RVing With Your Pet
Running with the Pack
By Julee Meltzer
Like us – our dogs enjoyed a relatively secure and predictable existence. Yet at the same time, they also suffered from a detectable degree of boredom. For example, even though they had a large, fenced in back yard, neither of our dogs wanted to stay out there. In fact, our youngest dog spent most of his time digging under the fence in an endless attempt to escape from his suburban lifestyle. Similarly, when they weren't going on walks – our dogs spent a lot of time sitting around and moping. After a while, they even stopped chasing the cats.
That was four years ago. Today, our dogs spend their time living and traveling in a 34–foot motorhome. In truth, I'm not sure whether they even remember what it's like to live in a regular house. Yet in some ways, very little has changed for our dogs since becoming full–time RVers. They still spend the majority of their time sitting by our side. They love going for walks. And when we get into our minivan to explore new places, they yip and howl until we are forced to bring them with us.
Yet in other ways, life is very different for our dogs. Instead of going on the same walk every day, our dogs now get to explore new environments all the time. Their walks are longer, more frequent, and infinitely less predictable. Instead of encountering the neighborhood cat – our dogs now get to see wild turkeys, packs of coyotes, snakes, deer, alligators, and an endless assortment of other dogs.
Best of all, because we no longer stay in an area that has cold weather, our dogs get to enjoy extended walks 365 days a year. In January of last year, they were exploring the shores of a beautiful lake in southern Arizona. In past winters in our house, our dogs spent every night sleeping in front of the TV. This winter, they'll sit in front of a campfire, under the stars each night.
In short – our dogs get to enjoy many of the same advantages of full–time RVing that we do.
Cesar Milan, the extremely talented dog behaviorist, (otherwise known as the "Dog Whisperer") believes that dogs have a life–long need to move forward in an endless quest for exploration and discovery. It could explain why coyotes and wolves continuously move on to new territories – even though they have enough food. It might also explain why our dogs rejected their fenced in yard back in Maine. Even though it was spacious, it offered nothing in the way of exploration or adventure. Full–time RVing, while not perfect, does provide our dogs with a comfortable version of the adventuresome lifestyle they seem to need.
Are there better lifestyles for pets that full–time RVing? No doubt. I've always believed that the perfect life for a dog or a cat (or a person) would be to work on a family farm in a warm tropical setting. But until we find some way to pull that one off – we'll have to stick with cruising the nation's back roads looking for something new and exciting. In the meantime, if you pass us on the highway and notice our dogs holding up a sign in the window that reads "SAVE US" – keep it to yourself.
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