Dog On Campsite

We take our Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix camping with us all the time.  While he is quite friendly, if startled, or someone comes up from behind he can be somewhat intimidating.  He's always on a leash or cable tie out, and when he's out I'm ALWAYS out there with him.  We've had cases of people using our site as a cut thru to other areas.  When this has happend he's liable to chase after the person.  He considers the site his home and is just taking care of it.  If people would just follow proper camping etiquette and not cut thru other campers site there'd be no issue. What I want to due to cover myself is post a couple of signs on our site  "CAUTION  Dog on Site".  My DW thinks that the signs might get the wrong attention from some campers.  What I hope the signs do is STOP PEOPLE FROM CUTTING THRU OUR SITE.  Thought one way or another:?

The proper way to handle people using your site as a shortcut is to report the incidents to the office.  Let them handle it.  It's not just rude, it's in the rules for many campground.  Another method I've used is when I see someone start onto my site, I open the door and ask them what I can help them with.  They usually get the hint

I'm with your wife on the sign. 

Poor etiquette or not, people are going to cut through your camp site. If your dog is prone to protecting his property he has no place in a campground.  Harsh?  Yes, but please consider that campgrounds are frequently full of children.  Children that don't read.  Children that haven't been taught proper campground etiquette.  Children whose parents do not keep an eye on them. 

Campgrounds are not the place for protective animals. 

I second what George said.

You can make your site difficult to cut thru.  Take along some folding chairs and tables and scatter them about the site as barriers to passage.  In this case, clutter is your friend.  People will find tidier shortcuts.

However George is right.  I recommend putting your pup thru an AKC approved obedience school, pronto.

George:  Now you've upset my DW. Our dog is not overly PROTECTIVE, or disobedient. Even I'm prone to jump etc, if startled.  He is VERY obedient, has never done anything out of line in the house. He never climbs on furniture, or takes food that is not his, and spent 4 months in a doggie daycare training setting.  Our dog is our child, would you leave your kids at home if they acted up once in a while, because someone else caused them to act up?  He's 10 and 1/2 years old and has never hurt anyone, it's a case of his bark is worse then his bite, and he doesn't bark very often.  I've seen dozens of kids that act in such a manner that they should never be let out of the house let alone run loose at a campground, and your right some little kids can't read, and the ones that are that little should never be out of their parent control.  What I am hoping to do with the sign is ward off any potentially problem before it even arises, and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If your dog is prone to protecting his property he has no place in a campground. 

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Sorry guys I disagree.

The other thread about Dogs off leash show that you don't like dogs at all.

I love dogs! If someone comes walking on my site, they will be greeted by a wagging tail. Come running through and it may seem like she's chasing them and she might knock them down, but it is not HER fault at all.

So, if she's on a chain she's perfectly able to be outside. Also, putting a dog on a chain in the first place makes them more defensive right away.

Can't wait.....I like your idea of the sign......can't hurt in my opinion.

Mike

I love dogs. But I have put up with way too many barking dogs in campgrounds. Barking over and over for hours on end. I have stepped in way too much dog poop. Seen way too many dogs on trails that are specifically marked No dogs. And had the scare of my life several times when an unattended Pit Bull wandered into my campsite.

Dogs bark, bite, poop, pee, carry ticks, fleas, scare wildlife away and other nasty things. I don't wish to be a part of any of that.

Now I realize a large percentage of dog owners are responsible and their dogs never cause anyone any problems. But the minority have ruined it for everyone else.

I've only been in a few campgrounds so far but I've already seen problem animals and the barking when people aren't home gets old quickly, but I'm new to this.

Our dog is a sweetie, but he weighs 70 pounds.  He is part lab and doberman so his features can make him appear intimidating.  I love him but I chose to leave him at home. My husband and I have talked this over and he agrees.  I don't want issues with others.  I try to think how I would feel when facing my animal and I might be scared too.  If I had a defensive animal especially in a tight campground situation, honestly, I wouldn't take it either. But I'm fortunate, I have a tenant that lives on our 2 acres with us in a mobile.  He takes care of my animals when I'm gone and I take care of his dog.  I realize this is not possible for a lot of folks and costs a log to kennel them.  I may take our cat, not sure yet.

I did see something that might solve your problem.  We were at Matagorda and the people on one side had a great big cage, I mean at least 12  X 16 with a top or maybe bigger that their big bulldog could roam in freely.  He seemed very content and couldn't run out and lunge at people nor was he barking.  Perhaps something like that would work well.  You wouldn't have to worry about him, and others especially children would not be at risk either.  If I took BJ I might do something like that.

Cant Wait said:

George:  Now you've upset my DW. Our dog is not overly PROTECTIVE, or disobedient. Even I'm prone to jump etc, if startled.  He is VERY obedient, has never done anything out of line in the house. He never climbs on furniture, or takes food that is not his, and spent 4 months in a doggie daycare training setting.  Our dog is our child, would you leave your kids at home if they acted up once in a while, because someone else caused them to act up?  He's 10 and 1/2 years old and has never hurt anyone, it's a case of his bark is worse then his bite, and he doesn't bark very often.  I've seen dozens of kids that act in such a manner that they should never be let out of the house let alone run loose at a campground, and your right some little kids can't read, and the ones that are that little should never be out of their parent control.  What I am hoping to do with the sign is ward off any potentially problem before it even arises, and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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Your dog may be your child, but your dog is not a child, and there should be no comparisons!

Paul

Cant Wait said:

George:  Now you've upset my DW. Our dog is not overly PROTECTIVE, or disobedient. Even I'm prone to jump etc, if startled.  He is VERY obedient, has never done anything out of line in the house. He never climbs on furniture, or takes food that is not his, and spent 4 months in a doggie daycare training setting.  Our dog is our child, would you leave your kids at home if they acted up once in a while, because someone else caused them to act up?  He's 10 and 1/2 years old and has never hurt anyone, it's a case of his bark is worse then his bite, and he doesn't bark very often.  I've seen dozens of kids that act in such a manner that they should never be let out of the house let alone run loose at a campground, and your right some little kids can't read, and the ones that are that little should never be out of their parent control.  What I am hoping to do with the sign is ward off any potentially problem before it even arises, and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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If allowed, some of the loose loop rope on pilasters may deter some.  But it sounds like any dog is a potential liability if there's a suspicion that a 'pound of cure' could eventually factor in.  I'm not saying this is the case in this situation at all, but sometimes people utilize a family companion pet as a means of passive aggression towards humans, or it can be viewed that way by others, which is rarely well received by observers.  A well trained dog will look to their (physically present) owner for command before taking action on its own.  A territorial or aggressive dog is usually a scared, confused dog, and not to be trusted (no fault of its own).  Keeping a territorial dog tethered to oneself while the owner learns and follows simple NILIF training is a great start.  I have dogs, I love dogs, and have gently trained many over the years.  My large, once highly territorial dogs have been trained to not break eye contact with me, on lead or off.  They are always much happier and no longer function on fear, and look to me for instruction.  If the dog does anything less it is not properly trained by me.  I hope a child never runs through a camp or trips and falls once having realized a territorial dog is upon them.  And yes, when I was young I was attacked by 2 large family pets that knew me well, for simply walking into the yard.  NILIF training (can google it) is the best start for owners of companion pet 'children'.  Putting a sign on the campsite may only invite trouble, but putting a sign on a vest on the dog that the dog is in training may strike up some very neighborly conversation, while the dog is under the owners control. 

If the site has trees, put a clothesline through the shortcut and a towel or two on it so it does not end up cutting someone's head off.  This way there is no confrontation and it does not look like you are trying to block them off either, just looks like you have wet towels that need to dry.

Cant Wait said:

Our dog is our child, would you leave your kids at home if they acted up once in a while, because someone else caused them to act up? 

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No, I don't leave my child home, but I bring him at the daycare all day because he would likely act up if I brought him at work.  There are other places that I also don't bring my son and get a sitter or alternative arrangements. 

None of these arguments help you with your initial problem though.  I'd say if your dog is tied, whoever is chased by it won't be chased for long and should get the hint for next time.  Technically, they are trespassing.  You rented that site, so it's the same as your backyard in some regards. 

PS:  I'm not a dog lover either, like Tom(Seilerbird) the minority of bad owners have ruined it for me.

seilerbird said:

Dogs bark, bite, poop, pee, carry ticks, fleas, scare wildlife away and other nasty things. I don't wish to be a part of any of that.

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Except for the bark, so do kids. What's your solution there? I agree with those who state the answer lies in educating campers as to proper etiquette, and attending to kids too young to be running loose. The dogs are doing what they do best. We've stayed in many campgrounds where children AND their parents cut through someone's site. Drives me batsh*t crazy. It's not my dog that will go off. It's me. People need to learn some respect for others' boundaries.

I love my dog! A dog is a permanent three year old and frankly, I'm happy that my kids are 12, 10 and 6!!!

Our dog comes on all camping trips with us because we have more time to pay attention to her, she loves spending the day outdoors, gets to go swimming every day (on dog only beaches of course), protects the trailer while we are not there and simply loves being with us.

In Ontario, we have radio free zones, pet free beaches and there was even talk of a no-kids area!

Could you imagine?

Mike

Cant Wait said:

"CAUTION  Dog on Site".

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I wonder if the sign will create a false impression that you have an "aggressive" dog and not just a "territorial" or "protective" one? This might get some unwanted attention from the park managers. Of course, this attention would give you the opportunity to explain the tresspassing problem to them.

TomS wrote: >> Dogs bark, bite, poop, pee, carry ticks, fleas, scare wildlife away and other nasty things.

BIGDOG said:

Except for the bark, so do kids.

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Yep -- nothing worse than a kid with fleas, ticks, and other nasty things. 

The first time in a new campground I'll only pay for the (usually) weekend to 'test the waters' so to speak about dogs and, tho very seldom, untrainable children.

We were in a fairly nice CG in the NY Catskills and planning on spending 4-6 days. The yapping dog next door(8 hours during the day, then it began again in the early AM when the owners left for somewhere again) and then the several more in the seasonal area drove us out after one night. The management basically told us in reasonable terms that it wasn't their problem and that's the way it is. Me in less then reasonable terms told them what they could do with their CG, hooked up and left - even tho we had paid for another night. I handled that through my credit card company. So far in many years of camping have not run across a protective dog, but probably will eventually.

There are dogs that do well in camp grounds, then there are the ones that bark and lunge at every one and unaccustomed movement. Unless they can be trained, leave them at home. Now a cat - seldom bothers anyone.

Noisy children we can usually handle pretty easily after raising 4. Usually they run out of energy and get quiet or go to bed.  But when they are totally out of control plus destructive, then it's a problem that needs addressing.

I do the chair and table clutter/clothes line thing to stake out my area - learned that a long time ago. It usually stops the encroachment

Bob Buchanan said:

TomS wrote: >> Dogs bark, bite, poop, pee, carry ticks, fleas, scare wildlife away and other nasty things.

Yep -- nothing worse than a kid with fleas, ticks, and other nasty things. 

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I knew you'd see it my way....

Bob Buchanan said:

Yep -- nothing worse than a kid with fleas, ticks, and other nasty things. 

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You mean like lice? 


I too worry that a sign may give the wrong impression about your furry kid. I'd try and find another solution.

Good Luck!