Dogs and Touring
Comments
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I hope people follow your advice. I noticed far more sign to this effect on gates leading to the fells last week. Most were hand printed by the farmers, some were very graphic showing what had happened to lambs and sheep. Then a pic of a nice happy dog with the words do you want to get me shot.
Sadly it didn't appear to work for a few
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Sadly it didn't appear to work for a few
There are always those that believe rules and warnings don't apply to them. We've seen it often enough on sites where they allow their dogs to run free off the lead, annoy other people and their own dogs and cr*p all over the site.
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I guess all of the above really. It depends on how happy your dog is with being left.
When we had a dog she was quite happy for us to leave her in the car for awhile but there was no way we could leave her in the caravan.
If we wanted to eat out we would find a restaurant/pub that had an outside area that they were happy for dog's to be in.
There are some sites that are not keen on you leaving a dog unattended in your caravan/MH.
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I’d not go.
When we had the Lad, his needs came first and if he wasn’t welcome, we'd consider ourselves not welcome either.
We are asked not to leave dogs alone in caravans/MHs. This is for the sake of both the dog and others on site as dogs left alone can often bark and cause annoyance to others.
Sometimes you might find a willing fellow camper happy to look after your dog for a few hours. I’d be happy to do that for someone.
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Don’t know if you’ve seen the leaflet about visiting club sites with a dog, Whiston.
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/globalassets/pdfs/content/uk-holidays/Visiting-Club-sites-with-dogs
I envy you the adventure of welcoming a dog to your family and the joy it will bring you.
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I would imagine it is the same for any living thing you have responsibility for, young children kids are the same, when we had them if a place was unsuitable for them, or did not allow them, then we didn't go to it.
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Thank you Tinwheeler.....we are used to just the 3 of us (teen Daughter) holidaying and go off wherever we fancy, we have been speaking to friends with dogs and have a for and against list, just want to ensure we make the right decision.
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It’s not a decision to take lightly, Whiston.
We vanned with dogs for 40+ years and got used to putting them first to the extent of tailoring our trips to the dogs' needs. For instance, our last dog hated travelling on ferries so we purposely avoided any sailings of longer than about 30 mins. In his old age, he got very stressed travelling in the MH so we restricted ourselves to short hops for a few years. It’s my view that anyone not prepared to adapt in such a way shouldn’t contemplate dog ownership.
Now we no longer have him, we are making the trips we wouldn't while he was with us but, given the choice, I’d willingly forego the long ferry trips etc in return for his love and companionship.
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Exactly. Some folk object to comparisons of children and dogs but they are all living beings deserving our care and consideration.
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I have young children here for Easter week - they went with their parents to the National Aquarium in Plymouth, body boarding on the beach at Bude, shopping together in Tesco, and are choosing National Trust at Lanhydrock or Eden Project tomorrow. I just don't know what visitors with dogs do - just walk about I suppose.
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dogs can go into the grounds at both Lanhydrock and Eden project. They cannot go into the house or the biodomes but we just take it in turns to have a cup of coffee whilst the other goes in and "does" the attraction. not hard to do.
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Dogs are allowed on some Cornish beaches, as you know Euro, so it's simply a case of picking the right beach if you wish to take a dog with you.
Let's see. At Bude and the surrounding area during Easter week you could have taken a dog to Summerleaze Beach, Sandymouth Beach, Northcott Mouth Beach and Black Rock Beach.
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We don't leave our dog in our caravan, unless we are very close by, but he's happy staying in the back of our car so if we go out for a meal he'll settle down there while we eat.
We also know a regular poster on here who likes to go swimming with with their dog, be it river, lake or the sea.
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In general we go to places our dog is welcome - love me love my dog type of attitude.
Until Feb last year we had an older dog which was happy and comfortable to stay in the van and we had a mobile 12v air conditioner for warmer weather.
We now have a 10 month old pup that has only had one caravan trip and we are getting him used to the fact that we may not be in the van with him at all times. For instance gradually overlapping our visits to facilities so he is slowly getting used to longer absences, this mst be built up very slowly in order to void stressing the dog.
In the car we not only have a guard to prevent him from accessing the forward area but a 'tailgate' grid, which can be padlocked, which allows us to lock the car but leave the rear door open. Dog and car secure but we are careful where and for how long we use this.
Get your dog and enjoy caravanning we find with a little thought they compliment each other greatly.
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I think the fact that you have asked the question that a Dog isn't really for you. Owning a dog is a big responsibility and will impact on many aspects of your domestic and social life. The most important thing is the dogs health and well being should always come first, dogs can be left alone but their nature is a pack animal so they are happiest when in the company of other dogs or people. Dog's can live a long time, my last Collie Cross was 17 when we lost him. I currently have two Border Collies a 4 year old and a 10 year old. they need exercising 2-3 times a day. it's our choice ( we re-home ) our boys are numbers 6 & 7 but our day to day activities as well as our holidays and social life are greatly impacted on by the needs and responsibility of being the owners of our two boy's
Please think very carefully about what you are thinking about doing and the changes you will have to make for years to come.
I'm not suggesting that you would, but there are far too many dogs that find their way in to rescue centers because someone thought it was a good idea to have a dog but didn't realize what they were getting in to, even though they researched it?
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Thanks all for your replies so far, all have valid points. It is a massive responsibility which is why we want to make right decision. We don't go away much unfortunately due various commitments so it isn't anything that will be an issue on many occasions but obviously something that could well crop up. We have chickens and until last year rabbits so nothing we needed to worry about in the past. We had family look after them.
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We have 2 Border Terriers, who we do sometimes leave in the caravan while we go out for a meal. We are never away for more than 2 hours (usually an hour and a half maximum), as I always do research about where we are going to ensure that if there isn't an actual pub on site (The Crown at Mickleton for instance), then it's either in walking distance (Monks Farm Sneaton has The Wilson Arms within a minute's walk) or no more than 10 minute drive away. I always take a small tupperware dish in my handbag and ensure that I return with leftovers for the dogs. As far as I can tell* our dogs are happy with this arrangement.
* I have asked neighbouring caravanners if there has been any whining/barking etc and have always been told no, so I'm assuming our two dogs just make the most of our absence to jump up on the fixed bed and have a nap until we return!
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Just picked up on your post, and the responses. Good on you for doing lots of research, and the advice you have been given is excellent.
Owning a dog or dogs is a huge commitment, and there’s no doubt compromises have to be made. But for decent caring owners, the love and companionship you experience is priceless in many ways. I have relatives with dogs, and at times I find myself questioning why because it’s patently obvious their lives would be less complicated without one. The only redeeming feature is that the dogs are well cared for, and other members of the family pitch in with care if required. But if you don’t have this, and either cannot afford kennelling fees, or don’t want to go down that route, then it might restrict you more. Vet fees are tremendously expensive nowadays as well, so insurance is another cost you need to factor in.
Choice of breed is crucial as well. Do a lot of reading around anything you fancy as some breeds come with serious baggage no matter how well trained they are. Same applies to a rescue dog, very rewarding, but you have to have the patience and understanding of a saint to put right any wrongs that the poor thing might have endured pre finding a loving home. I fully agree with TWs point that the commitment required is almost the same as having children, in terms of training/parenting, time commitment, and of course money expended on them. Not to mention the love and empathy. It’s a huge lifestyle change, and not for everyone if circumstances or choice aren’t right.
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When we started motorhoming we didn't have a dog, but when we got our little Yorkie just over two years ago, we realised how suited to caravaning and motorhoming they are. One of the good things about the Caravan and Motorhome clubs is dogs are included in the fee at club sites. The most we have paid at a commercial site is £3.00 per night.
When we are looking at CL'S we have two criteria. Exclusive use of a toilet, and dog's excepted. It is amazing when you filter in these two, how much your choice becomes limited in your chosen area. But We fully understand that some CL owners may not want to accept dogs for whatever reason.
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It’s completely understandable that some CL owners don’t want to risk having dogs on site, especially if they have livestock nearby and I have no issue with that.
I agree that caravanning/motorhoming is a great way to holiday with dogs and the club - both clubs - certainly make it easy for us. It’s a shame that a few irresponsible owners spoil it for others.
After vanning with dogs for over 40 years, we now don’t have the pleasure of having one so enjoy meeting the dogs on site when we're away.
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We have researched sites before we go, found dog day boarders for dogs and dog friendly pubs that do good food. This means for a week away we have the option for a dog free day by putting with a boarder and if we want to eat out we know the dog friendly pubs and cafes. Our dog is a year and a half old, we got her after the caravan, so it was something we needed to figure out too. It s been easier than I thought but you have to.book dog boarders in advance in school holidays. You can cancel the boarder if you don't need them nearer the time. It's a great way of having the dog with you but getting the odd day to do.things were the dog wouldn't enjoy it or not allowed. I've found boarders at all the CMHC sites we've been to so far.it also socialised the dog with other dogs. I also recommend crate trsining, helps them to feel.safe and secure on the caravan as well as at home. It's no trouble taking the dog with us and we follow all.the site rukes, no need to leave her alone in the caravan.
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