Keeping Your Dog Happy When RVing

Keeping Your Dog Happy When RVing

Traveling by RV is a great way to easily bring along the whole family. For many, the family includes some furry ones, too. A trip is not complete without a dog (or a few) to bring along for exploring and seeing the country. They make great companions no matter where you, so there’s no reason they should miss out on the fun. There are a few concerns to make sure that they enjoy the trip as much as the rest of the family, so here are a few trips to follow to keep everyone happy on your next RV adventure.

Plan Ahead

Unsurprisingly, bringing your dog along on your RV travels takes a little bit more advanced planning than a “humans-only” endeavor. You’ll want to check ahead with any places you plan on staying, because some campgrounds have restrictions on where animals can be taken or even what breeds can stay there. In addition to where you’re staying, even daytime activities can be affected. For example, some national parks have limitations on pets being brought onto hiking trails. Luckily, there are many great places to go that are pet friendly and will make sure that Rover is enjoying your trip as much as the rest of the family. 

A similar consideration when choosing the right RV for your family (including the furry ones) is how well the interior space fits everyone in different situations. Many RVs include slide-outs that allow for you to increase your interior space when parked. If you might need to occasionally overnight somewhere that doesn’t allow you to open your slide-outs (some stores that allow overnight parking don’t allow this), you’ll want to make sure there will still be plenty of room for everyone to fit comfortably.

Don’t Forget the Potty Breaks

With a big fuel tank and a comfortable driver’s seat, your RV is designed to make it easy to eat up the highway miles. When you’re bringing your furry best friend along, though, you’ll want to schedule more frequent rest stops, for their sake. Your dog can be more likely to get anxious on long drives without building in outlets for mental and physical stimulation. That extra energy they build up can lead to barking or other attention seeking behavior that will take a lot of the fun out of your trip. As many dog trainers will tell you, a tired dog is a well-behaved dog. Stopping more often and letting your dog get out to walk and sniff around will make it easier for them to relax while you’re on the road. Your dog will appreciate getting to check the pee-mail at new places, too.

Stopping more regularly can also make a big difference for dogs who get anxious while traveling. Our dogs are keen observers of our habits and will quickly learn what routines we follow. If your dog can get comfortable knowing that they will get a chance to take a walk break on a regular basis during your trip, it can make it easier for them to relax more during the drive.

Keep an Eye on the Weather

While you obviously cannot control the weather for your RV trips, traveling with animals means you will need to keep a closer eye on what you’ll be facing. Similar to other vehicles, you’ll want to keep your dog comfortable in hot weather. Make sure your motorhome has the right fan or AC accommodations to handle the kind of heat you will be dealing with, especially if you have to leave your dog alone inside for any length of time. Even for dry camping, some modern RVs have automated climate control that can start up your generator to run the AC if the internal temperature starts to climb too high. 

In addition to heat, other extreme weather might require some planning as well. If your dog is bothered by thunder, you’ll want to plan ahead to either avoid major storm systems as best you can or help them deal with the weather when it happens. Thunder and other loud weather will be more noticeable in an RV than in a house. Ensure that whatever things help them deal with bad weather at home is also available to them while on your trip. Traveling is not as fun if not everyone in the family enjoys themselves.

Have Fun

This isn’t technically one of the tips, but is just great advice for any RV trip. Don’t forget that the goal is have a great experience for everyone, and that is easy to do with a little bit of planning.  Now get out there and start your next adventure!