Camping with Dogs

[Samersen]

What have people done to have the best results for a decent nights rest when you camp with a dog? Does the dog sleep in the tent? tied up? car (if near by)? Our dogs are good on night 2 or 3 but the first night they are awful they bark at shadows and run around.

 

[notajeep]

Thankfully my dog is not much of a barker. We put him in the tent with our daughter when all of us our out. If the daughter is not with us, then we just put his dogbed next to the truck and he sleeps there. Unless there are a lot of people near by, we do not tie him up.

 

[STAG]

My dog doesn't bark at anything, ever.

He sleeps on the ground in the annex portion of my RTT.

He sheds too much to allow him anywhere near my bedding.

 

[Spork]

A lot of it depends on the dog, My dog used to just sleep in the tent with us, camping or hiking she was usually close by and never wandered very far. At home she was barky but camping she was pretty mellow not sure why the difference.

 

[skeptic]

My dogs are too friendly and curious (ie - see another dog in the distance and run off to play, see a horse/cow/etc. and run off barking) so I don't take them camping anymore. When I did, they sleep in the tent just fine. The only real issue is they want to sleep against or on us.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Just like anyrging, dogs need to be trained how to behave wheen camoing. Their nsturalnonclination is to wander and smell stuff in the wild. It took a bit of traoning and work, but now my dog sleeps in my tent with me. When I sleep under the stars he still wants to wander but if I stick with it he will be good.

 

[jeeper]

Just like anyrging, dogs need to be trained how to behave wheen camoing. Their nsturalnonclination is to wander and smell stuff in the wild. It took a bit of traoning and work, but now my dog sleeps in my tent with me. When I sleep under the stars he still wants to wander but if I stick with it he will be good.

One too many drinks tonight, Steve..


When we had our dog, it was on a cable the whole time. We tied her to the camper so she could be close. I hate others dogs in my space, so we make extra sure to not let our dog into others space.

 

[Rot Box]

My dogs (Golden Retriever and Siberian Husky) don't bark and they sleep pretty much anywhere I tell them to. Lately I have them sleep in the bed of the truck under the shell. This has been the best option so far because they almost always smell like crap and are typically covered in 'stuff' that I don't want anywhere near my tent/sleeping bag when camping

I don't take them unless I know there won't be a lot of random people. They're polite and well tempered but when they spot 'other' people or dogs (mostly the Golden) they can sometimes be pretty annoying around non-dog people.

 

[nnnnnate]

My dog sleeps inside the tent with us. He is nervous the first night and is always better after that and we figured out that its because we typically don't do much that first night. The second day we hike and fish and he has plenty of time to run around and explore making him tired. A tired dog is a well behaved dog. Once we figured that out we have tried to get into camp early enough that we can get set up and still have time to go on a longish walk to tire him out. Otherwise he stands up and breathes heavy right next to your head a bunch all night long. We have done the back of the truck thing before which seemed to work well before our other dane died. She seemed more apt to bark though than our current pup.

I see my dog different from most people probably though, he is like my kid and I wouldn't have him sleep in the car or not be in next to me. That is why an RTT isn't something I'm willing to look into right now, there isn't any way I could get him and his 150 lbs up into the tent.

As far as taking him with me, he does really really well. He is super chill and listens good. I can keep him close to me and he doesn't need to be tethered. The biggest thing is getting him tired that first part of the trip so that he'll lay down and stop making the rounds for belly rubs. When I don't take him its typically because he doesn't fit in my 2 door JK with all my other camping gear.

 

[jentzschman]

When I had my dogs (labs) they slept inside the tent. If they were wet they slept in the vestibule with a blanket for bedding. I did this for a dozen or so trips without any issue. The only concern I ever had was how the tent floor would hold up to their nails. I tried to keep them caught up they grooming and even when they got a little long I never experienced issues with tears. The tent was a car camping tent, so the fabric was pretty durable. I would defiantly not want a big dog like that in my backpacking tent.

Dog are the best companions, next to the girlfriend or wife of course for outdoor and camping adventures. When they are welled trained for such environments it is a pure joy to have them.

 

[Sasquatch_Adventures]

Interesting thread... I just got a Yellow Lab a few months back and I plan to take him camping with us when ever we go. He's only 9 months old now but I think as he gets older and used to camping he'll do well, but as far as sleeping goes I think I'd rather have him in the tent with us then anywhere else.

 

[n1v3kt]

It really depends on the dog. I've got a Bernese Mountain Dog, and she stays right at my side. I bring a bed for her and she sleeps in my tent or by me on my cot if i'm staying in my friend's trailer. The only time she gets audible is if someone approaches me while i'm sleeping then she'll growl. But otherwise she's quiet, calm, and happy as a bean to be with the pack. My friend's lab on the other hand is compelled to sniff any and everything within range...so he has to be tied up if we're not supervising him. So, i'd say it comes down to the dog and its training. From an early age I took my doggie hiking, camping etc. with me and she learned to always stay near me. Some of that is her breed instinct and some of it me reinforcing it.

The decision of whether to take or not to take her depends on the location and activities. Long hours in the sun, yeah, not good for her breed. Lot's of shooting...also not her thing. Also if there's a risk of bears/wolves etc. and i'm just in my tent, i wont take her. She's a muffin most of the time, but she gets protective of me if she senses a threat...and I don't want her charging a bear or something while I'm looking for something to scare it off with. I'd loose my sh!t if something happened to her.

 

[Houndoc]

One too many drinks tonight, Steve..


When we had our dog, it was on a cable the whole time. We tied her to the camper so she could be close. I hate others dogs in my space, so we make extra sure to not let our dog into others space.

View attachment 93529

Nice looking hound!

Anyway, when have camped with the dogs they have stayed in the tent and always leashed/cable when out of the tent. A nose can lead a dog into too much trouble. Also never want my dog to be an unwanted visitor in someone else's camp.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

We take our dogs everywhere we can including camping, but our idea of camping is typically in the middle of nowhere with the nearest campers too far away to be of any interest to our dogs, so we let the dogs run til they can hardly stand so they sleep like a rock until morning. Our youngest dog is still learning to not bark at certain things but has done better lately, we just spent the weekend in the Uintas and worked with her on responding to a whistle and swimming/fetching in the water. I couldn't imagine ever not camping with our dogs, they are like having kids for us even though they take a lot of work and make messes on occasion, but then again so do children.

 

[amp713]

Just did a 15 mile backpack trip in two days, the pup ran probably 30 miles so once we get camp set up she walks in the tent and takes a nap for a minute on her own, we run around the rest of the day scouting or fishing then she sleeps through the night no problem......

 

[ID Bronco]

Our Lab does really well, if I'm car camping I put him in his kennel in the back of my truck. He is quiet that way. He is not a barker. Backpacking I struggle. I don't want him in my small, not as durable tent.

 

[RogueJeepr]

We took our dog camping just a few weeks after we got him. He did good sleeping in a kennel inside our tent. (2nd trip) not so good. We arrived at camp about 3pm so he could get used to the area before dark but had an accident in our trailer wich ment the trip was aborted immediately . (3rd trip) was better but stayed at a camp ground and forgot the wire-rope. He ran up to some lady sniffed and licked her but she freaked out and shouted out a story about how she was attacked by a pit-bull. Totally blown out of proprtion by her fear we went into town to buy a wire-rope to keep him on. (4th trip) did alot better but he was restless in the trailer. So I put him in the backseat of the jeep and he fell right asleep .
He gets better every time out and continue to take him camping (except on hot trips. Moab , ect)