RV Living: Four-Paw Stamp of Approval
She dropped to her belly right there on the sandy trail and managed to lean forward at the same time, looking ready to pounce. With ears twitching like independent periscopes, Kaia honed in on a furry squirrel several yards away. She was in full stalk mode. Mimicking a Florida panther, she crept forward with her belly barely scraping the ground, inching toward the seemingly unsuspecting tree rodent. She lunged, the leash pulled taunt, and the squirrel quickly scurried around and up the tree. Undeterred by this minor setback, she willed the squirrel back down with her piercing gaze. Seconds ticked by to no avail. A quick glance around the tree told her that the probability of a successful climb was low. Defeated but not deterred, she trotted back to the trail and our walk continued. Kaia is her name, and squirrel hunting is her game.
Kaia, our four-year-old husky-mix, has added an additional layer of fun to our nomadic lifestyle as well as a layer of complexity. We are certainly “dog people” and couldn’t imagine our life without our furry companion. She’s 90 percent cat stuck in a dog’s body, not much of a barker … but an enthusiastic “talker” and howler. Being new to this RV lifestyle, we weren’t fully aware of the details that make the trip enjoyable for all of us but she has spent the last four years training us and achieving an equilibrium that suits her. We are slowly learning about RV life with pets.
On travel days, the morning starts early with an extra long walk then Kaia waits patiently outside while we work to ready the truck and trailer. When we are ready to go, we lift her into the back seat- which she has complete dominion over- and she settles down for the ride in her cushy dog bed, and a USB-powered fan at the ready should the temps turn disagreeable.
We need pit stops on the road just as much as she does. Normally we are ready for a stop before she is however she will stand up and stare us down if it is starting to become an emergency. The stopping spots need to be suitable for the size of our rig as well as pet friendly. Not every road has a rest stop and not every diesel station is one that you want your dog romping around at. Many times grassy areas are limited or so full of debris that it is not safe. There are gas stations like Love’s that have small dog parks. When the diesel price is right, these are fantastic! We do our best to give her frequent stretch time and potty breaks and in turn, she is an awesome backseat passenger.
Each campground that we have been in has had their own rules about dogs. Basic etiquette is
· Make sure your dog is leashed at all times. No longer than an 8-10 ft leash.
· Clean up after your dog and dispose of the bags in the appropriate garbage (Seriously! We have seen so many doggie doodoo bags on the trails.)
· Do not leave dogs unattended outside or inside. (This one is tricky. Totally get the “why” however we have left her inside to go to the hot tub at night or go play a round of mini golf at the campground.)
· Incessant barking is annoying. Dogs bark- no biggy. It is when they bark non-stop for 10+ minutes that it gets annoying as a neighbor.
One of the biggest challenges we have found regarding traveling with Kaia is the desire to experience non-dog-approved venues. We have talked about this several times with other dog owners who travel and most leave them in their trailers for 5 hours or less depending on the weather. Sometimes campgrounds have notes on their communication boards about local people or businesses who will watch or check in on your dog for you. I always thought this would be a great business for someone to set up a doggy daycare/ boarding/walking business right next to a campground. People have mentioned Rover.com as an option too. The best sources of information we have found were from the campground employees and seasonals/annual campers. If you build up a relationship with other campers, and you trust them, they might be willing to let your dog out and check on them. Or even keep them for you for the day. Kaia is not a lover of humans so having others help us out has not been an option. Doggy daycares would be good if we could find one close to our campground.
Walks around the campgrounds are awesome and tire her out sufficiently. The camper is a small space for a medium sized dog- unlike our house where she had room to roam and get away from humans. Getting out and adventuring where she has plenty of time to smell and explore the area has benefitted all of us! Her love of anything that scurries has kept her busy as we loop around the campground trails or adventure to other parks in the area we are staying. Kaia is also a great connector. People stop us and ask about her breed and they usually work really hard to try and pet her. She occasionally gets close enough to them to give a good sniff and maybe a kiss on their hand before retreating back behind us or focusing her attention another animal.
One of the best discoveries we have made are dog parks. Each campground we go to we first look for an enclosed dog park at the campground or if there is one close by we can visit. It is a great place for her to burn off energy as well as for us to meet other dog parents and find out about other dog friendly places in the area. It is also a great place for socialization too. She has gotten much better at interacting with all sizes of dogs and we are learning her “play” versus “protection” cues. There is nothing like a happy dog, doing zoomies with new friends.
Before moving into our 5th wheel, we didn’t realize how noisy the inside of a trailer can be. Rain is loud, walking on the roof is loud, traffic is loud, neighbors are loud, birds are loud, wind is loud, other dogs barking are loud. You get the idea. Reactive dogs might be more stressed with the noise. Kaia is chill- most of the time. She will dive under my legs if James is on the roof or come snuggle with us in the bed during an overnight thunderstorm. We all are getting used to the noises.
A wonderful bonus to this lifestyle is we are finding that there are many more pet friendly places than we knew before. BringFido.com is a great resource that we consult when travelling through or staying in an area. It has led us to some fantastic restaurants and dog parks in many different cities. Other dog lovers at the campgrounds as well as campground staff are also great resources. ChatGPT has also been very helpful when using descriptive prompts for the area we are in as well as general internet searches. There really is quite a volume of information out there for pet owners to ensure a good trip for everyone.
We have been asked about pet care on the road too. Yearly visit to the vet have worked out with timing back to our launching spot. Pet medicine can be sent to campgrounds and there are emergency vets near most of our landing spots. We can give her baths outside the camper however she usually rolls in the dirt/sand/gravel before we can get her fully dried so we have opted to spend $10 at Tractor Supply store’s Pet Wash. Not all stores have the pet washes so you might have to plan ahead. They are fantastic! They have nice big tubs to contain your furry friend, shampoo/conditioner, brushes, washing apron (wear shoes that dry quickly!), and dryers! Kaia takes about 1 hour to fully dry with her double coat. We do about 35-40 minutes of drying at the store and finish off anything left when we get home. Our high velocity pet dryer is a bit loud so we are trying to be respectful neighbors. With the amount she sheds, we try to keep the floating hairballs down at the campsite too.
Depending on what you want to do and how you want to travel, having a dog may limit or at least, inconvenience your itinerary. We have found that the benefits of having Kaia adventuring with us, far outweigh the challenges. She has given the “4 paws” stamp of approval to her travelling accommodations and, like us, can’t wait to see where the adventure will take us.
