Traveling with a Doberman

[E12Cheng]

I see that my dog is listed as a vicious breed and some campgrounds restrict these dogs. Is this really the case. I would hate to leave my buddy behind as he is very well mannered.

[jeffba]

I have seen where some parks list the breeds they do not allow and others ask what you have. You will just need to do some extra planning on your trip.

[BB_TX]

I have not encountered it with our various 85 lb Golden Retrievers, but the topic comes up regularly on another RV forum. And apparently some RV parks do enforce the rule. And the general consensus is that it is driven by the park insurance carrier rather than the park itself. From what I have read, some have the specific breed restrictions, some have a size restriction. Goldens don't fall into the breed restriction, but could fall into the size restriction.

The problem is not that those "dangerous" breeds are more likely to bite than a smaller dog. But that when they do bite they can inflict serious injury where a small dog might just break the skin.

Ultimately you will just have to check ahead to see if a specific park has such restrictions. And the "what they don't know" idea is not good unless you intend to let your dog do their business inside your RV. Let them out to pee/poop and the park owner/manager see them and out you go looking for a different park.

[AZ Traveler]

Tell folks he is a Poodledobie. If he is well behaved you should've an issue.

Dogs tend to be very good judges of people. If someone doesn't like dogs, you should be very suspicious of them.

[Texan]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Tell folks he is a Poodledobie. If he is well behaved you should've an issue.

Dogs tend to be very good judges of people. If someone doesn't like dogs, you should be very suspicious of them.

It's not that my wife doesn't like dog's but she is scared of them and dogs seam to know it. My wife has 2 artificial knees as many seniors have and if a large dog runs up to her she could hurt her self. Most people are responsible dog owners but there are a few that think everyone wants to pet there dog and that's just not the case.

[padredw]

E12Cheng: We have been traveling with a fifth-wheel for over 20 years, the last 12 with our Lab mix dog, Daisy. We have only been turned away one time in all those years and that was because of size (Nothing over 40 pounds), but we have always been aware of some campgrounds that do restrict by certain breeds. Here is a case where you simply have to go by the letter of their law. If "Doberman" is restricted you just have to find another campground. It is not a matter of what is right or what is the temperament of your dog; it is the letter of the law. I don't remember many campgrounds that have listed "Doberman" among the restricted breeds, but I know there are some. Just check it out in advance. If in doubt contact the campground. They may interpret their rule leniently, but it is better to know in advance. Good luck.

[E12Cheng]

Thank you all for some thought provoking discussion. I think what hit me the hardest was Texan telling us about his wife with two artificial knees. My mother had artificial knees and it was not easy for her to change direction once moving or to react to something coming at her. When in the public space we should think more of others and not what is just best for me. I would never forgive myself if I caused a hospital stay for Mrs Texan because Zeus saw a squirrel. Zeus will stay home with my son and his dog as they are best buddy's. We will be back in a year so I think he will be fine. We can travel freely around the country on our way to Alaska and not worry about where to stay.

[Hornet28]

Originally Posted by E12Cheng

Thank you all for some thought provoking discussion. I think what hit me the hardest was Texan telling us about his wife with two artificial knees. My mother had artificial knees and it was not easy for her to change direction once moving or to react to something coming at her. When in the public space we should think more of others and not what is just best for me. I would never forgive myself if I caused a hospital stay for Mrs Texan because Zeus saw a squirrel. Zeus will stay home with my son and his dog as they are best buddy's. We will be back in a year so I think he will be fine. We can travel freely around the country on our way to Alaska and not worry about where to stay.

I would not leave my dog for a year just because some parks might not allow him. As far as him maybe chasing a squirrel, he can't if you have him on a leash which campgrounds require anyway

[DutchmenSport]

Originally Posted by E12Cheng

Thank you all for some thought provoking discussion. ... Zeus will stay home with my son ....

To answer your original question, it is up to each individual campground if privately run. If you are using State Parks and/or State Recreation areas the rules for dog breeds are a bit more lax.

I think you are making the right choice if you are able to leave the dog with a family member.

Now, here's some side bar thoughts I'd like to share about dogs and personal experiences.

When I was a kid, about 10 years old (1965) my parents were camping in a campground. They had a travel trailer. My sister, 17 years old, was walking our family German Shepard on a leash when a little girl, about 6 or 7 years old came up to pet the dog. The dog had never shown aggression. When the girl approached, the dog attacked the girl. My sister could not hold the dog. My parents were sued and lost. Fortunately, home owners insurance, even back then, covered the claim and we had to put the dog down. The dog had never, ever shown aggression. To this day, 55 years later, I still do not know what triggered the event.

My other sister had a female Doberman that had puppies, 3 of them. The puppies were sweet as can be. Once, she was going to leave them with my mother (in her mid 80's. The dogs were about 3 or 4 years old now. All was well until something happened. The dogs were free in her yard and she was calling them back. When they didn't want to respond, one of them turned on her, attacked, and then the other two attacked. She was damaged pretty good, her face was torn. But my mother being my mother, a very stubborn World War 2 German war bride refused medical treatment and refused to report the issue. She patched herself up, and that WAS the last time she watched the dogs.

Fast forward again. We had 2 Dachshund's. Both were great dogs. One died of cancer early this year. We had both dogs over 10 years from the time they were puppies. The other dog had a territorial nature, so we were always careful with her, especially in campgrounds and around people. But she still would not take any "guff" from any other dog.

Two months after the first dog died, I had her in the front yard. We live in the country, no fences. The neighbor was dog-sitting a friends dog, and had the dog on a lease. The neighbor started approaching the property line when our dog took off and bolted toward the neighbor. I yelled at her and she stopped 3 times, but every time I got close enough to catch her, she bolted again.

She finally ran right up to the neighbor and the other dog. And in an instant, so fast it was like lightening, the neighbor dog (a bigger dog, German Shephard mix), just reached down, grabbed our little girl, gave her one shake and tossed her like a rubber toy. Our dog laid there. The back of her neck was completely torn from shoulder to shoulder. Her neck was broken. She breathed her last breath and died. .... It happened so fast, reading this last paragraph took longer than the entire event. We (and our neighbors) were devastated. We could not blame the other dog. Our dog was off our property, technically I was at fault. But the hurt was still there. Our neighbor kept saying the dog was so sweet, so gentle, I just don't understand. A week later the owner of the dog came to pick up his dog. He came over to visit us. He offered to pay for our dog, the cremation, anything. We said no. He repeated over and over, I just don't understand, the dog has NEVER shown aggression! Never!

Fast forward a couple more months. Now we have 2 new Dachshund's. Puppies. One is now 4 months old, the other only 2 months old. So darn cute, so sweet, so loveable, so playful. They played with each other, became best friends immediately. Until I put down that first bowl of real human food beef scraps. And JUST THAT QUICK, they attacked each other. I honestly thought they we kill each other, it was so vicious! Every since then, we absolutely do not trust them wholeheartedly. We have seen their vicious side and how quick they can turn.

What I'm saying is, NO ONE HAS A SWEET DOG THAT WILL NEVER BECOME VICIOUS! NO ONE! Dogs have a wild nature, a wild instinct, and no matter how much they are domesticated, they still have an uncontrollable nature that's just waiting to trigger. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER believe you dog won't attack. ALWAS assume it will.... ALWAYS, because eventually IT WILL!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

To answer your original question, it is up to each individual campground if privately run. If you are using State Parks and/or State Recreation areas the rules for dog breeds are a bit more lax.

I think you are making the right choice if you are able to leave the dog with a family member.

Now, here's some side bar thoughts I'd like to share about dogs and personal experiences.

When I was a kid, about 10 years old (1965) my parents were camping in a campground. They had a travel trailer. My sister, 17 years old, was walking our family German Shepard on a leash when a little girl, about 6 or 7 years old came up to pet the dog. The dog had never shown aggression. When the girl approached, the dog attacked the girl. My sister could not hold the dog. My parents were sued and lost. Fortunately, home owners insurance, even back then, covered the claim and we had to put the dog down. The dog had never, ever shown aggression. To this day, 55 years later, I still do not know what triggered the event.

My other sister had a female Doberman that had puppies, 3 of them. The puppies were sweet as can be. Once, she was going to leave them with my mother (in her mid 80's. The dogs were about 3 or 4 years old now. All was well until something happened. The dogs were free in her yard and she was calling them back. When they didn't want to respond, one of them turned on her, attacked, and then the other two attacked. She was damaged pretty good, her face was torn. But my mother being my mother, a very stubborn World War 2 German war bride refused medical treatment and refused to report the issue. She patched herself up, and that WAS the last time she watched the dogs.

Fast forward again. We had 2 Dachshund's. Both were great dogs. One died of cancer early this year. We had both dogs over 10 years from the time they were puppies. The other dog had a territorial nature, so we were always careful with her, especially in campgrounds and around people. But she still would not take any "guff" from any other dog.

Two months after the first dog died, I had her in the front yard. We live in the country, no fences. The neighbor was dog-sitting a friends dog, and had the dog on a lease. The neighbor started approaching the property line when our dog took off and bolted toward the neighbor. I yelled at her and she stopped 3 times, but every time I got close enough to catch her, she bolted again.

She finally ran right up to the neighbor and the other dog. And in an instant, so fast it was like lightening, the neighbor dog (a bigger dog, German Shephard mix), just reached down, grabbed our little girl, gave her one shake and tossed her like a rubber toy. Our dog laid there. The back of her neck was completely torn from shoulder to shoulder. Her neck was broken. She breathed her last breath and died. .... It happened so fast, reading this last paragraph took longer than the entire event. We (and our neighbors) were devastated. We could not blame the other dog. Our dog was off our property, technically I was at fault. But the hurt was still there. Our neighbor kept saying the dog was so sweet, so gentle, I just don't understand. A week later the owner of the dog came to pick up his dog. He came over to visit us. He offered to pay for our dog, the cremation, anything. We said no. He repeated over and over, I just don't understand, the dog has NEVER shown aggression! Never!

Fast forward a couple more months. Now we have 2 new Dachshund's. Puppies. One is now 4 months old, the other only 2 months old. So darn cute, so sweet, so loveable, so playful. They played with each other, became best friends immediately. Until I put down that first bowl of real human food beef scraps. And JUST THAT QUICK, they attacked each other. I honestly thought they we kill each other, it was so vicious! Every since then, we absolutely do not trust them wholeheartedly. We have seen their vicious side and how quick they can turn.

What I'm saying is, NO ONE HAS A SWEET DOG THAT WILL NEVER BECOME VICIOUS! NO ONE! Dogs have a wild nature, a wild instinct, and no matter how much they are domesticated, they still have an uncontrollable nature that's just waiting to trigger. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER believe you dog won't attack. ALWAS assume it will.... ALWAYS, because eventually IT WILL!

You bring up some excellent points that many, many pet owners need to take to heart. I've had great dogs and not so great dogs. Some with wonderful manners and some not so much. Some things I've learned -

Retractable leashes should be outlawed. A dog behaves, and is far more controllable., with a 6' leash. The little retractables aren't strong enough for restraining a dog of any size - almost cut my finger trying to grab that little cord one time.

The owner should have their dog on that leash at ALL times under full control. No matter how well your dog behaves, or has been trained, there will be a trigger that you are unaware of. We had our dog trained, lot of money and time, and she was supposed to be "bulletproof" on anything that would be encountered; not so. Her FIRST issue came when we put her in a glass elevator - she wasn't trained for "that"; thought she would expire right there.

I deal with a fellow regularly at a local park; no leash, no attention; just lets his 2 dogs loose. I've got on him twice. Both times he tells me "they're good dogs" - really? It's the law. "Been coming here for 30 years and never put a dog on a leash". Well here's a news flash - doesn't matter if your dog is good or not, when left to roam and barge into other dogs space something, anything, can happen. Our dog has been attacked 2 times on leash by other dogs. Another time my DDs dog, which she loved, for some reason just nailed her coming out of the bedroom. Needless to say she does not like any dog coming near her when she is leashed.

Nearly everyone I meet in an RV park has a dog. The discussion of dogs, dog etiquette and issues with them is something that is appropriate on an RV forum though some think it's a "pissing" match - I don't see that. Anyone that owns one needs to take care of business and most do. Bad things can and do happen, we all need to always be mindful of that in the event of a "mind lapse".

[bshgto]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Tell folks he is a Poodledobie. If he is well behaved you should've an issue.

Dogs tend to be very good judges of people. If someone doesn't like dogs, you should be very suspicious of them.

I think most people would more suspicious of people that lie. You might think other people are just to stupid to recognize a dog breed but your just plain mistaken. Lying to get your way isn`t that a hold over from childhood.

[McRod]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Tell folks he is a Poodledobie. If he is well behaved you should've an issue.

Dogs tend to be very good judges of people. If someone doesn't like dogs, you should be very suspicious of them.

Horrible advice.

[E12Cheng]

Thank you for the quick reply. We just don’t know what to do when we start full timing in a few weeks. We will be on the road for a year traveling from Key West to Alaska. Zeus is well mannered but I guess he is scary with his size.

[ejerni]

Originally Posted by E12Cheng

Thank you for the quick reply. We just don’t know what to do when we start full timing in a few weeks. We will be on the road for a year traveling from Key West to Alaska. Zeus is well mannered but I guess he is scary with his size.

I've had a dobie many years ago. By no means can you leave him behind. They are a one family dog. Your's is beautiful!

[Greg and Sherry]

Originally Posted by ejerni

I've had a dobie many years ago. By no means can you leave him behind. They are a one family dog. Your's is beautiful!

I fully agree that you don’t leave your Fur family behind. When you become the owner/parent to these furbabies you take on a responsibility to them. Just plan your route and call ahead to the campground.
We travel with 5 furbrats not just because we love them, but because they enjoy traveling and secondly nobody would take as good if care of them. Lastly because they feel abandoned. 2 of ours are rescues & they fear being abandoned again.
We’ve had Dobies, German Shepherds and Rotties in the past and we’re blessed with love bugs. Only 1 would bite (GSD) but only on command as a Police canine. Gentle as could be with babies at home/off duty.

[mhs4771]

I wouldn't try the "Poodledobie" trick. Simply because if it Barks like a Dobie, walks like a Dobie, it's a Doberman. And you could end up ejected with no refund on unused time.
We're seeing more and more parks with Breed and Size restrictions, and I hate to say it but everyone thinks their Dog is the friendliest Dog in the World.
We had good friends with a Shepard Mix, that was the friendliest Dog to all of us who camped together, and generally with everyone else and other dogs. But every now and again someone walking their Dog would go by and that dog would be out for blood if he could get loose

[E12Cheng]

Thank you all for the reply’s and good advice. I think we will make arrangements for him to stay behind.

[mtlakejim]

I'll start by saying I love dogs. We are very sad right now at the recent loss of one of ours. Many years ago I had Dobermans. I currently have a Chihuahua.




I think the root cause of most issues (of which this is just one) is that people have simply lost common courtesy of others. Its a sad time in our society when you HAVE to make rules or teach what well mannered people should just know.


No one has to tell me that it is impolite for my dog to disturb others with his barking and we do everything we can to restrict him from doing so. Likewise we don't let him run loose outside of a pen. He is ALWAYS on a leash while in the park and would be even if there wasn't a rule (I wouldn't stay at a park that didn't have a leash law). We never let him run up to anyone either as that can be scary.


While you may THINK that your dog is well behaved (and he may well be) he is still a dog and a large one at that. He may never attack anyone but you can't absolutely guarantee he won't. And even if his INTENT is friendly, the sight of a dog that can POTENTIALLY cause serious injury running up to you is very unnerving.
Then there is the issue of a small dog barking and harassing a larger one. I had a Chihuahua get in a fight with a larger dog in the past. Both dogs were on leashes but we got too close and the person handling the larger dog was not able to pull her dog back quickly enough.
My advice is if you do decide to travel with your dog, RESPECT the general public and only go to parks that allow the breed and do everything you can to mitigate the potential issues above. You choose a bred with a reputation and just like a lot of discussion we make in life there are responsibilities that come along with them. Just remember, strangers don't know your dog and for that matter he doesn't know them either.......

[Dave W]

We have 2 mini (mid size) poodles that love camping. With that said, most dogs do. Three years ago in Utah we were parked back to back with another 5er. Those folks had two dobies. They were NOT friendly with other dogs though their oner claimed they were - right after they went after our two pups. Those folks were 'invited leave though not by our complaint but evidently someone else did.



One CG in NH we stayed in this past September had a list of at least 12 big dogs that were banned. That list only applied to us transients as seasonals monster German Shepard decided that if he could get off his log chain leash. one of our pups would be a tasty snack.


There are reasons for CGs to limit breeds, size or numbers of dogs, mostly due to insurance as well as a CGs past history. Unfortunately, not everyone is a committed dog owner and is willing to train them to be good citizens and IMHO, part of the entitled generations problems.


Good luck with you pup. It's too bad that a few have ruined RVing with all breeds of dogs

[E12Cheng]

Bravo well said Mtlakejim
He is a good boy.