Paws, Claws, & Life on the Road: Traveling Full-Time with Pets in Your RV
Paws, Claws, & Life on the Road Is Sponsored by RV Roofing Solutions
Are you a pet parent who refuses to leave your furry, spikey, or slimey family member behind when you hit the road? Yeah. Seriously, same.
Whether you're traveling with a reactive Belgian Malinois, a 17-year-old curmudgeon cat, a 10-pound ball of Shih Tzu energy, or — and I say this with full love and zero judgment — an exotic pet named after a tasty campfire treat, this episode was made for you.
One thing I can promise you: you are going to want to watch this one on YouTube. You'll understand why the moment S’mores makes her grand entrance.
What This Episode Is About
Jennifer and I are joined by three incredible guests: Ashley and Steve from Campfires & Motors, and Teal from Towed You So. Together, we deep-dive into the real, unfiltered, laugh-out-loud, and occasionally heartbreaking truths about what it takes to travel full-time with your animal buddies.
We get into pet food logistics on the road, emergency vet visits far from home, reactive dogs at campground dog parks, exotic pets that turn heads everywhere you park, and even ferret math. If you don’t know what ferret math is, buckle up. It’s a lesson they didn’t teach you in school. (Unless, like me, your ninth-grade study hall teacher had ferrets in her class. But seeing it logistically play out on the road is still wild.)
And just so you know, we also have a companion pet resource page at learntorv.com/traveling-with-pets with additional resources and tips that go hand-in-hand with this episode. And Jennifer has pulled together an incredible blog this week about living in an RV with pets that you are not going to want to miss!
This episode is perfect for you if you’re:
• An RVer who travels with dogs, cats, or exotic pets and wants real-world advice, not just theory
• Someone trying to figure out pet food, vet care, and medications while constantly moving
• A full-time RV family looking for an out-of-the-box pet — I bet you have an idea by the end of this episode!
• An RVer with a reactive or high-needs pet looking for tips from others on how they navigate campgrounds
• Anyone who has ever impulsively adopted a pet on the road
• A nomad considering adding a pet to your rig for the first time
What You’ll Learn
As always, I’m only giving you enough here to spark your curiosity! But it killed the cat, you know! So you better jump over to the episode quick to scratch that itch and get the full details.
Traveling With Pets Full-Time: The Real Talk
✅ Pros of RVing with Pets | ⚠️ Challenges to Plan For |
Built-in campground conversation starters, especially with exotics | Finding specialty pet food in unfamiliar areas |
Your pet gets to experience incredible places and hikes with you | Emergency vet care requires advance research in every new location |
Constant companionship on long travel days | Reactive pets need extra management at campgrounds with off-leash dogs |
Kids have a source of comfort through frequent moves | Exotic pets have temperature, diet, and legal requirements that vary by state |
Some pet resources (like Tractor Supply vet clinics) are easier to navigate than you’d expect | Impulse adoptions on the road are a real and dangerous temptation |
Pet Food on the Road: How Everyone Handles It
With an 85-pound Belgian Malinois, a high-protein Vizsla, a wet-food-only Shih Tzu, an elderly cat with hyperparathyroidism, and designer frugs with sensitive stomachs, our crew has basically written the manual on road pet food logistics. We share how we each source food on the road, including one big fan of Tractor Supply, whose nationwide locations turned out to be a total game-changer for more than just dog kibble.
Looking for gear and supply ideas to stock up before your next trip? Check out Pet Essentials for RV Life: Smart Picks from 6 Innovative Brands on learntorv.com for a roundup of products our community loves on the road.
Emergency Vet Care Far From Home
Every single one of us has dealt with emergency vet care on the road. Every. Single. One. From stitches and staples, a mystery ingestion in the Florida Keys, and anaphylactic shock, we have handled a few doozies.
We share what happened, how we handled it, and the lessons we took away. One of the biggest? Digital vaccination records. Teal started keeping screenshots of all of Sassy’s vaccine records on her phone after an incident, and it’s saved them multiple times since. We also talk about how to find vets before you need one and why you should never assume your dog’s regular vet can handle a same-day emergency — even when you are in the area.
Want to go deeper on this topic before you listen? We’ve got you covered with two great reads: Emergency Vet Visits on the Road: What RVers Need to Be Prepared For walks you through exactly what to have in place before something happens. And if you’ve ever wondered whether pet insurance is worth it on the road, Budgeting for Barking & Meowing: Pet Insurance Explained breaks it all down.
How to Prep for Emergency Vet Care on the Road
Step | What To Do |
1 | Keep digital copies of all vaccination records and vet history on your phone as screenshots or in a cloud folder. |
2 | Search Google Maps for emergency vet near me and save 1-2 options when camping in a new area. |
3 | Check the Tractor Supply app to find nearby locations – many have on-staff vets or low-cost clinics. |
4 | Know your pet’s weight category for flea, tick, and heartworm medications so you can get refills on the road. |
5 | Keep a small pet first-aid kit on hand, including Benadryl (consult your vet for proper dosing). |
6 | If your pet has a reactive history or a known condition, brief any new vet upfront so there are no surprises. |
Exotic Pets on the Road: Ferrets, [SPOILER!], Snakes, and Beyond
Okay, this is where things get truly wild, and in the best way possible. Jennifer walks us through years of ferret math (spoiler: it starts with one and it does not end there), a sand boa whose dietary preferences made life interesting across state lines, and an unexpected pet that required homemade diapers. I cannot make this up.
But the real star of this segment? S’mores. Teal’s [I’M NOT TELLING YOU! YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO WATCH/LISTEN!] who came into the family after a seven-mile hike through Bryce Canyon and has since stolen the entire internet’s heart. Teal walks us through everything: what [SPOILER] eat, how they handle travel days, why temperature control when boondocking matters, and why S’mores’ dad calls her his emotional support [SPOILER].
Fun fact: [SPOILER] are primarily nocturnal, identify voices, and can run at genuinely alarming speeds when given free rein of an RV for a night. Ask Teal how she knows.
Helping Your Pets Adjust to New Spaces and Frequent Moves
We just moved into a new rig this past week — and I mean just. It has been chaos in a hand basket, but it’s been a good reminder of how important it is to give your animals time to settle.
We share strategies for introducing pets to a new rig, including how we staggered the move for our cat Edward (17 years old, maximum curmudgeon energy, absolute king) and our Shih Tzu Stella to reduce stress. The key? Points of familiarity, patience, and making sure your cat has claimed the best recliner in the garage before anyone else does. Even the kid who owns it. (Because, obviously, he doesn’t. The cat does.)
Ready to Dive Deeper?
The full episode is where all of this really comes alive — the laughs, the vet emergencies, the S’mores debut, the ferret math, and the one campground story about a 150-pound pig on a leash that I genuinely cannot stop thinking about.
For more reading before or after you listen, check out the RVing with Pets guide on learntorv.com and our feature Traveling with Pets – Ashley Wright. Both are great companion resources that cover a lot of ground we couldn’t fit into one episode.
Want to keep up with Westley (Jennifer’s frug who has his own fan club)? Find him at @WestleyTheFrug on Instagram.
And if you want to follow our guest co-hosts on their own adventures:
• Ashley and Steve: campfiresandmotors.com
• Teal: towedyouso.com
And of course, if you’ve been thinking about joining the Campfire Crew on Patreon, this is a great episode to jump in on. Our Campfire Crew members get early access to every episode, exclusive bonus content, free merch, and a community of RVers who are genuinely living this life every day. Three membership tiers, each with different perks. Your first week is free, so it’s a pretty low-stakes way to see if it’s your vibe.
Where to Listen and How to Connect
Catch “Paws, Claws, & Life on the Road” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and everywhere else podcasts are streamed.
Join the Campfire Crew on Patreon to support the podcast and unlock early access, exclusive bonus episodes, and member merchandise. Three membership tiers, each with their own perks. What’s not to love?
Connect with the community in the free Learn to RV: The Community on Facebook. Follow @LearnToRV on Instagram for behind-the-scenes moments and travel inspiration.
Explore more RV tips, resources, and guides at learntorv.com. Want to get involved or share a story? Email us at connect@learntorv.com.
You Don’t Have to Choose Between the Road and Your Pets
Nomad life doesn’t mean leaving your animals behind. It means figuring out how to bring them with you thoughtfully, practically, and with a lot of good humor for the moments when the [I SAID SPOILER!] escapes at 5:30 in the morning.
Learn To RV: The Podcast exists for every kind of RVer — full-timers, part-timers, weekend warriors, and still-deciders — who wants honest, real-talk knowledge from people actually living this life. This episode is exactly that.
Subscribe so you never miss an episode, share learntorvthepodcast.com with a fellow pet-loving RVer, and leave a review to help other nomadic pet parents find this community. The road is better with your animals in it. Let’s make sure they travel well.
Sponsored by RV Roofing Solutions
Your RV is your home, your pets’ home, and the base camp for every adventure. And all of that starts with a roof that holds up through every season and every state. RV Roofing Solutions provides comprehensive RV roof inspections and repairs, traveling nationwide to meet you wherever your rig is parked.
Visit rvroofingsolutions.com to schedule your free consultation. When your roof is protected, you’re free to focus on what matters: the journey, the friends, and the animals riding along with you.
This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you.
By day, Tasha Martin wears the title of copywriter extraordinaire, crafting compelling stories and sharp, strategic messaging. But when night falls, she steps into her second superpower—podcast queen. With a natural gift for conversation and a voice that draws listeners in, Tasha brings energy, curiosity, and heart to every episode she helps create.
When she’s not writing or podcasting, you’ll find Tasha out exploring. She loves traveling with her family and seeking out unique outings, hidden gems, and memorable experiences on the road. Whether it’s a quirky roadside stop, a scenic trail, or a new town to wander through, Tasha brings the same sense of adventure to her travels that she brings to her creative work.
A storyteller, a traveler, and a connector—Tasha is the kind of voice every RV community needs.
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