I want to start this blog post by saying this: I want every dog parent of Pit-bulls, German Shepard, Rottweilers, Huskies, Dobermans or Boxers (or any other dog breed that has been on an ‘aggressive dog breed’ list) to know that I support you in giving your dog its best life. I hear you in the struggle it is to adventure safely with your dog. I understand the frustration when people are automatically fearful of your best friend. Therefore, I decided to write about how we can overcome this challenge and continue to adventure. This post is saturated with resources for training your dog, advocating for your dog, and finding housing while on adventures with your dog.
Recommendation #1: Training
My first recommendation when you are traveling with a supposed aggressive breed is to ensure you have the CGC certification offered via the American Kennel Club. You can even continue training to receive the advanced CGC and work toward other enjoyable training benchmarks, such as agility or obedience training to really impress the hosts you will be interacting with on your traveling experiences. Refer to my training while traveling blog post here to learn more about how to find trainers via the American Kennel Club and different strategies to use for training your dog.
After you have done some training and education for your dog- do some more! In a controlled way, practice taking your dog on hikes; to outdoor coffee shops, over to Lowes, Home Depot, Scheels (or any other dog friendly store near you). Recognize the areas they struggle with and train harder to allow your dog the happiest adventure life. Upgrade to busier hikes or crowded downtown areas, farmers markets and flea markets. As you expose and socialize your pup, you might find many people who are afraid of your dog; and many more people who have had positive experiences with supposed ‘aggressive’ breeds and love to love your dog. Fill your dog’s belly with treats during the training experiences so they know when it’s adventure time, it is treat time, and training is the most wonderful and exciting thing that has ever existed. For those dogs who don’t like treats, try dried liver, or giving praise through pets or play. I know it sounds gross, but I haven’t met a dog who hasn’t loved some dried liver.
Training Time 
Hiking with Dog Friends 
Dog yoga
Recommendation #2: Advocacy
When it comes to advocating for your dog, I want to encourage all traveling dogs to have a resume. I know that sounds completely crazy however I have found that people are very impressed when your dog has a resume. I’ve attached Chloe’s resume here and you can refer to it.
This is a great way to have a picture of your dog, discuss their good qualities and reasons why a campground or an Airbnb host may benefit from having that dog involved in their life and in their family. It’s also a great place to mention all of the training you’ve completed with your dog in order to really show that you’re a responsible dog owner. A resume shows how your dog will be an asset to the community where you are living.
Another way to advocate when you are traveling with a dog who may look like an aggressive breed is to make sure you would take the time to let your dog meet people in a positive manner. While hiking, exploring towns, hotels, the person you will be staying with or the campground hosts. Show off the good manners you’ve worked hard to encourage in your pup! Reinforce the awesome way your dog interacts with people and other dogs; and you may not only surprise a person who had some previous prejudices; you also might be surprised with how well your dog does in new environments.
Other little ways to advocate for your dog include if possible to have paperwork describing your dog as a mixed breed. I know this is a small action; however many campgrounds actually refuse to have dogs who are rottweilers, pit-bulls or even huskies to stay at their campground. I feel like this is awful; but know this is all due to poor experiences the landlords have had in the past. That means it is truly our responsibility to train our dogs to maximize their success at different campgrounds and adventure experiences. You can consider liability insurance for your dog as well; I know state farm insurance has this available. When hiking you can use a halter that emphasizes that your dog is friendly or “I love pets!” Nowadays; they do have masks that say your dog is practicing social distancing; but I have been letting Chloe greet people as long as we are both wearing masks and people sanitize before petting her.
Recommendation #3: Finding Adventure Homes
Finding housing with your apparently aggressive breed isn’t easy. Check out this previous post I wrote on finding housing while traveling, finding hotels while adventuring and finding places to park the RV on the road.
You can take your pup on all kinds of adventures- from camping to RV life, to hotels to short term rental homes; or even town side apartments. The key is to find a pet friendly home that does not discriminate against dog breeds. You can also use airbnb, hipcamp, the dyrt, freecampsites, google and all kinds of other housing resources. I prefer to find places that are rural; where Chloe can run around freely, or even places that have a fenced in yard available for dogs to use. I have found some incredible campsites on national forest land that are free (I found SO many using freecampsites; but also found local camp stores will often times have books that describe the free camping in the area). I even have found a few boats that were dog friendly on the Florida Keys!
The Chloe Experience
Chloe is a good dog, and some say we rescued her, but I say she has rescued me. She makes traveling the country so much easier for me. She makes me laugh every single day. During these crazy quarantine days, she is the best at receiving hugs, and listening to the craziest work related stories. She doesn’t necessarily offer advice, but she does remind me when I’m making bad decisions with this special look that makes me feel pretty foolish. She keeps me outdoors with our walks and keeps me social via dog dates or people wanting to see her. Chloe is a practical helper too, mentioning when there are deer on the road, or mice under the kayak. She also kills spiders for me if they’re in her reach.
So yeah, maybe she looks like a mini Rottweiler. Maybe she is a Rottweiler or a Doberman Pincher mix. But thus far using training, advocacy and communication Chloe and I have not been turned away from a living situation- if they were originally dog friendly. We adventure constantly, and people love to meet Chloe.
I encourage you all to never underestimate the work involved in raising your dog. Never hesitate to rescue a dog, if you’re ready to do everything you can to love him/her and educate your pup. And use these strategies to advocate for your pup to adventure with you. Let’s show that every dog can be a good dog with the right amount of love and education. ♡
With that I wish you all happy trails and happy tails! What do you struggle most with in adventuring with your apparently aggressive breed? What strategies have you found helpful? Please comment and share! In the meantime, stay healthy and love on your pup today.
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Aww great tips! I so believe it’s how you raise the dog, not the breed. Any breed can be aggressive if you raise the dog that way and any dog can be a loving pal if you raise them that way! I love that Chloe is such a great listener to you!
Thank you!! She is SUCH a great listener it’s hilarious!
FOR REAL; I agree that all dogs are good dogs! It is all about how we raise them ♡ I go on rants about this regularly, whenever I see a sign about breed restrictions.