Traveling in Recreational Vehicles with Pets

The next time you find yourself skimming through advertisements for a used RV, consider taking a moment to see how many of the entries say that they’ve never had any pets in the unit. Then pause to think about how often you see pets running around an RV campground. It seems like nearly every recreational vehicle is home to at least one beloved dog or cat. Where, then, are all of the “pet free” RVs that are being advertised in the classifieds? Real life experience in recreational vehicle campgrounds may alert you to the fact that the rate of “pet free” recreational vehicles is too high to square with real life experience. For the rate of advertisements to make sense…pet owners must hold on to their RVs for life, or perhaps RV owners who really are “pet free” never make it out of their neighborhoods.

It is a well-known fact that pets make up an important part of many peoples’ lives. An excellent reason to purchase a recreational vehicle in the first place is so that pets can travel with their owners rather than being boarded in a kennel or left with family members. Dogs, in particular, are frequent companions on RV road trips but cats and pigs are not unusual. Some people also ferry birds and fish with them on their road trips.

Though beloved, taking a pet on a road trip in a recreational vehicle does have its inconveniences. Pets must be fed, entertained and let out (unless the pet can be taught to use the toilet in the RV). That means that room in the RV must be set aside for food, water, toys, bedding, treats and possible waste. Further, there are many businesses that do not allow pets. This means that sometimes the pet will have to be left in the recreational vehicle while the “humans” are out and about. Pet owners should remember to take these things into consideration when planning RV road trips and destination vacations.

Choosing the proper campground when traveling with pets is vital. Many RV campgrounds claim to be pet friendly, but some campgrounds are undoubtedly more pet friendly than others. When traveling with pets it’s best to prepare for certain issues or problems. Sometimes the space devoted to dogs at the chosen campground is too small or poorly maintained. Certain dogs may be restricted from the facilities based on their size or their breed. Typically it is larger dogs that seem to be affected by such rules even though many dog owners agree that small dogs can be just as difficult as a larger animal.

Sometimes problems that crop up when traveling with pets are due more to campground neighbors than the RV campground itself. Some pet owners do not take their responsibilities as seriously as others. To keep the peace with camping neighbors remember to consider them when traveling with pets. A good rule of thumb is to take care of your pet in the same way that you would want a fellow pet owner to take care of theirs.

A Few Good Basic Rules when Traveling with Pets in the RV:

1. Clean up after pets. Other campers may not be traveling with animals. They shouldn’t end up responsible for cleaning up after your animal simply because it visited their campsite on a morning walk.
2. Incessant barking is just as unacceptable in an RV campground as it is in a close knit residential area.
3. Dogs that threaten, chase, lick, etc. other campers are not cute or funny. This is inappropriate behavior and the owner should be more responsible in preventing recurrences.

Most major annoyances can be fixed with discipline and training, but that takes effort on the part of the pet owner. When the owner is not considerate enough to curb poor animal behavior the campgrounds are forced to implement rules that affect all pet owners.

Pets can make for excellent travel companions. The road can be a lonely place and pets can be good company. When animals are trained and cared for, the benefits of having a pet as a travel companion will outweigh any associated responsibilities.