Re: [pyrnet] RV tips for dog owners?

[Reedialer1@aol.com]

Keith, John and I just came back from a camping trip for a week to Gettysburg with our 3 dogs, Mellow (pyr), Chundo and Harley (greyhounds).  They were so wonderful!! We brought along the ex pen so that we could put it outside when we set up or needed to do things inside and needed the space.  There were times when (obviously)there wasnt room to slide a piece of paper between all of us inside it was so tight. Walking from one end to the other was a challenge at times also, having to navigate between 3 dogs. We have a 24ft motorhome purchased BECAUSE we know we cant got anywhere without the troops. Are you set on a travel trailer? From what we heard  you can't leave your dog in a campsite if you want to go sightseeing. That's why we decided on a small, used motorhome. They can go with us sightseeing and we leave the a/c on when we leave the motorhome.  
  As far as accomodating the crate, how about getting Romy used to being tied instead ahead of time. We did that with Mellow so we could tie him just outside the camper or even tie him someplace inside at night (which we decided NOT to do in the end). Does Romy chew? Not housebroken? Can he be loose without a crate? At night we had the greys sharing the bunkbed and Mellow found a space on the floor.
  We were so surprised at how good everyone was on our trip. Mel only barked once and we easily stopped him. I was skeptical that it would work but it did; he seemed to understand that it was a different thing than being home. All in all, our experience was, in a word, EFFORTLESS. I couldn't have asked for an easier time.
   Not all campsites allow dogs but most private ones do if you clean up and are quiet. Check first. State parks don't seem to allow dogs here. I don't know about the whole country.
Everyone was very welcoming to us, even with 3 big dogs. They were good conversation starters.
   Good luck to you and I hope you had as good an experience as we did.
  -Roz, John, Mellow, Harley and Chundo