One of the reasons my husband and I love RVing is we can travel with our extended family, our little four-legged babies. I have never been in favor of boarding our pets so traveling with them can at times be challenging. When training our pets for RV travel we are also training ourselves. Our time schedule changes to meet the needs of our pets. For instance, at home, we have a doggie door. Our pets can come and go at will, even when we are gone or asleep, they have access to their external bathroom. A little challenging to provide that feature in an RV - We must change our time schedule to accommodate. You have to be available to take them out for a call even when you have to be up earlier than normal in the morning. You have to be aware of the habits of your pet. Cats are pretty easy, they normally stay on your coach, have a litter tray and are happy to be fed and pampered when needed. Dogs, on the other hand, are a bit different. They are barkers, will rip the screen off your door if you leave them and will literally tear your RV up trying to get out. We normally call this anxiety separation. Every animal is different and requires different training. We have traveled with two dogs extensively. We now travel with only one dog. Again, interesting - Our two dogs did very well together. They kept each other company and loved to lay on the dash in our Class A and watch everyone go by. They did, however, bark at other dogs that passed by. But, for the most part, they were very good. We also found, at home, as well as, in the RV, that they slept while we were gone. Our newly adopted dog does very well on her own although it took awhile for her to get used to the little house. We had to crate her for a period of time and show a lot of patience. She is now a delight to travel with and loves going with us. Puppy training is a whole different ball game, housebreaking is the same in an RV or at home. Good Luck! To get them used to our little house, we started camping locally. When we were sitting around, they were tied to a leash. When we were gone they were in the RV with the shades and blinds down. They very quickly learned to accept this - Really dogs are quick learners. Now our training began. We would leave for three hours, and return to find all was good. We began extending our time out - We found that six hours was okay, but really didn't want to push it beyond that. We also found that in the colder weather on a sunny day, they would be fine temperature wise. You must remember that an RV will heat up quickly in warmer weather when the sun is beating down. You must keep your pets comfortable and safe. In the summer, the air-conditioning is on and we plan shorter times out. In order to keep the temperature controlled at times, we turn the air-conditioning on a lower setting, even when it is not that hot outside. We always give our pets bottled water for continued consistency. Always travel with your pets medical records, medicines, and licenses. When going into a campground check where the nearest veterinary doctor or clinic is located and how to get there. The most important thing to remember is they are our pets and we must make some changes to ensure their comfort. They may have an accident in the RV and we have to accept that. They may require medical attention that could extend a stay when you are traveling. We have to be willing to be flexible in our plans to accommodate for pets when we make the decision to bring them along on our travels. I hope this has given you some tidbits on traveling with pets that will enhance your journeys through the years.
Elaine T.
I am retired and love to get out in the RV. I do home crafting, very involved in photography, mostly animal portraits; as well as, volunteering at the theater, City of Hope and other fund raising activities. I am an avid reader and definitely a computer graphics junkie.
