New Member, please be kind! Travelling with reactive dog, any advice?

[morrma]

If you ultimately consider an awning ‘drive away’ or the ‘sides and front ‘ like the Comfortz room, there are a couple of things to remember… Drive away awnings, some have sewn in ground sheets, better to curtail your dog from sneaking under and through. Others have no sewn in groundsheet and you just have a footprint or tarp, it’s easy for any dog to get under and out. However some sites say “No sewn in ground sheets allowed or even No groundsheets”… it’s usually when on grass pitches.
A wee separate pop up tent may be an option where you could angle the opening to face your van , or away from passing neighbours humans and dogs.
Whatever, I’m sure you will have lots of adventures and find what works for you.
Couple of pix of our rescue lad who 3 years down the road has settled into van ( and site ) life.

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If you ultimately consider an awning ‘drive away’ or the ‘sides and front ‘ like the Comfortz room, there are a couple of things to remember… Drive away awnings, some have sewn in ground sheets, better to curtail your dog from sneaking under and through. Others have no sewn in groundsheet and you just have a footprint or tarp, it’s easy for any dog to get under and out. However some sites say “No sewn in ground sheets allowed or even No groundsheets”… it’s usually when on grass pitches.
A wee separate pop up tent may be an option where you could angle the opening to face your van , or away from passing neighbours humans and dogs.
Whatever, I’m sure you will have lots of adventures and find what works for you.
Couple of pix of our rescue lad who 3 years down the road has settled into van ( and site ) life.

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Oh my, what a beautiful boy! Really helpful advice, the whole campervan experience is new to us, I am learning so much! I like the idea of a pop up tent, that could work well. Love your family photo, is that on a site somewhere - looks very peaceful

 

[morrma]

Training the basics, just 5 km from home. Quiet road allong the lake. Enough happens to trigger her, but not enough to get her on full scale high allert. No barking at cars, cyclist, hikers, geese, planes, people in boats etc. Just having lots of fun and play, the Cali becomes our family happy place.

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Absolutely love this, she looks so relaxed! I wish we had a beautiful lake 5km from home, I’m envious! But I take your point, no need to travel too far to get some training in, I’ll be looking at opportunities nearby for training, thank you

 

[BeagleMum]

Typical. You wish others to be tolerant but not the reverse. Typical of many dog owners.
And before you ask I've had 6 dogs over the years , all rescue dogs and we coped with all their little foibles and they all lived to ripe old ages. If a dog is not socialised for any reason, cope with it and don't impose on others.

Off he goes……..again

 

[WelshGas]

Off he goes……..again

I understand. Although you secretly agree you wouldn’t want to say so on a public forum because credibility would take a knock. So thanks for the clever reply.

 

[morrma]

We have a border collie who came to us aged 2 and whilst I am sure, we met her previous owners, she was never subjected to any mistreatment she does display a number of characteristics that we would prefer her not to have. Barking is one of them and it can be very annoying especially when she may be disturbing others, but generally people are very tolerant.
Have you considered coming to the meet at Slimbridge? We have a large field and you could park a good way from everyone else if you wanted. At the same meet a few years ago Jess, our collie, pulled the lead out of my hand, ran off down the field, managed to pull the club flag out of the ground and run off with it, so is your dog really that bad?

I shouldn’t laugh but it’s heartening when the “naughty” dog isn’t yours! Slimbridge might be an option, as long as we park a fair distance away! Thank you for the warm welcome

 

[jimmywease]

I’m sure things will improve over time and not every trip/site will be a challenge.

In my experience:
People are more tolerant of noisy children and dogs, if some sort of effort is made to quell them and it’s never as loud as you think.

Don’t be afraid to let the children and dogs just chill in the van. Having bought the stake & line set up for the dogs (and outdoor games for the kids), I was disappointed when they all retreated into the van for long periods. This is natural for them though - if they’re not out for an activity, they want security and rest. If there’s a lot of strangers around, my dog & kids prefer to be in the van but with the sliding door open.

Finally (and obviously): wear ‘em out! My children aren’t working breed but my dogs sure are, just like yours. As Sgt Jablonski says every morning: “Let’s do it to them before they do it to us!”

Just noticed that this post is from last summer - you’re probably all sorted now!