5/14/11

Teddy the Love Sponge, our "Newfy/Golden/ and Something Else" doggie we had for 16 years, went with us everywhere except airplanes. He rode in our camper all over the place. His last real trip was to Mexico. I think the warm sand in the winter felt good to him and I'm glad he got that experience once. He died a couple months before we were going on the next winter cruise. We lasted I think 4 weeks, 4 weeks of being depressed, and then went out to the dog pound and got Duke, a Springer Spaniel. He's wonderful too! However, this chapter was written before Ted left us and I want to keep it referring to him since his presence gave us most of our knowledge about cruising with pets. I know, with all the problems in the world these days such sentiment about a goddam dog probably sounds ridiculous to some. Well, he was some dog…..
While now days we will go in a house that is to precious for us to smoke in, we practically never go anywhere where Ted isn't welcome too. He's simply part of our family, and is better behaved, quieter, prettier, and frequently cleaner, than most kids I've seen. So when we took off on our first cruise we were just a bit nervous about the dog and RV parks; would there be a problem?
As we learned, we needn't have worried. It seems that at least half of the people cruisin' have a dog. Many of those that don't, have cats. Cats and small dogs seem to like the dash board of motorhomes. They sit there and watch the road when traveling, and survey the park when anchored. I've seen a motorhome with a St. Bernard and a Basset, and one 5th wheel, a "toy hauler," had a small stable in the back for the guy's horse.
Our very first night we ever cruised we stopped at an RV park in Oregon where we were told Teddy exceeded their "size limit." Some parks say no dogs over 30 pounds but we've learned the reason is not because they don't like big dogs but rather, if the dog is untrained, a small dog is less threatening and annoying. Teddy happens to be fair sized, about 75 pounds, but he's a Good Little Christian and is perfectly behaved. But at the time we didn't know that behavior was the reason for the size limit and since we didn't care for the park owner's attitude we went to the next park, just a mile away. When I asked there about dogs, the owner said; "Are you kidding? Some of those motorhome out there cost a half million bucks. Most have dogs. Of course I take dogs!"
We've now made four long winter cruises and numerous short trips; things like a night at the beach, a fall drive up old highway 20 through the mountains into eastern Washington to see the leaves changing color, 200 miles to Portland to see relatives, and so forth. We've stayed at many RV parks and the way we handle it is just assume they take dogs!
At this writing Teddy is now pretty feeble and can't walk far, so when we arrive in a park to check in rather than ask permission about him, I say; "we're traveling with an old dog. Could you give us a spot as close to the dog walk area as possible?" Some parks don't have a dog area, so they put us near the outer boundary next to a field or road. But we've never been turned away.
Some parks down in "snowbird" country;" southern Arizona or California, say they don't allow dogs period. Most of them also have age restrictions; if you aren't 55 you can't come in. Some of those even have rig requirements! We stopped at one near Phoenix where our 7 year old pickup had to be "inspected" to make sure it looked good enough, and their dog area was the city street. All in all an uptight joint but as practically all the RV parks in the Phoenix area are 55 plus and many don't allow dogs, this was all we could do. We won't go back that way though; I don't care if I'm cruisin' at 90 I ain't stopping in a place like that again, or the Phoenix area again for that matter. But this sort of silliness is not the norm, and a decent cruising guide like the Good Sam book that lists all the RV parks will mention any restrictions. And as I said, if you see "Pet Restrictions" it normally means size or more likely breeds, not that they aren't allowed, and assuming your elephant is well trained, we've seen there's no problem as long as your pet is well behaved. Just say you want to dock by the dog walk area.
If you cruise with a dog you must be responsible for the dog because when you aren't, it makes it harder for those of us who are. It takes a while to get used to, but carry a grocery store plastic bag when you walk your doggie and clean up after him. If your dog isn't totally voice controlled, keep him on a leash in the park. That's a hassle, but the solution is simple; good obedience training. When Ted was a pup we took him to a school and within 3 classes and a little practice at home he learned to walk at heal without a leash, come immediately when we called, stay in one spot when we told him, and in general became civilized. I personally think that is the only way to own a dog and certainly is the only kind of dog I could travel with, and I'm always amazed when I see some poor person being dragged around by their huge cur.
We once docked at an RV park where a couple pulled in with two absolutely wild Dobermans. I've owned a Dobie; he was as gentle as Teddy although I admit, dumb as a rock. They are big strong dogs, wound up like springs, and keeping one in a cage or cooped up in a motorhome will make them crazy; they must have plenty of exercise.
These two dogs were something. One was mean and I stayed away from it. The other was just crazy. Both were totally undisciplined. When the owners walked the dogs they used a heavy leash and leaned backwards; the dogs literally dragged them along. The woman told me that once the one she was walking saw a cat and took off for it. She wouldn't let go of the leash, was pulled down, and the dog actually dragged her across an asphalt parking lot. These folks were three days out on their first cruise and the dogs were wrecking it for them, as well as making a very poor impression in RV parks. I wonder how far they got before kenneling (at the least) those two dogs.
Since then I've made a point of talking with park owners about dogs, and I'm surprised the dobies were even let in. In general, size restriction also means breed restriction. Pit Bulls and Pit Bull crosses are flatly forbidden in most parks. Dobies and Rots frequently are too. If you own a Shepherd, say he's a Belgian, not a German. These dogs all have "bad reps" which is why most parks don't want them. Everybody loves labs and goldens, and mongrels of all stripes except when they look like Pit Bulls are OK too.
Another issue is noise; yapping goddam dogs in the moorage piss off everybody and reflect badly on dogs that don't yap. A rig four spaces down from us had three Wire Haired Terriers. They were fine dogs, very friendly, but one evening the people went out to dinner and left the dogs in the trailer. They barked all night. The next day I went and told the guy. Often, people with yappy dogs don't know the noise they make because the dogs don't do it when they're home. He was kind of sheepish but oddly, not apologetic; I think he knew..... As I mentioned to him, for under 50 bucks you can buy an electronic collar that gives the dog a mild shock when it barks. They work, and he needs one. Our slip four spaces away was just far enough where I could deal with the noise. If we had been next to him I would likely have disconnected our sewer hose, broke out one of his trailer windows, put one end of the hose in his trailer and the other over our truck's exhaust pipe, and gassed the buggers. There is no reason why the whole park has to suffer because your dogs are a neurotic mess.
Pets and cruisin' go together; many dogs seem to enjoy "the road" even more than their people. After all, when was the last time YOU rode in a car standing on the seat, leaning your head out the window? They're welcome almost everywhere, and are great "ice breakers" for meeting people. By our second week anchored in Penasco Teddy had become friends with half the people in the park and all the people at the beach side bar and I suspect the rest knew who he was. Even a Mexican beach vender liked him; he offered to trade his armload of trinkets for Ted! While walking him is sometimes a hassle, especially now that he's so old and slow, in general having him along is no trouble as well as enjoyable. Walking him makes an excuse to walk yourself, and at least when I do it I usually end of talking with folks. For instance yesterday afternoon about 6 fellow dog walkers and I sat under the palapa at the beach front bar having cocktails while our dogs goofed around on the beach. There were a few non dog owners there too but the circle was started by the dog folks! Funny; it reminds me of "the old days" when the Washington ferry boats had smoking sections. These smoking areas were always full of people, actually talking to each other…..

Well, as I said at the beginning of this we lost Teddy in November, 2003. His last year was great; he may have been slow but he had a dignity and presence that was unusual and even though we had to carry a ramp so he could get into the trailer and I had to lift him in and out of the truck, I wouldn't give up the memories of that last cruise with him for nothing.
But "The King is dead; long live the King" sort of applies here. We are dog people and will always have a goddam dog around, and just before Christmas, less than a month before last winter's cruise south, we got Duke from a local animal shelter. We were going to wait until we got home but we couldn't; we wanted a doggie.
It was the best thing we could have done! Not only did it cheer us up, but going for a long cruise with a new dog is the best way to get him to bond quickly to you that I can imagine. Here you are; new places every day, the only familiar thing the doggie has is YOU. A smart dog figures that out immediately. We left home with essentially a totally unmanageable refuge from the pound. We returned home with a Good Little Christian that sits, stays, and comes when called. The close quarters we shared as well as the pleasure we got working with him since it gave us something different to do, was worth the hassles. And there were some. For instance, a "separation anxiety" when left alone that had him burst through screen doors and track us down. But that's all over now. We think a long cruise in an RV is one of the best things you can do to make a new doggie feel at home. And to get you bonded tight with him!

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