I realized I really needed a motorhome with a generator so I could go into stores and restaurants and keep the dogs in comfort. (I have a MarCell device to monitor temperature.) In more than 8 years of full-timing, I have yet to find an RV park that didn’t allow pets but if I did, I could not stay there. Sadly…the minority of truly awful pet owners ruin it for the majority of great pet owners. It is extremely easy to leash your pet, to pick up its poo, and if it is going to bark all day, train it or get a dogsitter. There is no excuse for bad behavior.
Very well said!
Prefer RV parks that allow dogs. There’s always pet owners that think they are to good to pick up theirs dog’s poop 💩. Gives a bad name for people that are REASONABLE owners.
I like dogs. But I would ban owners who won’t pick up behind their dogs or leash them.
First, we have been married 46 years. We lost our house during Hurricane Harvey. We bought a 2007 Jayco 29 RBH (POS), our insurance paid for it and everything for the set up. We lived in it for 2 1/2 years while we built our dream house. We didn’t murder each other, in fact it brought us closer.
Too many people who rv don’t clean up after their pets. We live in a resort for 6 months of winter and see so many people come in for short term stays and don’t leash or pick up after their pets. It disgusting how they look all around while the dog does its duty thinking no one’s watching, time and time again no cleanup. We currently have a neighbor who doesn’t leash or pick up but also leaves the dog in the TT when they leave for the day, the mutt barks howls and whines all day long until they return. They know this happens( because we tell them every time) and just don’t care. These people should just stay in their basements and leave those of us who do the right things alone. We love pets, it’s people we don’t care for. PS why is it always people from shit hole California who don’t clean up after their pets? We see it too much. So tempted to retrieve the poo and place it on rv steps so they can step in it first thing in the morning. Good morning AH, do you get the hint.