7 Essential RV Supplies For Dog Owners

Whether you’re living in your RV or just taking it out for a weekend trip, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to bring your dog along with you. As a dog lover, it makes sense that you’d be fantasizing about hitting the open road and exploring the wonders of nature with your best friend right by your side.

For this experience to go off without a hitch, though, it requires a good bit of planning and preparing to make sure that your dog will be comfortable and properly cared for. There are several supplies that every dog owner needs to make sure that they have so that their dog’s RV experience is as good as possible.

There are some obvious supplies that most people are aware of, such as a bed, leash and collar, and a basket of toys; but there’s also some supplies that lots of people won’t realize that they need until they actually need it! This post will highlight 7 essential RV supplies that every dog owner needs.

​Portable Water Bottle

​A 50 pound dog requires half a gallon of water per day, and even more so if they’re partaking in different physical activities. It’s absolutely essential that your dog has constant access to water so that they can drink whenever they get thirsty. Many owners supply a water bowl within the RV itself, but some forget about having portable water bottles.

Any time that you go on an outdoor adventure with your dog, whether it be a hike, a swim, or a simple romp around a field, you should have a water bottle ready to go with clean drinking water. This will do wonders in preventing dehydration in your dog and allow them to safely enjoy the outdoors.

Non-Spill Food Bowl

RVs aren’t too different from small apartments in some ways! One huge and obvious difference, though, is that RVs move, so your supplies need to account for that. In terms of dog supplies, a food bowl that can stay in place and not spill despite the constant movement of an RV is quite important!

Not only will this bowl make it easier for your dog to eat while on the road, but it will also save you the headache of having to clean up spilled food after every single trip. A non-spill food bowl essentially entails a bowl that can grab onto the floor with a rubber base so that it doesn’t slide around. Additionally, a deeper bowl will help to contain food better so bumps can’t easily toss it out of the bowl.

Care Seat Belt Harness

If you’ve ever taken your dog with you in the car, you know just how clumsy they can be in a moving vehicle. Although they have 4 legs, they can’t seem to hold themselves still and end up sliding all around the car. While this is funny to watch, it’s definitely not very safe and should be addressed if you’re driving around your dog a lot.

In the past, I would have to wrap my dog’s leash around the headrest of my car to keep them from flying around. Fortunately, car seat belt harnesses are much more widely-available and do a great job keeping dogs safe. Simply strap your dog into their harness and buckle them in — it’s that easy! This cheap investment helps to ensure that your dog stays far out of harm’s way.

Outdoor Bathing Tool

An active outdoor lifestyle will bring a good amount of dirtiness with it. If your dog is a bit naughty or adventurous and happens to explore some bushes, ponds, or mud puddles, they’ll need to be cleaned off before coming back into your RV. Therefore, a reliable and simple bathing tool is an absolute necessity.

There’s quite a few solutions for this extremely common problem, fortunately. The bathing tool below attaches directly to your water hookup and delivers a healthy stream of water that will quickly clean off any pup. It also includes a built-in scrubber to help you clean any dirt and grime that’s hiding beneath the fur.

When you’re living in such close quarters to your dog, you’ll want to make sure that they’re 100% squeaky clean.

Life Jacket

Dogs are generally known for being naturally good swimmers. In fact, they have an entire swimming style named after them — the doggy paddle! However, this doesn’t mean that they can just be sent off to play in a body of water without some extra safety precautions being taken. Mother nature is unpredictable, and strong current or cramp in your dog can quickly create a dangerous situation.

A dog life jacket will help to ensure that your dog always stays afloat while in a body of water. This doesn’t make them immune to drowning, and you’ll still need to keep a close eye on them, but it does drastically improve their safety. A well-fitting and buoyant dog life jacket will keep your dog’s head above water and will allow you to rescue them if needed.

Flea & Tick Medication

Ticks and fleas absolute ​love​ dogs and will latch onto them as soon as they’re given the chance. In nature, there are many opportunities for dogs to be exposed to these nasty creatures, so you need to take precautions to protect your dog from the many types of fleas and ticks that they can run into.

The best medication is a preventative so that your dog never gets fleas or ticks in the first place. This is done through an effective flea and tick collar, and these are quite cheap and last for a long time. Your dog should have this collar on whenever they’re going outside, as you’ll never know where they’ll pick up a flea or tick.

Proof Of Vaccinations

We saved one of the least obvious supplies for last! If you plan on taking your dog to public locations such as parks or beaches, you’ll absolutely need to have proof of vaccinations on hand at all times. This is because many locations will want you to present this information to verify that your dog is healthy and won’t potentially infect other dogs at that location. This verification is great to see, as it shows that parks and beaches care about the health of their visitors.

Any time that your dog has been vaccinated, their vet has given you documentation for that vaccination. If you’ve lost this paperwork, simply contact your vet and ask for a new copy.

Honorable Mentions

While the 7 supplies above are all essential for dogs that are living the RV life, they’re not everything that you’ll need for your dog. Below are a few more supplies that every dog owner should have in their supply bin to ensure the well-being of their pooch.

• Dog toothpaste and toothbrush
• Biodegradable poop bags
• Stimulating toys
• Car seat hammock
• Hiking backpack
• Doggy first aid kit
• Crate