Best Dog Breed for RV'ing

We always have had a labs or a Border Collies. I love my Borders Collies the 2 I have now are great, when the kids were little they would herd them away from the pool until I said it was OK and they can open both gates in about a minute if the gates are not locked properly. DW has always wanted a small dog so Valentines day 2009 I got her a chihuahua dachshund mix we call a chiwienie. I have to admit I have fallen in love with her and don't think I will get more big dogs when the Collies are gone. They are getting up there in years and the small dog is one of the family, easier to clean up after and even though she is high energy she behaves better in public and around crowds. The Collies think every crowd needs to be rounded up and herded back to me. They are always trying to get off the leash so they can go to work and they have both figured out how to get out of a collar.

As far as the RV goes with 5 of us and usually a few kids friends a small dog is the only way we could even think about taking a dog along.

Wayne

Dogs have learned to adapt to humans very well, and vice versa, obviously. Whatever you get will probably adapt to RVing. That said, larger may be a better watchdog but smaller fits more easily, at least up to a point, and depending on how much exercise you can provide. FWIW, I'll share our experience. We had a Sheltie and a dachshund, both of whom were fine though the Sheltie passed away shortly after we got the rig. Chase was a beautiful, smart, sweetheart of a blue merle (see my avatar, kind of a joke photo that I made years ago), and I never minded the grooming, which he loved. The dachshund, a retired therapy dog, passed earlier this year (both elderly). We would like a dog to be a bit larger than a toy or miniature, partly for its watchdog aspects. 

We are looking at poodles, partly because they're so intelligent and fun, and partly because they're non-allergenic, and partly because we just like them. Grooming can be simplified into a "puppy cut" that's about the same length all over. A standard poodle is pretty large, although I gather Marsha's standard does just fine. We are looking at kleinpudels ("small poodle" auf Deutsch), not an official AKC breed but lots of them in Europe and some here. They are maybe 19-21" at the withers and about 25-35 lbs. Seem a bit leggy. Not sure whether they're too active for us. We are looking for a male, as they reputedly tend to be more companionable. Good luck in your search!

Pierat said:

We are looking at poodles, partly because they're so intelligent and fun, and partly because they're non-allergenic, and partly because we just like them. Grooming can be simplified into a "puppy cut" that's about the same length all over. A standard poodle is pretty large, although I gather Marsha's standard does just fine. We are looking at kleinpudels ("small poodle" auf Deutsch), not an official AKC breed but lots of them in Europe and some here. They are maybe 19-21" at the withers and about 25-35 lbs. Seem a bit leggy. Not sure whether they're too active for us. We are looking for a male, as they reputedly tend to be more companionable. Good luck in your search!

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Wow, I'll have to look that up and see what they look like.  Are they a version of the miniature poodle and are they mixed with any other breed?  That seems to be the trend with poodles lately, they are bred with other breeds hoping to get the best of both.  Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn't.

If you would have told me years ago that I would have a poodle, I'd have laughed my head off.  It's the last breed of dog I thought I would have been interested in.  However..... guess what, never say never.  Charlie is pretty large and is actually what they call a "royal blue", which is bigger than the normal standard.  His skin under the coat is robin egg blue.  The standards are VERY different from the miniature and toys.  They have far less energy, are quiet and more outgoing; especially the males.  I do the clipping and keep him in as you say a "Puppy cut" or some call it a "sporting clip".  It's easy to do, just lots of it.  The one drawback of the standard is how smart they are.  I have to be careful; because I can overtrain him.  He learns very fast.  On June 19th he's taking his CGC (companion good citizen) test.  The one problem we have with him that I can't get fixed is how overly friendly he is when he meets people....he goes way overboard and I believe he thinks they have come to see him.  However after a few minutes, he's done and just lays down. 

He loves to travel and sits between the driver and passenger seat on his hauches and looks out the big front window; it's like having a 3 person along with you.  However, never fear, he is ruled by our two cats; especially the mama cat.

Marsha~

Charlie is a great dog. He could almost (almost !) make me switch from labs to poodles. Almost

Wendy

My wife Jeri and I had several large breed dogs, all Rottweilers and Labs. We certainly loved both breeds but as we got into RV'ing we found it difficult to bring the pets along. When our last Yellow Lab, Simba, succumbed to many health issues and old age last year we decided it was time to do what was right and put him down, as difficult as it was. Last October we decided to get another dog and our avid RV'ing hobby certainly played a role in our decision. Now if you told me a few years ago I would own a Chihuahua I would have said "are you crazy!" But we decided to get a long haired Chihuahua named Cheech and he is one of the best dogs I have owned. He is very friendly, well mannered, loves to play, doesn't need a lot of room and doesn't shed. I am a firm believer that dog breed has much less to do with a dogs behavior than the pets training. He fits perfect with our 33 foot VR-1. Good Luck with whatever dog you choose.

Wendy....labs were my first choice before Charlie. ;D  We had a black lab when the kids were little that I just loved.  Then we went to 4 small long haired dachshunds....my or my was that a handful.  Talk about training difficulties.  However I have to admit, I wasn't as smart about training and trying to train 4 was a joke.

Marsha~

A friend/neighbor recently bought a labradoodle from a breeder. Cute dog.

Well, I?m a pretty serious dog guy as you might have guessed by my screen name.

With respect, I think you are asking the wrong question.  What you should be asking is what is the most appropriate breed for ME (my life style, my family, my energy and exercise level, etc) and not what breed is best for RV?ing.  IMO, any well bred, loved and well-trained dog will love RV?ing and can learn/be trained to be part of the joy and no kind of problem.

Obviously, there are many different breeds of dogs with vastly different characteristics in terms of size, temperament, activity level, etc.  Since I don?t know you, I would not presume to suggest what breed might be best for you, except to note that you say have had good experiences with Labs, so why not stick to that breed?

For what it is worth, I have had Brittanies ever since I was a child.  Since I work part-time as an upland hunting guide, mine are working dogs as well as house pets.  Brittanies present a wonderful dichotomy ? they are gentle, loving pets who live to please their masters; but yet they are awesome predators and stone killers in the field.  To stay mentally and physically fit, they should be run hard off lead every day ? I am talking about miles - walking them on a leash around a campground does not count.  Brittanies are not for people who are adverse to lots of exercise, or who want dogs that just sleep at their feet all day.  At home, we have a good bit of land, so it?s easy for me to run the dogs every day.  When on the road, I must sometimes be a bit inventive to find places to run, but many of our trips are for bird hunting and running them is a non-issue

My wife is handicapped and cannot handle a ?real? dog, so she has tiny Maltese.  As the Brittanies suit me, so the Maltese suit her.  Her current dog is really nasty (bites, etc) to everyone except her, but generally the Maltese are OK ? tiny and prissy looking, but still just dogs.

Just for fun, here?s a pic of my master, Maggie, pointing a songbird along our lane, my younger dog, Chase honoring Maggie?s point as he does in the field; and my wife?s little dog, Lilly, pretending she is also a huntin? dawg by honoring Chase?s back of Maggie.  They stood like that - frozen dead still - for several minutes until I gave the release command.  Too funny.

With respect, I think you are asking the wrong question.  What you should be asking is what is the most appropriate breed for ME (my life style, my family, my energy and exercise level, etc) and not what breed is best for RV?ing.  IMO, any well bred, loved and well-trained dog will love RV?ing and can learn/be trained to be part of the joy and no kind of problem.

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+1

Also be honest with yourself.  We wanted to think we were active enough for an intelligent, high energy breed but we were fooling ourselves.

To stay mentally and physically fit, they should be run hard off lead every day ? I am talking about miles - walking them on a leash around a campground does not count.

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That's why we ended up with 2.  1/2 hour in the basement and they can wear each other out (ish) more than hours of walking with us could ever do.  Trips to the woods and beach are required as a release valve for destructive energy.  Only in their later years are they more content to chill for the better part of the day...finally.

I knew this question would generate a lot of responses. Thank you all for your input.

Hi Tom - Labradoodles are looking interesting to us. Could you post the breeder's name and contact info or PM me please? Thanks - John

John, I need to make a call and get the contact info. FYI the pup cost $2,500.

Re Labradoodles:  Please be aware that sometimes mixing these two breeds results in a bad mix.  Although they are adorable, there have been some problems and many of them have been showing up in the humane shelters.

Marsha~

Interesting Marsha. What kind of problems arise? I wonder if similar problems occur with other mixes?

When we had a our first Standard, Remy, there was a rash of rumors flying around about labradoodles.  Everyone thought if they could mix the breed they would get the best of both.  That's not always true.  It's my understanding that only 1 out of a litter of labradoodles will have the non shedding poodle hair.  Both of the breeds have hip and eye problems, so you could end up with a dog that has more propensity to develop the problem.  I have a friend who has a labradoodle and he's nearly untraineable and she's trying to find a home for him.  However to give the dog credit, I think a lot of her problem is that she has nearly 6 dogs so more than likely does not have time to train her labradoodle. 

Here is a copy of an article written by a labradoodle breeder in Oregon called SPRINGCREEK LABRADOODLE :

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]".....Labradoodles share the same genetic problems that            any of the parent breeds have that are used for breeding. Simply crossing two            unrelated breeds does not mean that genetic issues will be eliminated. There            have been multiple labradoodles from multi-gen, first cross and backcross lines            that have ended up with hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, eye problems, and            other disorders, all inherited from the parent dogs. I've heard from, and            spoken with numerous people with labradoodles that have major health issues and            it would be extremely unfortunate for potential owners to be led to believe that          they are ensured a healthy dog simply because this is a cross breed. [/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]It is very important that proper health testing be done on any breeding dogs, so            that serious genetic issues are not continually bred on. If people feel genetic            issues are not a problem, this will lead to the general public not requesting            health information on breeding stock, which in turn will lead to many breeders            simply not testing. We all know this will then lead to even more genetic issues            continuing to be bred on and causing heartbreak to many families who end up          owning the dogs afflicted with the genetic issues.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Any of the same genetic problems that either labs or poodles experience, are the
    exact same ones that are genetically possible in the labradoodle. It is            important for people to understand this, or we will see the labradoodle headed            for disaster. I am writing in hopes that  your site can be a positive tool in helping people to make            educated decisions about where to purchase from, and who to purchase from so            they can reduce the risk of experiencing a serious genetic issue with their            future dog. Knowing that genetic issues are possible is an extremely important            piece of information to the potential buyer..."[/font]
This is not to say that every labradoodle will have problems...or even a pure bred; but several years ago, a lot of labradoodles were having trouble.  I don't hear of as many today; so maybe issues have been sorted out.  They are awfully darn cute, though.
Marsha~

Thanks Marsha. I know nothing of dog breeding or cross breeding, but it seems to me that the same issues could occur with any breed or cross-breed, i.e. the pups inherit one or more afflictions/disorders of the parents. I'd think that cross-breeding from two healthy "full pedigree" parents would likely result in healthy pups.

Maybe I'm just not getting what's different about a labradoodle vs any other mixed breed.

Good point, Tom.. I think the same thing happens with humans. The genes control your life.

  Why do you think we have such mixed turmoil in the World today...we are all a mixed breed now.

  This post is not intended to cause turmoil...just think about it.

carson FL

We travel with our grand sons boxer mastiff mix from time to time. She is a sweetheart and travels very well.

Best dog for an RV... is a cat!

Thanks that is good to know.

I read that labradoodles only began in the 1970s, I think it was. Other breeds have far longer lines with many of the problems bred out along the way. Shelties, for example, go back over 100 years in a mostly modern form, and far longer back to the toonie dogs that herded and protected the farm in older times.