It’s a dogs life – Tips for RVing with your dog

Dogs are entertaining and excellent companions on the Open Road! RVing with your pets can make your adventure more fulfilling. One of the common gripes we hear about people who want to travel the country is that the options are very limited for places to stay or visit with their dogs. RVing is a great way around this challenge. As with most things in life it helps to be planned and prepared. Here’s a few tips to ensure you get the most out of the time with Fido on the Open Road.

Create a Checklist 

Checklists reduce stress when preparing for vacations. We recommend making a digital checklist so it won’t get lost, wet, or blown away. Keep in mind if you’re heading into areas where you’ll have limited cell phone service that your list should be native to your device, not on an app where you’ll need to have service. Once the list is made you’ll have it as a reference for all your future RV Trips with your dogs. A few examples:

• Food and Water
• Bed
• Treats
• Leash
• Dog Gates
• Medicine
• Toys

Update Tags

Often we have the dog collar tags made when they are puppies. It’s important to keep the tags updated when information changes. The information we recommend is:

• Pet’s Name
• Cell Phone
• Email Address

Even the most loyal dogs can get lost and if they are traveling not know where they are suppose to go.

Update Vaccinations

Going to new areas that are foreign to your dog means they’ll likely be exposed to new things. To prevent them from getting sick and having to turn around head into your local vet before heading out to make sure they are in good health and up to date on all needed vaccines.

Know the Dangers

Part of being a pet owner is taking responsibility of keeping them out of harms way. Are you in an area with lots of coyotes, snakes, bears, etc? If so you might want to rethink keeping your pet alone outside.

Check for Ticks

Dogs are wonderful hiking companions! Humans aren’t the only ones that love to see dogs on the trails, ticks do too! Give them the flea and tick treatment before the trip and check them when when they get back from their hike.

Stay in Dog Friendly RV Parks

Most campgrounds will say on their website if they allow pets, but it’s also a good idea to call and speak to someone to verify. Make sure to stick with the rules of the campground about pets on leash, etc. Many boondocking areas and National Lands allow pets as well.

Keep the Temperature in Mind

If you’re heading out for the day keep in mind what the day temp is going to be. Often in the mornings it will be cool and heat up during the day. RVs can heat up quickly if not ventilated or cooled. Often RVers will have a preset temp so when it hits that number the air or heat will turn on to maintain a moderate temp for their dogs.

Give them New Adventures

Just like humans, dogs LOVE new experiences too. Make sure on your next RV Adventure you treat your dog to a new activity. Take them hiking, biking, kayaking or even surfing!

For many people their dogs are part of the family. Taking your entire family is one of the big benefits of RVing. Is there any tips that you would add? Let us know in the comments.