Pet camping secrets

[Forrest747]

There has been some talk of pets in other forums. So I we have 3 dogs that will be camping with us and not sure how to camp with 2 dauchounds and a terrier. Any advice.

[Verna]

Take their "normal" food, "normal" treats, and "normal" bowls. Take some of their "normal" toys. Not too many because you're not going be away for too long and you don't have lots of room.

Don't be surprised if the dogs don't eat as much as normal. There's a lot of new people, new sites and sounds and things to do and they will be distracted.

For your fellow campers' sake......try to teach the dogs the command "no bark"...or something similiar. I taught Sunny Day by touching her nose and saying "no bark", immediately after she barked. I've taught her brother the same...but he doesn't learn quite as quickly or effectively--he's my sister's dog.

Take plenty of plastic shopping bags. Your fellow campers don't like to step on your dogs' waste products. Be diligent about cleaning up after them quickly (no, I don't like the feel of warm "waste" products either.....).

Make sure to keep your dogs on their leashes. This keeps them at your campsite, and you don't have to worry about their safety. I just bought a "double" leash for both Sunny Day and SPIKE, her brother. This keeps them from getting all tangled--sibling rivalry makes both of them want to be first in line.

Take time to spend time with your dogs. Bored dogs bark and cause damage to your possessions.

I'm sure there's more.....

[Woodbutcher]

I have 3 dogs also. But I would never bring them all at once. The best behaved one is my camping buddy. You know your dogs best. If they are quiet and well behaved then give it a try .

[bc toys]

We have one and she loves to go camping sleeps threw the night with out going for walk but the second I get up out she goes and she likes to be involved with everything. when I'm cooking she's right there hoping i'll drop stuff but we don't feed her from table, but if it hits the ground she has it and gone. We have a kentle for her about 5'x5' with astroturf we put her in there when she starts getting in our way of walking. I take her on lots of walks around camp grounds [cause I'm nosey]

[Wolfgang92025]

Forest,

We have 2 dogs we take with us camping. Have a couple of leads that are 15 or so feet long to give them room to move. Also have the pen to keep em lock up when it is time to rest. The pen is were they sleep at home also. So they don't mind to much.

[Wolfgang92025]

Forest,

We have 2 dogs we take with us camping. Have a couple of leads that are 15 or so feet long to give them room to move. Also have the pen to keep em lock up when it is time to rest. The pen is were they sleep at home also. So they don't mind to much. Not the best picture......

[SteveW]

Went tent camping with our two cattledogs a while back. One of them is deaf and he makes this really funny yodeling sound when he barks. First thing in the morning we wake up to hearing this yodeling outside the tent. My wife says "how funny, someone else has a dog that yodels like Cooper." I look around and no dogs. The door is still zipped up. What the heck? As I'm making my way to the door to investigate, both dogs bolt in through a little passage for dirty shoes and the like. They figured out how to unzip the inside and outside zipper and take themselves out for an early potty break. Sometimes it doesn't pay to have smart dogs. Usually they're really good about staying with us, but that time we neglected to take them out one last time before we called it a night.



We take our pups with us whenever we can. It just doesn't feel like a family trip without the whole family.

As was stated before, keep as much the same as possible...food, sleeping quarters, schedules, etc. Also, when dogs get more nervous, they tend to pant more, which means it's easier to dehydrate. So keep plenty of water on hand. Also, before a long drive, I tend to give a smaller meal than usual. Seems to be less chance of getting sick in the car. With summer coming up, also keep in mind the heat and any accommodations you'll make to keep the pups cool.

[S. Heisley]

I was thinking about starting a thread about pets. Now that there is a thread (thanks), my question fits right in; so, here it is:

Pets need plenty of water; but, they can sometimes get "shipping sickness" (diarrhea) from changes in the drinking water. On short trips, I bring water from home but for longer trips where it would be difficult to transport enough water from home (water = 9 lbs per gal), what do you do

[CliffinGA]

State parks and Army corp parks require a 6 ft leashe for your pets. We just bought a wireless pet fence to use here at our house and for camping. Not cheap but we saw a couple use it in Savannah last year and their 2 boston terriers came to road edge but no farther until the couple asked if the could come over and play with ours and adjusted the distance so the pups could visit ours. If your dogs get nervous about traveling the vat can give some meds that relax them. worked great on one of mine and he was great this last time.

Sharon we always buy either bottled or we hook up our filter to the water spigot and give them food there.

Cliff

[S. Heisley]

Thanks, Cliff. I had a hunch it meant buying bottled water; but, I wasn't sure if pets were okay with that. On a trip, bottled water might be the safest for people, too!

[iplay10us2]

My 2 dogs always go camping with me. They have been as far as South Dakota and New Mexico with me. I have never brought or purchased bottled water for them, and I have never had a problem with that. I do bring their own food with me, but they do not eat as much as they would at home. I bring their crate, and have 2 long leads (12', I think) that I use to keep them confined in the campsite while I am there with them. If I go somewhere, they either go with me, or go in the teardrop.

Luckily, they are not much for barking, and do well in the teardrop by themselves. They seem to enjoy camping and having new sights and smells. They are my hiking, geocaching, and kayaking buddies and I can't imagine not bringing them with me.

I did use a local doggie day care service when I was at Custer State Park for a few days when I knew I would be doing non-dog friendly things, and did not want to leave them in the teardrop for that long.

[jstrubberg]

Sharon;

We carry a Britta pitcher with us when we camp. It's cheaper than buying bottled water and you aren't producing all that plastic waste.

Unless you take a great dane camping, you shouldn't have any problems getting enough drinking water for your dog from a pitcher.

[SteveW]

Hah, you guys just reminded me of a really funny (if not disgusting) travel story with a moral regarding bringing the dog's normal food. A few years back we were up in western North Carolina visiting some friends. We were good and brought plenty of our pup's food. We're pretty spontaneous people and decided on one of our day trips that we would keep going until we got to Banner Elk (my folks used to have a summer house there). The GPS said it would only be a couple hours (never trust a GPS), but with all the winding roads it wound up being closer to 4. By the time we got there we were exhausted and decided to stay the night. Hmm...only prob was we had our pup with us, but her food was back at the house 4 hours away. It was now after 6 and no pet stores were open, so we went to the local grocer to see what we could find. Only canned food. Ummm, Zoe usually just eats dry...this can't be a good idea. Nickie felt guilty and said we should get her a can anyway. I was thinking we should just get her some bread or something, but eventually gave in. Of course Zoe loved the canned food and scarfed it all down...I don't even think it touched her teeth...just inhaled it.

...

About 3 in the morning, I woke to hear Zoe whining. I don't normally wake for anything, but I think I knew this was coming. I levitated out of bed and frantically stumbled to find the leash. Too late. Poor Zoe just couldn't hold it back. Luckily, she hid herself in the bathroom to make her mess, or things would have been even uglier. Sometimes it pays to have smart dogs. Between the cleaning and the trips outside, none of us got any sleep for the rest of the night.

So, definitely make sure you bring your pup's normal food. And if you run out or find yourself without...get some bread instead.

[Verna]

SteveW:

Please don't give the dogs white bread. It kills the good bacteria in the dog's digestive system. (I do not know if this applies to wheat or whole grain bread.)

My sister had a Cocker Spaniel who wanted the loaf of bread that was on my stove. She jumped and jumped until she knocked it to the floor. She ate an entire loaf of white bread. Sorry to be so blunt....but bloody diarrhea all over the place, and then an expensive Vet bill. She was one sick puppy for over 5 days. So, I'm not sure what I'd give a dog instead...maybe some tuna fish, canned chicken.....anything but white bread.

[Sandyman]

I have used cooked rice particularly if it is cooked in a beef broth (bovril) to replace a meal. If you have some fish or meat add it to the rice. Feed about the same amount as you would the regular dog food.

Sandy C