Fulltime RV Living with Dogs. Our experience.

We have now lived in our RV for 6 months and have been on the road for 4 of those months. We went into this adventure with a 1-year old son, 1-year old beagle/lab mix dog (Chance), and a 6-month-old Pure Bred Redbone Coonhound (Marley).

When we first set out, I was so concerned about how Chance would adapt to RV living. He is a pound puppy that we had rescued, he was skittish, and he was an escape artist; but Chance has flourished as an RV dog. He loves meeting new people and getting pets. He loves to curl up in front of our electric fireplace and sleep. He is calm and relaxed in his new home.

I was not concerned about Marley in the beginning. She’s a puppy and did not really have much experience being anything but an RV dog. However, Marley did not adapt well, at all.

Marley is a coonhound, which means she is a prey driven dog. She wants to jump, howl, and tree any animal and person she sees outside.

I bet you can imagine how well that goes over in a RV park.

But, we were working her.

We were teaching her to sit and be quiet when meeting new people, so she would get extra pets.

We were taking her on walks multiple times a day.

We had her a bunch of different toys, including balls and ropes, for her to play with.

But still, it was not enough.

I believe Marley began to get extremely bored and had too much energy for the RV lifestyle. Which is kind of crazy to think of because we are outside more now than we ever have been, but she has less room inside to play and to just get away from us.

I also believe that the medical emergency she had a few months back left her with some brain damage.

What ever it was, Marley began to lash out.

She would randomly attack Chance. She would randomly nip or snap at Kenneth or my hand when we touched her, if she did not want to be bothered.

And then, one day when I was at work, Marley snapped at Declan.

I have never had a dog be aggressive towards a child and it is a behavior I can not tolerate, especially in a small space with a toddler.

We knew this meant we could no longer keep Marley.

Our son must be our first priority, no matter what.

After everything we have been through with our girl, it was absolutely heart breaking to have to make that decision.

We are so far away from family and friends who may have been willing to take her in, and so we began to talk to others in the RV park.

One lady, who has become a great friend of ours, has a brother that trains dogs. He said the Idaho Falls animal shelter is one that would be able to find her a foster home and/or new owner fairly quickly. Many individuals who use dogs for hunting frequent this facility to foster and take ownership of the dogs.

Surrendering a dog to a shelter is not something I have ever had to do before, but sometimes we have to make those hard decisions.

After we arrived to the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter, they directed us to a privately owned shelter called Snake River. The people at this shelter were so nice. They wanted to know all the details about Marley so that they could make her happy and find her the perfect home.

I am so thankful for the kindness they showed to me and the way they treated Marley.

Walking out of that shelter without her felt like I was losing a piece of my heart, but I know I was making the right decision for my family.

I will always think of her and wonder how her life turned out. I pray she has found the perfect family and home.

Can dogs live happily in a RV?

Yes.

Chance does.

But I think the main thing to consider is their personality. They have a personality just like people and unfortunately, not every pet is made out for RV living.

Marley just happened to be one of those.

I wish I could give you the perfect recipe for what dog will make a good RV companion, but I can’t.

However, I do want to stress for you to have a backup plan, just in case.

Think about it before going fulltime or getting a new pet.

If your pet is not suited for RV living, what will you do?

Will you give your pet away?

Will you give up RV life?

Will you just try to make it work and hope your pet eventually adapts?

Ask yourself the hard questions now, so if it happens you are not blind sided like we were.

These past couple of days of trying to decide what to do about Marley were very tough on us.

We do not plan to add another dog to our family, unless we move back into a sticks and bricks.

Keep us in your thoughts as we learn to live without our girl in our lives and keep our boy Chance in your thoughts as she has been his best friend and constant companion for almost a year.