Pet camping secrets

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby legojenn » Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:21 pm

I am lucky. I travel with my dogs all the time. I have Gordon, the beagle and Ambrose, the lab/rottie. They love travelling and get excited when they see me moving my camper around in the back yard. Honestly, I can really only handle one, and often Ambrose is left with his previous owner if it is at all possible when I go to gatherings.

They would be perfect if I could get them to not bark when I to leave them alone even if it's just to go to the washroom.
They can and do sleep in my camper with me occasionally. It's a tight fit with my trailer being a whole three feet wide. I like covering my camper with a First Up (which got destroyed last year, so a replacement is on my shopping list for Fish Creek next week), so if it's hot and dry, I will drop the wind walls, put their bed on the ground and encourage them to sleep outside. I'm also lucky that they seem to have stomachs of steel. They'll drink lake water and not get sick. Since I like to come to the US to camp, I need to buy food for them in the US, but not too much due to not being allowed to import dog food either way. I now give them Beneful, which is not the best food, but is available in both countries, and is likely from the same factory.

If there was one thing that I would really appreciate being able to better handle is the heat. Last year when I went on holidays, I went in July, and was down in Indiana. I did not feel safe leaving the dogs in the car for even 15 minutes while I went into a grocery store to get food for us. Between campgrounds, I ended up driving in the daytime with the AC blasting and setting up and getting supplies in the evening. Puttering around cities was just out of the question and I missed seeing Chicago and Milwaukee, ending up in Green Bay, which was a nice place to wander around. It was still ridiculously hot there at 9PM when we arrived. We got a break near Sault Ste-Marie, but by then we were getting to the end of the trip. If I could keep my dogs cool while I deal with the work part of road trips I would be happier.
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby bigbendhiker » Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:06 am

I've had Collies for the past 12 years or so and I've taken them (one at a time) on many camping trips. I only take them when I'm going to state parks. I usually camp at a campsite, but I have gone backpacking with them and spent the night at various sites along the trail. I always have them on a 6' leash (required in state parks in Texas), but I bring some rope to tie to 2 trees or posts if there is a covered picnic table. I pass the rope through the handle of the leash. This allows my dog room to move about while I'm setting up, cooking or whatever. As someone else stated you have to know your dog. Collies like to "talk." I have one that is about 2 years old and he talks a lot. I have yet to take him camping. The first time I take him will be to a less popular park in the middle of the week during the slow season. This way I can see how he does without disturbing others. My eight year old collie Max only barks if he has a reason. He loves to walk and other campers come up to us saying, "O look there's Lassie." He loves the attention and it's a good conversation starter with your fellow campers. So far I've only been tent camping and he sleeps in the tent. Only problem is that I have to bring a Thermarest for him or I'll be sleeping on the ground! The only other problem is when I go to take a shower and leave him at the campsite he starts barking, so I've started to take my showers late at night and leave him tied up outside the bathroom and then he's fine. Like everyone else I bring food from home, a couple of toys, and no he doesn't eat as much at first. I also bring a brush to comb his fur.

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Max at Balmorhea State Park

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Mark & Andrea Jones » Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:22 pm

I saw a brief mention on this earlier, but it is actually kind of important. Bring your dog(s)' medical records with you. IN PARTICULAR, bring their rabies vaccination certificate. I went camping a few years ago in RI and was told that I had to provide (to the campground) proof of rabies vaccinations and keep it with the dog at all times. When I said that my vet didn't give me a tag to put on her collar, they said that on the off-chance that there was an incident, I would have to be able to produce the paperwork very quickly to prove that my dog had had her vaccinations.

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Lindahun » Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:39 pm

Just ask your vet for a copy of your pets medical records.
I always keep a copy in the car with me. I've had to product
them when traveling and boarding them. Even when a private
sitter kept them.
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Verna » Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:01 pm

I always keep Sunny Day current on her Kennel Cough (Bordetella) immunization, along with all of the "normal" immunizations. I keep a copy of the Vet's records in the glove box (who keeps gloves in there anyway??) so it's always with me when travelling. If I need to board her while travelling (I hope NEVER), she's ready. If something happens to me, she can be taken to be boarded.
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby droid_ca » Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:32 pm

I've been thinking about this allot lately I will be have 4 dogs when I hopefully have my trailer finished so I got a kennel built for my truck...had to dress it up a little and make it just tall enough for when I want to take the boat with me..but as for my dogs at a camp I'm still debating if I should chain them up as I live in bear country and that just seems cruel but then I don't want to tic off other campers by having loose dogs running around...on the safe side my dogs are pretty well behaved (lots of training is going into them)...so to chain or not to chain that is my question to fellow pet campers?
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Verna » Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:09 pm

Confining your dogs is not only fair to you, but to them, to your fellow campers and follows the rules of all campgrounds I have stayed at.

My Sunny Day was attacked in February by an alleged docile family pet German Shepherd. It was a totally unprovoked attack, as we were walking on the city street (no sidewalks in my neighborhood) and we did nothing to cause the dog to run from his yard, across his invisible fence and into the middle of the street.

Even though the owners thought they had control of their dog with the invisible fence, they are still being sued by the city because they did not have the dog confined and the dog caused bodily harm to another animal.

Another way to think of it. I am very afraid of large black dogs. I can't help it, and the dogs sense I'm afraid of them, and even the mildest dog can attack due to my fear. If your dogs encounter a person who is afraid, you cannot predict what they will do.

So, please do consider confining your dogs. Please note that I didn't say "chain", but if that is the only way to confine them for every one's safety, then I guess that is the safest way.

Sunny Day spent last weekend with a 6 ft leather lead attached to her collar. And, she did drag the leash on the ground around my campsite, Pete's next door and Sharon's across the road. BUT, she was always within my sight or being taken care of by Pete's youngest son (Preston fell in love with her :) ). At no time was she wandering unattended in the campground. She's only 11 lbs, but there could still be certain people who are afraid of even a small dog.

Hopefully this makes sense (I'm a bit tired and headed for bed).
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby TJinPgh » Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:36 pm

The only pet I've ever taken with me was my bearded dragon. Seemed like a good idea until the TV broke down on the interstate and we ended up walking about three miles to a nearby KOA... carrying Gertrude along with us in a pet carrier.

I think she faired better than we did, though. 90+ degree weather.

The kids at the KOA loved her, though.

I've done nothing but tent camp since then so I haven't taken her along. Providing a place for her has been a consideration, though, in some of the designs I've come up with.

Thankfully, she doesn't need much in the line of water. Give her a good soak in the tub a couple of times a week and she's happy. And she's quite comfy at temps up to 115 degrees. So, that's never an issue either.

Biggest problem is keeping her live food at a reasonable temperature if it's too hot. While she likes it hot, they don't.

May end up sticking an AC unit in. Or, possibly, put them in a cooler bag with a half frozen freezer pack. A fully frozen one would probably make it too cold.
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Lindahun » Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:03 am

I broke down on the inter-state once and had my dog with me. Didn't have her lease and had to carry her. Couldn't do that with my 3 now, but have a cell phone and AAA so we aren't walking anywhere.

Hard to leave my dogs these days. Lyman is in the hospital so of course they have to stay home. Our world is a little upside down right now.

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby jeffmutch » Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:34 am

My Border Collie, Tosh, goes with me just about everywhere. About 99% of the time he is leashed, the other 1% is when we are very remotely camping in winter with no one else around for miles, or when we're canoeing. (no man or canine wants to be tied to a sinking boat...) I think the biggest thing dog owners don't understand is that it's for EVERYONE'S best interest to be keep them leashed. Dog parks have their place, but the world is not a dog park, the soccer field is not a dog park, and the campsite is certainly not a dog park. You need to be able to protect your pooch from whatever may be out there. They look to their leader for protection, and that will always be easier while retaining a six foot maximum distance from one another.

I've noticed that dogs on leash, including mine, often act differently when seeing another dog running free. It can make them nervous, excited, jumpy, or aggressive, and less predictable and controllable. Please do us all a favor, no matter how friendly or well behaved your K-9 may be, keep them leashed at all times. :worship:
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Kody » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:11 am

This is Kody, our GSD. She is now 6 years old and loves traveling in the car or in the boat. She has never been car sick but there is nothing so sad and miserable as a sea sick dog. She only comes out in the boat when the sea is calm now. Her longest trip in the car was 900 miles. We went from Rockhampton to Brisbane, (450 miles), dropped my wife off at the International air terminal, and then drove back home. I stopped for a "camp" ( rest, potty for Kody and snooze) for an hour plus another "potty stop" and drinks for her on the way home. Kody was a great companion to have on this long trip and she fully enjoyed it. She will have her own bed and sleeping area in the TD that I am building. We are planing an extended trip to the outback and the most dangerous thing for Kody will be snakes and possibly eating/chewing on a bait laced with "1080" poison. There is no antidote for this stuff. She has been trained not to eat food she finds but needs some extra training to bring her into proper safe practices for travel. We don't have any predators here but dingoes could be concern. I will be carrying anti-dingo equipment regardless. I can leave her in the car with all the doors and windows fully open and she won't jump out unless there is an emergency. She is very protective of the car and will be the same with the TD. Kody is pictured on the left in the avatar, the one with much less "fur" is me.

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby eaglesdare » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:23 am

bigbendhiker wrote:I've had Collies for the past 12 years or so and I've taken them (one at a time) on many camping trips. I only take them when I'm going to state parks. I usually camp at a campsite, but I have gone backpacking with them and spent the night at various sites along the trail. I always have them on a 6' leash (required in state parks in Texas), but I bring some rope to tie to 2 trees or posts if there is a covered picnic table. I pass the rope through the handle of the leash. This allows my dog room to move about while I'm setting up, cooking or whatever. As someone else stated you have to know your dog. Collies like to "talk." I have one that is about 2 years old and he talks a lot. I have yet to take him camping. The first time I take him will be to a less popular park in the middle of the week during the slow season. This way I can see how he does without disturbing others. My eight year old collie Max only barks if he has a reason. He loves to walk and other campers come up to us saying, "O look there's Lassie." He loves the attention and it's a good conversation starter with your fellow campers. So far I've only been tent camping and he sleeps in the tent. Only problem is that I have to bring a Thermarest for him or I'll be sleeping on the ground! The only other problem is when I go to take a shower and leave him at the campsite he starts barking, so I've started to take my showers late at night and leave him tied up outside the bathroom and then he's fine. Like everyone else I bring food from home, a couple of toys, and no he doesn't eat as much at first. I also bring a brush to comb his fur.

Image

Max at Balmorhea State Park

Thanks, Scott



i just read this post and had to laugh. i agree with you on the collies like to "talk". :lol: my male, simba, is a quieter dog, when he does "talk" its really not bad, sort of a low talker. but this new female pup, omg. she is a loud talker and talks all the time! i want to take her camping also, but i am going to make her wait til the end of oct. we have a trip planned at a gathering. but this trip is close to home. so if she turns out to be a problem i can just drive her back home. hopefully that won't be the case though.
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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Jim Edgerly » Tue Sep 18, 2012 6:50 am

My dog is a "free feeder" which does not work great for camping because he eats so sporadically, so we have taken to feeding him breakfast and supper only when camping. I take a plastic jar (an old peanut butter jar), adding a teaspoon of peanut butter, and about 1/4 cup water and shaking it up until the peanut butter disolves. Then I throw his kibble in the jar, about a half cup, and shake it all up to coat all the kibble with the "peanut butter sauce" and dump in his bowl. He eats like a wolf that hasn't seen food in a month! I think it is his favorite part of camping and I can be sure he eats all he needs to when I need him to.

I also put a carabiner in my camper in a central location to hook my dog to. He is a small terrier, and as such is prone to be a "runner". I don't want him taking off in the middle of the night if my wife or I get up "for some reason". He is hooked up using his normal 6 foot lead which gives him plenty of line to crawl under the covers to snuggle. I use a harness instead of his regular collar just in case he jumps I don't want him hanging himself...I would rather him look like a silly-ass-dog hanging with legs flailing than to actually hurt himself.

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby b.bodemer » Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:04 pm

Paddy joins in on all the trips.

Her newest adventure:
http://auntbarbandauntrose.blogspot.com ... tures.html

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Re: Pet camping secrets

Postby Angiewy » Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:32 pm

I take my dogs crates with me whenever I go camping on the off chance I'll need them (spend night in a hotel, etc.). They LOVE IT. My Aussie/Heeler mix is protective of me and I have found out (the hard way) that even in a small town, a leash is a must. When I'm at the ranch I let her loose. The area I go camping is pretty remote so I let her off the leash/tie down only when I know there's noone else around.

When we were at camp this year, I had a chain attached to each side of the chair I sat in. Snoopy's was 30 ft, Baxter (my Dorgi pup's) was half that length. At night I had Snoopy's leash attached to my cot and (after Baxter chewed through his leash) Baxter's chain as well. Snoopy slept on a blanket, Baxter had the option of his crate or anywhere in the tent...he chose to sleep on Mama. Worked great because he sure kept my feet warm!

Biggest issue I found is barking in campgrounds and the heat issue. I correct the dogs when they bark much at other families, otherwise if its cool I leave them in the car and they settle down. I do any shopping/touring in the evening, morning or cooler days.
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