[evervescent]

Well, camping season is here and we'd like to take Ginny with us. We have an RV and we primarily travel to state parks. Can anyone offer advise, tips, or must-dos for camping with dogs?

We haven't taken her on a hike yet and we plan to take her out this weekend on a dry run.

 

[lisarundell]

Andrea, We took our two doodles on a camping trip last October. They were 7 months and 10 months at the time. I thought we were nuts, oh and a friend took their 90 lbs dog also. We made sure they had things to chew on while they on the tie outs around the site. They did great once they learned not to bark at all the dogs going by.

We forgot about ticks, tweezers in case she gets a tick on her. I would take bottled water if Ginny has a sensitive stomach. Toby got diarrhea from the well water. I think a doggie first aid kit might be a good idea. We did not take a brush or scissors which was a mistake. Lani's fur was about 3 to 4 inches long and she kept getting tons or burrs in her fur. We were able to borrow scissors to cut out what we could not pick out. We will have Lani groomed and cut short before we camp again.

They slept in pop up crates since Toby is a chewer and we really didn't want a hole in the tent.

scissors, brush, tweezers, tie out lead and stake (shorter is better otherwise they get tangled), first aid kit, chew toys, nail clippers, towels, travel crate...

Good luck and have fun - lots of photos please!

 

[Cinsmom]

You forgot baggies for poop. I know all the campers don't pick up their own, but please, don't be one of these!

I would include shampoo & conditioner, too. you never know what they'll get into.

Have fun!

 

[annieG]

In our area, tomatoe juice for skunk encounters is a staple :wink:

 

[gracielou]

Check out the area also for burrs and stickers which can be a nightmare on coats and your fingers. :roll:

 

[Jac]

Also look out for poison oak/ivy...you can get it too, from petting a dog who went into the bushes.
Ask your vet...if you are going to an area with ticks (and you will) and possible rattle snakes (very probable) you can get shots for Lymes disease and rattle snake bites...also be sure that you dog has had giardia vaccinations...you can't stop them from drinking from streams and puddles or even findng dead things that they sometimes eat...so be sure that they are protected.
A vet visit will ensure that you have all of this covered as much as possible.
Otherwise, enjoy! LOL

 

[Ronnie]

A tag with your contact info would also be a good idea--in case she gets separated from you.

 

[emilee]

something else to consider is that not all state park campgrounds are dog-friendly. i know that in pennsylvania, many of the state park campgrounds either no not allow dogs, or only allow them in designated campsites. so it is a good idea to check on this in advance. also, many beaches designated for swimming (in the midwest at least) do not allow dogs. it can take a little bit of research to find a place where you and your dog can both go swimming.

you said you have an RV -- we primarily do tent camping. i had a really smart beagle years ago who figured out how to open the zipper of a tent door by pushing it with her nose. she escaped a couple of times to chase the critters that she could hear in the woods. so we got a couple of those detachable keychains (kindof like these: http://www.agedstock.com/dealer-supply- ... chable.jpg) so that we could 'lock' the doors of the tent at night!

i think the biggest things for us as tent campers are having a brush handy to get dirt and other things out of kumo's fur before coming into the tent at night, and doing a 'tick check' every night before going to sleep -- both for kumo and ourselves. we use the that topical flea and tick repellent on kumo that we get from the vet, which prevents the ticks from implanting themselves on him, but unfortunately it doesn't kill the ticks. when we all get into the tent at night, the ticks can crawl off the dog and onto a tastier meal -- us! our evening ritual of brushing and tick checks keeps all kinds of unmentionables from coming into the tent at night.

also, before we set up camp we try to give the campsite a thorough once-over to collect any trash or items previous campers may have left behind. it is a good idea to do this anyway, but dogs can sometimes decide to chew on the craziest things, and people aren't always very good about cleaning up after themselves. when we're camping, kumo prefers chewing on stuff he finds at the campsite to chewing on the toys we bring, so i always like to be aware of what that stuff might be, and remove anything i don't think is safe.

here's a page with photos of my fiance and i camping with kumo in red river gorge, KY when he was about 5 months old:

http://bierdoctor.com/photos/2006-06-05_gorge/

-em

 

[lisarundell]

You forgot baggies for poop. I know all the campers don't pick up their own, but please, don't be one of these!

Oops! I forgot to mention this, I always have baggies on the leashes in the little fire hydrant dispencer so I didn't even think about it. Oh and a little hand shovel for the less than firm poop.

 

[evervescent]

Thanks for all the advice. You can be sure I will heed all of it.

I suppose fortunately for us, Ginny got an unfortunate haircut last week. We went a little longer than usual getting her in to her groomer and she had some mats the brush didn't get too so the groomer had to shave her to 1/2 inch instead of an inch. They didn't trim her tail though so she looked like she had a feather duster attached to her butt. Regardless, I think this extra short doo will help considerably with the burrs and stickers.

 

[blueteal]

This is where we are taking Denver in July
for our holiday.
Our vacation was set up as to where was the best place to take a dog :wink:
Do we love these Doodles of ours or what!!!!

http://www.bluffhollow.ca/bhbanb.htm

 

[evervescent]

Ginnys Doo

This is Ginny's doo one week after her haircut. It is not nearly as silly now as it was last Sunday. Its grown out a lot actually. This is a 1/2 inch cut. I wish I'd gotten a photo last Sunday because it was so funny :lol:

I took this photo at Morgan Monroe State forest in Indiana. Ginny's first trip out hiking. I was so presently surprised with her behavior. We did a 3 mile hike and I couldn't have asked for her to behave better.

(I do want to get her a more macho collar if she's going to become a camping/hiking doggie) :wink:

That doggie B&B in Canada is so COOL.

 

[evervescent]

OK, photos and camping results:

We went on our first camping trip of the summer with Ginny. She did great. She was a bit anxious about getting in the camper the first night, but we just lifted her up in to it and she took right to it.

We went on a 5 mile hike and she hung in like a champ. Pulled the whole way (need to practice loose leash walking more). When we got back she didn't even seem tired. I thought she would take a super long nap, but she didn't. She did eat a lot more dinner than usual.

She was put on a tie-out for the first time and she took right to that too. She didn't pull on it or anything.

She was very interested in the other dogs. It seemed like every other camper, tent and rv, had a dog with them. She didn't want to actually approach any of the other campers or dogs, but they held her attention.

I think she's set for the summer.

Can anyone advise when they were comfortable with letting their dogs off the leash? I see lots of photos of doodles running through the woods and in the surf. I can just see Ginny pulling a Funny Farm "running dog" thing and running off only to be seen as a cream-colored streak from time-to-time.

 

[blueteal]

Can anyone advise when they were comfortable with letting their dogs off the leash? I see lots of photos of doodles running through the woods and in the surf. I can just see Ginny pulling a Funny Farm "running dog" thing and running off only to be seen as a cream-colored streak from time-to-time.

When you are comfortable with your your dog's re-call ability.
Do you have off leash areas where you can try?

 

[gene]

Ginny looks like she's having a great time! Jonah and Miko are very jealous!! :wink:

 

[Cinsmom]

Try having her on a leash and getting her to sit. Drop the leash and tell her to stay, walk a couple of steps away from her and tell her to come. This will tell you how good her recall ability is. And remember, it will take practice - lots of practice. You will know when she's ready.

 

[emilee]

our puppy kindergarden teacher (last summer) said that off-leash recalls are one of the hardest things to teach a dog. consistency is key in dog training, and in order to be consistent your dog has to come to you every time you say the command "come" (otherwise you're teaching them that when you say "come" it really means 'decide if you feel like it') -- but this is hard to enforce if the dog is off leash and chasing after it only turns it into a game.

so, we bought a 100 foot rope and have been practicing recalls on the "long line" -- kumo is improving a lot with this technique! basically the rope is so long that he forgets he's on it. when he behaves correctly and comes when he's called, he is rewarded. if he chooses not to come, we can still compel him to do it using the leash to let him know that he can't just decide to whatever he wants.

also, we've been trying to work on some voice commands for off-leash walks. we have a 20 foot leash which allows kumo to get a little farther away from us, and we've been training "too far" (which basically means stop and wait for us), "sit" (at a distance rather than walking up to us and sitting down), and "let's go" (which means stop sniffing and stick with us). we're also working on "heel" although he's not so good at sticking right next to me without the reminder of the leash yet. i'm not brave (or stupid) enough to allow him off leash when we're walking around the neighborhood, but our goal is to try a couple of off-leash hikes soon. yay!

-em

 

[Jac]

Ginny is adorable...and I love her name...I may have to steal that name from you!

 

[evervescent]

Ginny is adorable...and I love her name...I may have to steal that name from you!

Thank you so much. She's named after Ginny Weasley.

 

[Jac]

Oh! Of Harry Potter fame! My hubby is a big fan!
Yep, I love the name...and it fits my little Poodle girl...so she will probably be a namesake to your Ginny if that's okay with you?
We are naming the boy, "Dupree" because we just saw that movie! LOL
We thought it was cute and so Ginny will probably be Ginny-ness! hahhaha