Camping with Dogs

stevenlee

stevenlee

Newbie
We would love to take our dog (Rosie) camping but there are many times when we want to go places where the dog cannot go (Museums, restaurants, etc.). I have not been comfortable leaving her in the TD. It seems that the options are either that she stays home or we basically stay in or near the campground(s) for our trip. I would love to hear everyone's suggestions.

Thanks. Steve
 
We take our dog camping regularly. If we have to leave camp for some reason, what we do with the dog is dependent on a few things.

Safety first...we have a long lead leash that we use outside. I would not consider leaving her on it if it were not safe or if weather was potentially ugly.

Inside the teardrop is what we do most often. It is safer for her and provides us peace of mind. However, if it is an all day thing and she won't have access to go potty or water, then we look for alternatives.

Friends-we almost always camp with friends that have pets. Sometimes we will ask them to keep her while we are out or occasionally check on her to make sure she is OK.

Last option is to leave her at home with our kids so they can make sure she is fed/watered and able to get outside when needed.

Our dog is very much part of my family, she even gets the bed at home at has her own bed in the teardrop. So, we tend to spoil her some.
 
If there's a PetSmart nearby, you can leave your dog(s) at their doggie daycare for the day or just a few hours if necessary. You can board them overnight as well. Your pet has to have shot records up to date. You can go to their website and print off the form ahead of time, as well as make reservations.

We've used PetSmart a couple of times when visiting our son in Fairfax, VA for the day.
His landlady did not allow pets, and it was the best solution.

Deb
 
The main issue is often the weather. If it's hot, there aren't many good options. Leaving your dog in the TD with the air conditioner on is one possibility. We haven't yet gotten a comfort level with that ourselves.

Our tow vehicle is a windowless van, so it's pretty easy to orient it to minimize heat gain on sunny days (and we look for shade, when there is any). So if it's not too sunny or too hot, we'll leave her there at times. On cloudy or rainy days we'll leave her for up to three hours in the van, but we leave a 12v fan running while we're gone, and we have a spill proof water bowl for her. We just don't trust sunny days to leave her for more than 30-45 minutes, though sometimes we'll tag team checking up on her if need be.

Spring and Fall have more days that are conducive to leaving her in the van, so that's the best time to travel with a pet.

If you don't have a windowless tow vehicle, I'd look into various window tinting options. Many legal options will drastically reduce UV and infrared gain, so that can help make things more comfortable for your dog while you are gone.

Part of any answer is a true assessment of how well your dog does with being separated from you. We left Lana in a kennel next to Mammoth Cave, KY while we did a cave tour. It was tough walking away listening to her howl, but she seemed to survive just fine. That was for about an hour or so. Our preference is to leave her in a place that she is familiar with, but that was a sunny day and we weren't gone that long. But was she happy to see us after the tour!
 
Rika loves our 560, she begs to go in at night when she gets tired or even during the day to take a nap. She feels very secure in there. We have left her in there for 2-3 hours with no problems with the AC or fan on, depending on the temperature. She also has free range in the house during the day so is used to being alone. She mostly sleeps when we are not there.

Randy, Michelle and Rika the Vizsla
 
I will leave Bella in the teardrop, with vent and window open, fan and radio on. Cabellas has kennels for shoppers, which I used on a hot summer day. I have also tied her to a tree at rest stops so I can use the facilities.

Bella would be happy sitting in the car all day, every day while I am at work. Car is parked in a parking ramp. Employees with dogs would understand, employees with no dogs most likely would report as dog abuse. Bella thinks it's dog abuse to leave her home.

Leaving dogs unattended depends upon how much the dog barks when alone.......

A well trained dog is a joy, untrained dogs are a PITA, need to stay home.

Jean
 
When at campsite. Leave Ellie our Golden in Side tent if too warm leave her in trailer with air on. She is not a barker. If uncomfortable with any of the above, we take her with and if need be lock her in car with air running for up to an hour, never had a problem doing this....police do it all the time with k9s.
 
I have seen private groups search dogs in kennels with back hatch open and 12V fans running while owner away from vehicle.
 
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