Dogs and Touring
Comments
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You keep telling me I should not be using club sites, but as a paid up member I rather think I should. Compliance with site rules is a condition of membership, therefore it’s reasonable to expect the rules to be enforced rather than flouted by a significant minority on a regular basis. You strike me as a bit of a pedant, so I’ll summarise what the rules are:
Members are responsible for their pets behaviour;
Members must make sure their pet is under control at all times;
Pets must be kept on a secure lead;
In the event of fouling, it should be cleared up quickly.
If that happened in most places, most of the time, I’d be a very happy camper.
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" Members are responsible for their pets behaviour;
Members must make sure their pet is under control at all times;
Pets must be kept on a secure lead;
In the event of fouling, it should be cleared up quickly."
Exactly what I see happening in the vast majority of occasions on sites (club or otherwise). Result - one very happy camper!
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SB, you’re wasting your words as I agree with them all with the exception of the first sentence. Nowhere have I ever told you, or anyone else, that you should not be using club sites. It is your right to do so and it was you who suggested avoiding sites.
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I agree - and the lady was definitely in the wrong, however placid and happy her dogs were.
The point I always try to make when this subject comes up is that, in our experience anyway, willful flouting of the rules is extremely uncommon - not acceptable, but by no means the huge problem some would make it out to be.
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As someone who uses a variety of sites throughout the year it is noticable that Club sites seems to be more of a magnet for dog owners than other sites. Is it a demographic thing or is it the fact the the Club does not charge for dogs? The C&CC doesn't charge for dogs either but yet does not seem to attract members with dogs in the same numbers. Perhaps that is because they don't appear to encourage dog owning members quite so much as the C&MC e.g. they do not provide dog walks.
This year, so far, I have been more trouble than ever before. In one trip I twice encountered dog mess on site.
As the Club does provide for dogs, instead of increasing pitch prices, they should defer pitch fee price increases by charging something for dogs thereby hopefully introducing a brake on numbers of dogs on site and of course those without dogs would benefit from slightly cheaper pitch fees.
peedee
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As the Club does provide for dogs, instead of increasing pitch prices, they should defer pitch fee price increases by charging something for dogs thereby hopefully introducing a brake on numbers of dogs on site and of course those without dogs would benefit from slightly cheaper pitch fees.
Sorry peedee , although i am on your side, i doubt this would make very much differance, on lots of sites in Europe you have to pay for your dog, but i dont think this deters people from taking their dog along. This problem has been discussed many times, and although i think it is an improving situation there are still people out there who will not take responsibility for their dog, personally as a dog owner I always have a pocket full of poo bags and if i see people who are obviously not going to pick up i offer them a poo bag, can be a bit confrontational. If your dog is on a lead, which it should be on site, then there is no reason for the owner not to be aware of their dog pooing. Spain is notorious for non picking up and i have had many, lets say semi confrontational situations. But i keep trying.
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I think it is just a lot easier to holiday with a pet nowadays to be honest PD. The holiday industry has woken up to just how many folks want to take their pet with them when holidaying in the UK. We have booked three overnight stays tagged on at beginning and end of our cottage stays this year alone, and somewhat even to our surprise, our dog has gone free! This is B&B in nice pubs. We have been offered dog beds, treats, water bowls, all at no extra costs. Some cafes now have dog friendly areas, shops are a lot more welcoming. It’s big business. If folks can take their pets, they can go and spend a whole lot easier.
The down side for some folks is that not everyone who takes a pet has that pet fully socialised and trained, and that’s where problems can occur. I am just as likely, if not more, to be appalled by what some pet owners allow their pets to do, and on the odd occasion will try and politely explain why such and such behaviour is unacceptable and makes things difficult for all pet owners.
Charging for pets might have a small impact, but setting out guidelines and then penalising those who don’t adhere to that guidance would be a much better way of sorting out pet related problems.
Edit: not all Club Sites have decent dog walks either PD. Some sites are excellent because of their location, eg Ferry Meadows, Clumber Park, Yellowcraig, Hawes. But others are terrible, nowhere to exercise even for a short walk. Durham is bad, Castleton bad, Hurn Lane bad. You couldn’t charge for a dog walk on these three sites!
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Having toured extensively in Europe, and seen very limited numbers of dogs, and rarely more than one dog per owner, it seems to me that charging for dogs is quite possibly a deterrent.
Also, like peedee, I noticed that there were far fewer dogs on CCC sites than we usually see on CAMC sites. Not being a dog owner, I had not checked out the provision of dog walks, so did wonder why!
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"The C&CC doesn't charge for dogs either but yet does not seem to attract members with dogs in the same numbers. Perhaps that is because they don't appear to encourage dog owning members quite so much as the C&MC e.g. they do not provide dog walks."
Sorry, PD, but C&CC does provide dog walks. It’s very much like CAMC in that some sites have them, some don’t need them and, where they exist, they'll be on land unsuitable for other purposes with the result that some will be good and some poor.
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Sorry, PD, but C&CC does provide dog walks. It’s very much like CAMC in that some sites have them, some don’t need them and, where they exist, they'll be on land unsuitable for other purposes with the result that some will be good and some poor.
Can't say I have noticed them TW, perhaps it is just the sites I have visited. Opps remebered one, Cambridge, even so you still do not see as many dogs on their sites.
peedee
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I’ve not done head counts of dogs, PD.🐶😀
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If I thought for one minute that introducing charges for dogs would have a deterrent effect on those so often classified as "irresponsible owners" I'd see some merit in the argument. It might (unlikely in my view) have the effect of reducing numbers somewhat but does anyone seriously think that the small number of owners who let their dogs bark continuously or allow them to defecate/urinate on site are going to change because they've been charged a couple of quid?
And of course, one possible unintended side effect may be to drive "responsible" dog owners away from sites and given the numbers of them that apparently exist it'd mean an increase in pitch fees to make up for lost revenue.
No, IMHO, charging is not the answer, but enforcement of the existing rules would be far more effective.
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You should have been at Kingsbury Water Park when we were there earlier in the year, PD. There was a charity event for terrier rescue - must have been 50 or 60 of them on site (in addition to other owners dogs ). No barking, no fighting, no mess - just as it can and should be!
PS - Devizes C&CC site has a dog walk, even hough it's right next to the Kennet & Avon canal towpath.
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Agree M. It’s not the number of dogs in most instances, but the training and general handling. That I am afraid is indicative of a small minority of members who either cannot or are unwilling to adhere to the comfort and requirements of everyone else on a Club Site.
You will always get a very small minority who don’t care about other people, and just carry on with selfish and unsocial behaviour, but, and this is a tad controversial, there are members on Club Sites with poor mobility who see a stroll around the site as sufficient exercise for their pet. Either that or the poor things are pegged out and left to their own devices. Neither is cruel, but not taking a dog for a decent bout of exercise, at least a couple of times a day is storing up trouble. The dogs lack routine and they get bored, then they bark. All well and good if back home in the garden, annoying just the long suffering neighbours, but not good on a Club Site shared in close proximity with others, many of whom are likely to be on a short fuse with anything that spoils their holiday. Club Site demographics differ greatly from those on CCC sites and private sites. Outside of school holidays we are often the youngest folks on a Club Site, and we ain’t that young any more!
If I was pitched up next to someone with a barking dog, I would be having words and telling them to sort things out. Any dog can be trained not to bark incessantly, none of our nine dogs, terriers and Labs, have barked beyond the odd excited woof at dinner time. Even when we had three at the same time.
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KWP is also a popular,site for those going to Krufts at the NEC. There were scores of dogs there when we visited, some vans with as many as half a dozen dogs at them.
Ebury Hill C&CC site has a good dog walk, and many of them have excellent dog walking facilities directly from the site, many directly into woods or forests.
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You’re absolutely right, the norm on CAMC sites seems to be 2, 3 dogs or more, whereas most european dog owners seem content with one. However, dogs barking in the vicinity of campsites on the continent is much more of a problem than the UK, particularly Spain, Portugal and Italy where it’s not unusual for several local dogs to bark all day and night with owners clearly not giving a damn!
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The trouble is SB , is that the club wants everyone to think there is no problem with dogs ,and if they discourage and close the threads about them ,they hope the problem will go away
I have been on sites where dog owners walk their dogs on long leads so they pee up every thing ,they let their dog poo round the back of the van ,not have them on a lead on their pitch . But ,no, I'm not going to run to the warden every time I see this happening, I'm on holiday , the warden should have control of his/her site and have the time to walk round their site to see what's going on
either enforced the rules or scrap them
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Not verbatim. Selectively out of context maybe.🤔
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The letter but not the spirit.
You have the information needed for taking issues further and I strongly recommend leaving it there, Bill, so the thread can continue as per its intended purpose.
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Ref Rowena’s OP - This discussion can include anything from pictures of your dog/dogs enjoying their holidays and recommendations of good dog walks near Club or CL Sites, to your feedback regarding dogs on Club Sites. So my feedback regarding dogs on sites is the following idea for HO to consider. Maybe HO could instigate a ‘Guidance Campaign’ for dog owners adding it to the warden’s duty to inform owners on arrival (verbal or on paper) of lead lengths/ dog walk/poo picking/etc.
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Good idea, JO. Many people say they’re not asked if they have pets with them when they check in, although I always am, so the process could start there.
I’ve not encountered the numerous problems on site that others have but perhaps a bit of information given in a firm way would help.
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May be the time has come when a member should declare at booking how many dogs they will be bringing. This at least could be linked to the T&Cs regarding dogs and a reminder of responsibilities. Another post elsewhere questions the numbers of dogs per unit, I'm not advocating charging for dogs but possibly a limit should be considered.
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They’re right in so far as it’s not necessary to know numbers, Husky, as that would achieve nothing. What is necessary it seems, from what we hear, is a little education and enforcement of rules. Strange though that I haven’t met the problems.
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When bookings were made pre computer bookings ,and bookings were normally made direct to sites,the form that site staff used one of the questions that was asked was if the party included dogs,
I was speaking to the sites department at EGH ,earlier this year and dogs came up in the conversation,and it was something that was not realised? that it was causing "friction" with some members,when untrained owners were not aware that their dogs were causing problems to members, and it would be "passed up the chain" for more senior officers to look at ,and added to the booking process
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