Live with Dogs in a Mobile Home

Dogs make great companions, but it can be tough to keep dogs when you don’t have a lot of room. Keeping dogs in a mobile home has specific challenges all its own. Whether you’re getting new dogs or transitioning existing pets, you can make living with dogs in a mobile home easier. By choosing the right dogs, keeping your dogs happy, and dealing with common issues, you and your pets can live comfortably in your small space.

Steps

Choosing the Right Dogs

1. Select low-energy breeds. Choose dogs that naturally have a lower energy level and will be happier living in a small space like a mobile home. Low-energy dogs will need less exercise and may even bark less.
   • Basset hounds, bulldogs, shar-peis, chow chows, bull mastiffs, and Shih Tzus are all low energy dogs.
2. Choose small dogs. Select small dogs that will find your mobile home cozy, not cramped. Especially if you have multiple dogs, small animals will be easier to care for in a tight space.
   • Examples of small dogs with low energy levels are pugs, English spaniels, French bulldogs, and Boston terriers.
3. Pick dogs that are at least 5 years old. More mature dogs will sleep more and be less likely to get into mischief in your mobile home. Puppies tend to chew on your things, need more training, and need to go to the bathroom more frequently. Older dogs can provide great companionship while minimizing the enormous effort it takes to raise a puppy.
   • Especially in the tight space of a mobile home, puppies are more likely to get into your things, be it shoes, household cleaners, or food.
4. Spend some one-on-one time with a dog before taking it home. Ask the breeder, pet store worker, or shelter worker if you can play with the dog you want to be yours in a private room. There, you can observe the pup’s behavior more closely. Does the dog nip when you play? Does it bark a lot? Especially if the dog will have to get along with an existing dog, these are important things to consider.
   • Most dog vendors have rooms where adopters can get to know potential pets in a more private setting.
5. Ask the breeder, shelter, or pet store questions about the dog. Make the staff aware of your living situation, and ask them honestly if this dog would be happy in a home of your size. Ask about the dog’s temperament, the reason it was given up for adoption if applicable, and any problem behaviors you should be aware of.
   • It serves neither you nor the dog you want if they are not a good fit for your living situation.
6. Perform a meet-and-greet with any existing dogs. Let the pet store, shelter, or breeder know that you have an existing dog and you’d like the two pups to meet. A controlled meeting with both dogs on leash at a neutral location will give you a good idea of whether the two dogs’ personalities will mesh well.
   • You might say, “I really like this dog, but I have a pet at home she would need to get along with. Can we arrange a meeting before I commit to taking her home?
   • The breeder, shelter, or pet store can advise on the best introduction strategies given the personalities of the two individual dogs.

Keeping Your Dog Happy in a Small Space

1. Feed and walk your dogs at the same time every day. Maintaining a routine helps your dogs know what to expect. Having calm dogs is more critical in a small space like a mobile home, where it’s difficult for your pets to burn off excess energy. Dogs feel comforted by a regular routine just as people do.
   • The more consistent your routine, the less anxiety your pet will experience in the small space of your mobile home.
2. Teach your dogs useful commands, such as sit, stay, come, and leave it. Hire a trainer or use YouTube videos to train your dogs, so they listen to you in your mobile home park. Your dogs will likely have lots of neighbors in the park who may have pets and children less well behaved than your own.
3. Pet and play with your dogs for at least 10 minutes twice a day. Reduce your dogs’ stress level in a mobile home by making sure they get lots of affection. Dogs are social creatures that thrive on affection from you, their pack leader. You can give treats, scratches, or play ball.
4. Walk your dogs once in the morning and once in the evening. Give your dogs regular exercise to avoid destructive behaviors in your mobile home. Aim to give them at least one session of high-intensity exercise a week as well.
   • If you have a busy work schedule and can’t meet your dogs’ exercise needs, hire a dog walker to keep your pups exercised and relaxed.
   • A dog park or cage-free daycare can be a great environment for your dogs to get some heart-pumping exercise, too.
5. Create an area just for your pets in your home. Help your dogs relax by giving them dog beds or crates with familiar toys inside and water nearby. Dogs with their own spaces will feel calmer and less inclined to nose about your mobile home looking for a spot to call their own.
6. Go on group walks with three or four other dogs. Socialize your dogs so your pets get experience being around other animals and people. Living in a mobile home park means your dogs will have lots of neighbors, both canine and human, to get along with. You can use it as a training opportunity to refine some of your dogs’ skills.
   • The more socialized your pups are, the less likely they are to display aggressive behaviors.
7. Dog-proof your home. Encase power cords in protective tubing, place breakables and dangerous everyday items, such as razors, out of reach, and pick any small objects, such as cotton swabs or hair ties, up off the floor. In a mobile home, all the hazards normally present in a larger home are condensed into a more compact space.
   • Though you may feel a bit silly, going through your home on all fours like a dog can help you identify hazards you should address.

Dealing with Common Issues

1. Install skirting to keep your dog from going under the house. Buy mobile home skirting at your local home improvement store and install it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keeping your dogs out from underneath the house will keep them from chewing any electrical wires or accidentally disturbing your utility hook up.
   • Especially if you live somewhere warm, your dogs may enjoy going underneath your home for shade or to dig holes.
2. Read your park’s rules about pets. Sign up for your park’s listserv and get a copy of the park’s handbook for tenants. Most park landlords can change the rules regarding pets with only 6 months notice. Keeping on top of the current rules will avoid any unpleasant surprises reading your dogs’ right to live in your home.
   • Rules about pets in mobile homes vary from park to park. Arrange a meeting with your landlord if you need more information about permissible breeds or the number of pets allowed.
3. Get mobile home insurance. Dog bites are the most common liability claim on mobile home insurance policies. To protect your family and your dogs, contact your local insurance agent to secure a policy for your home. Add any provisions you feel are necessary to cover your pets.

References

See also

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• Choose a Camping Trailer
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• Choose a Best Rv Park
• Clean an RV Awning
• Secure Your RV
• Replace the Roof Gasket Seal on a Coleman Popup Trailer
• Travel in an RV for a Year
• Plan an RV Trip

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