camping tips
Does anyone have any tips? He has a bit of a sensitive gut so we are going to bring a few cases of water to make it easier on him. What have some of your experiences been? Thanks. |
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| We tent camp with our dogs quite often. It has always been a good experience. 1st we acclimate them to the tent, if they are a new dog or foster. We usually set it up at home to do a test run the 1st time of the season - check for holes, make sure all parts are there, and also do a spray coating of waterproofing. So the dogs get to check it all out. Our current tent is a cabin tent - very large rectangle, and has side walls that go straight up and you can walk around in the whole thing. (Previously we had really big dome tents). If you have an RV, - do the same thing. If the dog is new to it, I usually take one of our fold up metal crates. That way, if you really need it, you have it. When we used to have our popup camper, it was great to set them in the shade under the slide outs. That way, wet dogs from swimming, etc could dry, and also catch a cool breeze there in the shade. My current dogs are fine with being zipped in the tent, but that is NOT always the case. A tent (or RV) is really not made to contain a dog who scratches or really wants to get out. I always bring several cable tie outs for the dogs -the kind w/ snaps on both ends. They can go around a tree, a picnic table, etc. I also have one pound in the ground dog stake - so if we are not by anything, we can use that in a pinch. I pack the dog food in ziplock bags, also any meds or other dog stuff too. Pack many poop bags too! Bug spray - I like the bug wipes for the dogs - really nice for around their ears and faces. More so for my smooth coated dogs (or if your OES is clipped), but still handy for the hairy ones too. Brushes and some conditioner is helpful - if you get in nasty stickers, a comb or slicker is really helpful. And most campground water is hard water, so the conditioner can help prevent tangles or help get stuff out of the coat. My last trip was in August with my 8 year old granddaughter and 3 dogs all in a tent - it was going great until the food poisoning...but that had nothing to do with the dogs! Good luck and have fun.  |
| Maude was our best camper. She was up for anything. We very quickly learned they must be on leash or zip line at all times. Way too many new things and they take off......who knew cows were so exciting. Also things out there that will want to drive off and eat your dog: coyotes, etc. Beware sunstroke and heat. The excitement of camping and the outdoors ......we almost lost Maude to sunstroke when we went canoeing with her. That same dog also kept bears away from us.......she growled, we listened and went into the car, closed up and a bear came around the car. Bring food, but keep it out of the sun least is spoil quickly, also bring water. They will want to drink out of every stream and lake but there's a whole lot of nasties in the water......would you drink it?? Bring a doggie first aid kit, physical injury and tummy problems.....also hydrogen peroxide in case they eat something bad and must be made to upchuck it back. |
dawn made me want to pack the car and drive out and setup tent next to hers.  susan made me call marriott and make reservations.   |
| We've camped with Brick and he really enjoys it. But we always keep him on a leash or lead. Want to make sure that his/her lead doesn't get near tent poles or ropes; or awning poles & ropes if an RV. I don't think it's a big deal for the dog, but he/she could damage those pieces or bring something down if they did get tangled. |
| Here's a picture of us camping 2 yrs ago, in Wisconsin. In the picture are Todd, and Bassets Simon and Harley. Chewie was already off to Kristine's house for family camp! But he was there for 2 days before the basset event actually started. It would help to click and make this one big...otherwise the dogs look like specks!  ps - if you look in the window in the center of the tent - you can see the dog crate set up, and we used it as a shelf.  |
| We don't camp anymore (my back just won't stand for it), but we would take our old Shepherd/Dobie mix with us all the time. He was so well-trained to stay off the bed, he wouldn't even touch the sleeping bags on the ground - that was our bed, not his! These were our "always/never" rules: - Always bring his fleece blanket so he had his familiar place to crash. - Always keep flea and tick repellant handy (in case he jumped into the water and washed it all away). - Always check on him first (after each adventure - big or small) to be sure he is fed, watered, cool, burr-free, etc. - Always keep him on a leash, either in our hands or attached to something immoveable. - Always keep a basic first aid kit handy (for us and for him), and check expiration dates on any medications (Benadryl, aspirin, antibiotic ointment, etc) BEFORE the trip. - Never leave him unattended. That included visiting the bathrooms separately, so one of us was always there with him. Most important - ALWAYS HAVE FUN!  For the record, before we got Max, we would take our cat, Sprockett, camping with us. She was leash-trained, and loved to hike. She'd walk on her leash until she got tired, then sit down and wait for me to put her in my kitty-pack. When she was rested enough, she tap on my hip through the pack, and I'd take her out to hike some more. I do miss her! |
| We camp with our dog on every trip we take during the summer, when our puppy comes we plan to do the same (once it is old enough and obedience trained). Our dog loves the tent soo much it's hard to get him to leave it in the morning. We always try to camp somewhere the dog can go swimming, its really fun for them and keeps him from overheating. Sometimes he'll lay down at the shore. We usually bring one of those tie downs that screw into the ground so we can bring the dogs with us. Our dogs are generally excited by the prospect of the outdoors and would much rather come on the adventure than be stuck at home in the city! Some camping things that are handy: -A retractable leash or "freedom" leash is very handy, dogs are going to want to explore more than their leash allows. The camping areas where we live are not off leash so this is way more fun for them as far as exploring goes. -We stuff kong toys with kibble and some water and freeze them, also stick a liver treat into the little hole in the top; this keeps them occupied during the drive or when running around isn't an option (like when you have to set up the tent). -I bought a bunch of ziplock containers with the screw top lids and I freeze them solid and have one for each day we are camping. When kept in the cooler they stay frozen. Pull them out for the dogs, ours loves it, we add water to it throughout the day. He will also cool his feet off on it. -Always bring grooming supplies, ours once ran over a rock and his toenail was damaged and needed to be cut, luckily his clippers were in his puppy bag. -Toys and things to chew are good for campfire time so doggies can settle down and enjoy everybody's company. -Make sure there is shade available for the dogs! Especially if they are used to air conditioning. -Make sure all of their I.D. tags are ON their collar. We left our doggie with family members for a couple hours and he escaped to come find us... we had his training collar WITHOUT tags on it on him, I panicked because he was in a strange place with no ID. Luckily he isn't the running away type and came back when he figured out we had returned. -Don't forget some sort of dog bed if they are used to having one, our griffon mix has bad hips and sleeping on the floor is uncomfortable, we forgot his bed so he made himself comfortable on my pillow instead. (I didn't have the heart to kick him off of it so I slept without a pillow for the whole trip). -Make sure they are up to date on their shots, heartworm etc, (there are raccoons in our area that carry canine distemper) dogs are much more likely to come into contact with wildlife when camping! Have fun! Camping with dogs is 100% more fun than camping without them! We are taking our guy on a back country canoe trip later in the summer and are SO looking forward to it! |
| We never had a problem taking the boys with us when we camped, guess we didn't even think about it. Took all the stuff we needed but just expected it to go well. Loved the bassets, right by the food. |
| Simon has been camping but not Garfunkel. Dh thinks he will bark too much...like when we are trying to sleep. My thought is he will be fine. Years ago we had a Siberian Husky named Vaughn. He was a great escape artist in our last house and this one. He also went camping with us. The little stinkpot figured out that if he stuck his nose under the zipper in the door of the tent and pushed up, the zipper would go up. We had a nice little incident with a screaming women in the middle of the night on that one. We learned to pile everything we had in front of the door and keep him on a leash attached to us when we slept. |
Guest wrote: dawn made me want to pack the car and drive out and setup tent next to hers. susan made me call marriott and make reservations. ROFLMAO!!!!! Those were my exact reactions as well. KB |
My husband and I camp, sorry RV with our two dogs. We use two Xpens put together to make a dog run. We use to use tie-outs but the dogs seem more relaxed in the pen. It's also nicer for us as we aren't tripping over the cords or untangling them.  It's sort of hard to see in the picture but the run in on the left. We had tarped around 2/3 of the sides because there were some beagles on the site behind us that our dogs just didn't like and wouldn't stop barking at. Out of sight out of mind. We have many tarps that we can use to give them shade of keep them out of the rain. We are currently on the hunt for a use easy-up that we can modify to fit like a roof over the pen. |
| We have always gone camping and stayed away at race meetings with dogs and children. Sprocket hasn't sampled any camping yet as with a bad back and gallons of rain we haven't had any race meetings this year but we are going to watch and stay over in 2 weeks time.We have a small camper van with a fold out bed. Hoping he takes to it ok and doesn't keep me awake all night. Daughter Sue will be in a small tent with Sprox's brother Dougal.x |
| We tent camped on a lake almost very weekend for several years with our female OES, our goal was to start the last weekend of March and end the weekend before Thanksgiving. We were in central Texas and that was our water ski season. Beth was about about 2 1/2 when we started and wasn't kept on any sort of leash. We got to our campsites by boat to avoid being surprised by unwanted visitors at night. We didn't know the service Beth provided until we left her home one weekend and the campsite was overrun by raccoons! She also found a field of cockleburs one trip which is a real treat to pull out when an OES is literally covered with them! |
| we camp all the time with our 3 dogs. But we are in a travel trailer, in Texas its to hot to tent camp in the summer so we gave that up. They do really well. We do bring large containers of bottled water for them. Also keep on a leash at all times, and check your campsite area really well for any kind of poop they can eat, or other thigs previous campers left behind. |
You guys make me want to run out and get an RV to go camping in!!! I used to tent camp but now I need the a/c and other small luxuries!  |
| I couldn't sleep while tent camping as I was always worried the dogs would find some way to break out if they heard something out there they wanted to play with/hunt/protect us from. We started looking at RV's that same trip. I also like have the A/C as both our dogs are long hair breeds and in the heat we are having these days can over heat quickly. A couple cool down hours in the Travel Trailer is a much in my eyes to keep the little guys happy and healthy. PLUS I like having the comforts that come with having my own bathroom, and (almost) full kitchen. |
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