Dogs and Campgrounds

Dogs and Campgrounds: Every Campground has specific rules about how campers should control their dogs. Even county and state campgrounds have rules about this. Ordinarily the rules are enforced by the campground owner; or the host family in the case of a county/state park. In some cases campgrounds may have restrictions on the type of breed they allow at a campground. We have experience with that.

Tammy and I own two Shepherds. We were informed by a major campground chain that our dogs were not allowed in their campground. We were surprised because we never had this issue with other campgrounds in the chain. In fact, this is the first and only time this has happened. Fortunately I made the call about their pet policy before we booked. So at least I avoided a nasty surprise upon registration. So, as you can see rules may be different even within a franchise.

The reason I’m talking about this particular subject today is due to a post that I saw on an on-line community. A camper had their dog off leash and it wandered into their neighbors site. Then they were shocked and upset that the neighbor had a problem with this. There was so much blow back from people leaving comments, that this person actually deleted their own thread. Oddly, this is not the first time that I have seen someone think that having their dog off leash in a campground is acceptable. For those of you that think this way; I would suggest you start thinking in terms of liability. Think how much an attorney might charge you to litigate an injury lawsuit.

We’ve been camping with our dogs since 1993, and understand there is a lot of emotion around owners and their dogs. Some folks feel that how their pooch behaves at home will carry over into campgrounds. In some cases maybe this is true, but your camping neighbors don’t know your dog. Dogs can be unpredictable regardless of their age. They may feel protective, or threatened, or scared. After all they are not in their home environment. We love our dogs as if they were our children, but as Tammy often says “they are after all dogs”.

Tammy and I have been at many campgrounds where campers violated the rules. They have their dogs sitting next to them off leash. Many times I’ve seen this and had to turn around with my dog, that is on a leash, and walk the other way. I have no idea what is in the other dogs mind, and if it runs up to us I have no idea how my dog will react. Other times we will see folks that tie their dogs outside and then return to their camper and leave the dog unattended. This can also be dangerous.

Here’s a perfect example that happened to us a few months ago: I was returning to our travel trailer after a long walk with Hannah. An older couple in the next trailer decided it was ok for their dog to be on a leash with no one holding on to it. This was a pretty good-sized dog and as soon as it saw Hannah it began growling and barking; and then it charged us. I had Hannah’s leash in one hand and was fortunate to be able to grab the other dogs leash as it ran up. Holding both of my arms outstretched I was able to keep the dogs apart until the owner came over. I gave him his dog and told him to “control his animal before there is a dog fight”. Trust me, I wanted to say more, but I kept calm.

This is just a cautionary tale, dogs are your family, following the rules protects you and your pet. This is a litigious society, like it or not. Try not to put yourself at risk by thinking everything will be ok if your dog is free outside your travel trailer. Veterinary bills, legal fees, and the possibility of Animal Control taking your dog is not worth the risk. Watch Judge Judy for a few weeks and you will see my point. A large majority of her cases revolve around owners that do not control their dogs. She has no sympathy for them; neither do I.