07/20/2009 21:21:51

We have a 9 year old dog.  She only goes out 2-3 times a day and won't get more than about 100 feet from us.  We take her to the office with us on "work" days.  She travels with us.  We call our coach a rolling dog house she lets us stay in.  We often go off and leave her in the coach, but never more than a couple hours.  She is comfortable, in her home, and is very happy.  Our dog is pretty low maintenance though.  The main thing is to make sure the dog has enough exercise, food, water, companionship and health care.  It is only right to pick up puppy packages and dispose of them property.  We have not run into any park that charged more or made a big deal out of having a pet.  I have heard from other RVers not all parks are pet friendly though.  As long as you are a responsible pet owner, it will enhance your life.  Our puppy was a rescue dog.  She has had very few health problems.  We love having her with us and she loves being with us.  She is about 45 pounds and a perfect size for us and our coach.  Good luck.

05/23/2009 01:36:17

Hi -

We travel with a little dog - a Shiz Tzu. He is cool to have around with us, gives great companionship (and he doesn't talk back!).

Some parks we have stayed at have odd dog rules. Some are very restrictive. Some charge per day extra (last place was $3/day for the dog). We have stayed places that scold you if the dog pees before getting to the dog area. We don't stay at those places long.

The best places are where he can run free, but that is very rare. We don't want him to bolt off after a person or dog, so his life is on the leash most of the time. He doesn't complain much - I think he is well taken care of and responds well to us being in charge, as opposed to him setting the schedule.

We have also been to quite a few places where having him along for a hike or 4WD trip in the back country is not allowed/appropriate. So, we go off to play, and he sleeps all day. 

You know all of the responsibilities and such involved, so I think it is really up to you if you are ready for fulltime care of a creature. You know they are not as low-maintenance as a cat. Cats are awesome - they are on cruise control for the most part :)

 

--kev