Camping with Dogs

This weekend Hubs and I got our pups packed up in our new van and hit the road. We headed to the mountains with another couple and their pup. Hubs and I have never taken the dogs camping before. Sure, we have done a lot of hiking and picnicking with our furbabies. I have to say, it went so well! The dogs were so good in the van and so well behaved at the campsite. They even were calm in the tent and let us sleep in later than normal! Of course, this was all after an eight mile hike so that might explain it.

Since my dogs are my little furry children, I did a lot of reading before taking them hiking. I made sure their vaccines were up to date, they had all their medicines, and I packed enough food and water for them. Hubs and I did have some slight oversights about some conveniences of camping with dogs. Learning by trial and error, right?

Long Creek Falls off the Appalachian Trail

Here are some things I learned while camping with dogs.

1. Bring a dog bed. We are okay with our pups sleeping on the ground in the tent, but after a long hike and in the cool fall weather I wish I had something a little softer and warmer for them.

2. We packed a 5 gallon cooler with ice and assumed enough of it would melt. It didn't. We managed because the couple we were camping with brought a gallon of water and we had some water bottles. I wish we had filled the container with water as well as with the ice. We needed to fill our Camelbaks, but all we had were a few 16oz water bottles. That's not quite enough with four people and three dogs.

3. We needed a dog sweater. One of our dogs is a husky so she was fine when the temperatures started to drop. Our other baby is a Labrador and Weimaraner mix so his winter coat hasn't grown in yet. He also didn't want to get too close to the fire either due to the wind blowing the smoke everywhere. Our friends' little puppy, a black Labrador and Pitbull Terrier mix, was shivering most of the night and the morning. They wrapped her up in a sleeping bag to help keep her warm. I have a sweater and a jacket for my little boy and I was upset with myself that I didn't think to pack them. I put one of my shirts for a little bit on him but it was too big.

what I wish we had set up at camp

4. We had leashes, leads. and halters so the dogs could roam the site but not run off. So of course this meant that stuff got knocked over and dogs got tangled. Out little boy basically hog-tied himself more than once! Poor thing. I wish we had a run line for them. That way they could still walk around without all the drama.

morning at the campsite

Hubs and I, like many people, love our pets and consider them family. I love being able to take them places and I know they love being part of our adventures! Overall it was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again!