Leaving dogs unattended in van
I was always under the impression that it was not allowed to leave dogs unaccompanied in your caravan whilst staying on Club sites.
We are currently on the NYM site, near Whitby and there is a poor dog barking and whining in the van next to us. The owners went out this morning and given the experience of the last few days, are unlikely to be back until 1800 or so. It is clearly in distress - although how much is anyone's guess.
We have approached the wardens who are aware of the barking (the pitch is not far from the office) and told Ros, that the dog has been barking since the owners went out. They had been told that it was being left on its own but had water and a bed and, in fairness, they have left all the roof lights open. It is nevertheless upsetting to have to listen to it. Mrs Warden also said that she was not aware of any rule preventing dogs being left on their own.
Having had a look at the CAMC leaflet - "Touring with Dogs" - it appears that she is correct:-
"Dogs can become anxious when lonely or uncomfortable. To minimise this, make sure
they have somewhere cool to relax, with good ventilation and access to an ample supply of drinking water if you do have to leave them for short times.
Where possible, please keep your dog with you, especially on hot days. A quick build-up of temperatures in cars, awnings, outfits or tents can be fatal to animals."
This isn't a complaint about barking dogs - my complaint, if I have one - is about inconsiderate owners who, in my opinion, are not fit to look after an animal.
Have the rules changed - and if so - why, because it doesn't seem fair to the dog!
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Update - Mrs Warden has now come to tell us that she has contacted the owners and that they are on their way back - but from where, is anyone's guess! However, well done Wardens (who are also dog owners) - at least they have acted (swiftly) with some compassion.
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Moderator Edit:
Duplicate post Deleted User.
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Personally I couldn't agree with you more and we never left our dogs unattended.
Owners will obviously be best placed to judge whether their dogs will settle if left alone (and many will) but in this case, especially with current temperatures it's clearly not the case with this poor animal.
We did have a similar experience once at Chatsworth where a couple went out cycling early in the morning leaving two terriers types in the van whining all day and clearly in distress. I went with a neighbour to let the wardens know and they dealst with the situation very quickly - that evening there was what I understand is called a "full and frank exchange of views" whereupon the owners promptly took down their awning and left the site very early the following morning.
It may be the owners are not aware of the dog's distress of course - might be an idea to have a friendly word with them on their return to explain what has been going on (not easy I accept.)
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I wouldn't say morning until evening was a 'short time' though.
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Neither would I Jill - but at least the Wardens did the right thing under the circumstances, indicating they interpreted the “guidance “ sensibly. And M - yes, it was very hot this afternoon. Owners came back about 20 minutes ago - at which point the barking and whining stopped. Just feel so sorry for their dog whom I understand is quite old. Would never have done this to Meg and feel so sorry for their dog. Just can’t understand anyone doing this.
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The poor dog! Irrespective of rules, it’s a stupid and irresponsible thing to do to leave a dog for that length of time both from the point of view of the dog's wellbeing and the nuisance caused to others.
I do wish there was an intelligence test that had to be passed before one could become a dog owner😤😤😤
Well done, R&R for bringing it to the warden's attention.👏🏻
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The CAMC leaflet “Touring with Dogs” needs a change in emphasis. I’m not interested in dog welfare and don’t want my day ruined by a barking dog - ban the practice of leaving dogs alone. I don’t expect to need a ‘friendly word’ with selfish owners on their return. You wouldn’t expect somebody to go out for the day and leave a generator running or loud radio playing!
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"I don’t expect to need a ‘friendly word’ with selfish owners on their return."
Understandable, but one has to deal with the situation which exists at the time - little good pining for one's ideal world. The misguided (IMHO) owners may be completely unaware of the situation so best to let them know, friendly or in whichever way one thinks best. And that's not in any way condoning what they have done, especially if, as Richard points out, it's been a hot day.
BTW, we did once have neighbours who went out for the day and left their radio on, very embarrassed on their return to the van!
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Well done Rich👍🏻. I’d contact the RSPCA & the Police as I’ve done it before. I don’t give a fig about the owners they can go to the WC, drink, eat, cool down. It’s sickening & giving BS about ‘we did everything we could’. Try to Kennel the distraught Dog next time instead of being selfish. There is no excuse-ever.
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We had the same thing about 12 years ago. Looking after FiL who had dementia we were given a chance of 3 nights respite so took the caravan to Wirral CP. All we wanted to do was sit and read on a sparsely populated site but someone left their dog in the caravan who proceeded to howl the place down. We actually moved pitch after telling wardens who, like Moulesy's wardens, had a very frank exchange with owners who packed up and left.
It was, I understand, against the rules in those days and has been "amended" since.
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Love it JVB - and for me - quite happy to admit, Meg would win, hands down! And why not
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I agree the wording needs to convey a stronger message but it's impractical to totally ban the leaving of dogs. What is a solo camper to do with his/her dog when nipping to the facility block? I think we need to apply common sense here which is clearly something the people we've read of in the quoted examples have lacked.
Quite apart from the animal welfare point of view, there are rules about noise on site and annoying other campers so barking dogs, especially unattended ones, is certainly an issue to bring to the warden's attention and, in the event of a dog in distress, to do as Rocky described.
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I agree with everything you have said TW. I’m not suggesting for one minute that dogs should never be left on their own and agree that in the circumstances you suggest, that would be totally impractical. There is a big difference, however, between say, 20 mins in the shower etc, and the five or six hours this dog was left to fend for itself. I was very close to going down the route that Rocky suggested and would have had no hesitation in breaking into the van myself if I thought the circumstances justified it - it’s just not knowing when you are at that point that makes it difficult. My problem is that I can’t understand why some people would want to treat a creature that gives so much, yet asks for so little in return, in such a way.
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We sing from the same song sheet, R&R.
It's terrible the way some folk treat their pets and I have to wonder why they have them. People who have never known the unconditional love of a dog will not understand the meaning of your words or that depth of feeling but others of us are with you 100% and echo your thoughts.
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It’s not that hard to distinguish between a dog left for 10 minutes (say for example a solo tourer taking a shower) and one left for hours on end howling like mad or barking like mad until it’s uncaring owner returns none the ruddy wiser. If you get no joy from the Site Staff, simply call the Police or the RSPCA, who will investigate. Some people should never own a dog, they are either too thick, or simply don’t care. Same goes for the fools who leave babies and toddlers in hot cars. Beggars belief what some folks do sometimes.🤷♀️
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It seems as if they may have got the message. They (the owners) were back in their van for about an hour yesterday evening and then went out again - with another couple - obviously going out for a meal. There wasn't a peep out of their dog whilst they were out, so I can only assume that they took him/her with them. I hope so, anyway. We haven't said anything to them - those others around us are very friendly and we don't want to cause an 'atmosphere' and I don't suppose anything I might say is going to make any difference in the long term.
I have to smile TTDA - looking at your avatar - that's exactly the pose Meg has adopted in her bed, on the floor of the van, at the moment! Don't we love 'em
Nearly time for a romp around the woods!!1 -
This isn't a case of being "with" or against. There isn't a single person here who has condoned the actions of folk who leave their dogs unattended in vans for hours are a time.
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Our dogs came on holiday to be with us and we with them, when they became old and unable to walk the long distances we had always enjoyed together we just modified our days out to suit their comfort and contentment. This is what responsible dog ownership should be like.
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As long as that works the other way round, Micky😊
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Some of you may remember when we had our old boy, George, and our younger boy, Harry (neither named by us, no we weren't royal family, loyalists!
).When George, who lived to 14 and still came everywhere in the van with us, was obviously not up to walking any long distances we would put an advert in the information room asking if anyone staying on site would look after him for a morning or even a whole day. In return we would offer to look after their dogs (if they had them.)
We often had offers to help out, George got spoilt rotten, we went on our way and returned the favour later in our stay. Made many new friends that way.
There is always a solution out there if one looks hard enough.
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wish I had thought of that! I could have done the same things with my kids
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Believe it or not, some years ago we had occasion to report to the warden at Buxton that a couple had gone out during the evening, leaving a child of approximately 8 years alone in their caravan. They left the following morning.
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It doesn’t surprise me Jill. Poor dog care often tends to go with poor parenting. Some folks shouldn’t be allowed to do either☹️
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😂 Agreed. But that is why I feel it irresponsible for those in the very much older age group to take on puppies who no doubt will potentially out live them by several years. My older than me neighbour takes on older rescue dogs for this reason and what a lovely relationship he currently enjoys with his fellow elderly companion.
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