We're tentatively planning a camping trip to a state park on the gulf coast for this fall. I'm not a serious camper-- by camping I mean drive up to the campsite, unload tents/chairs/etc., bath-houses on site, and pack sandwiches & easy grilled foods. It'll probably be 2 nights.

I want to take the 2 dogs with us, but not only am I an inexperienced camper, I've never camped with dogs! I have some newbie questions I was hoping some kind person could help me with...

1. Where should the dogs sleep? I'm not opposed to having them sleep in the tent with us, but I'm a little worried that I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night being trampled by big gsd feet because there's a racoon or something outside the tent! Alternately, we could take their crates, cover the top and two sides with a tarp and lock them in for the night. Are there pros and cons to this (I'm not expecting it to rain...it hasn't rained here in ages and if it does we'll probably stay home)?

2. What's the best way to deal with saltwater and sand?

3. Are there any state park related customs for campers with dogs that would be good to know? I already looked up the rules, just wondering if there are additional "manners" we should keep in mind. Limited barking is at the top of the list I'm sure...

Mostly I expect us to spend some good time relaxing in between some easy hikes and maybe a little fishing off the pier. I'm also throwing around the idea of finding a groomer or kennel to keep the dogs safe & supervised at for 3 or 4 hours so we can go to the state aquarium (no dogs allowed there) and grab a bite to eat at a restaurant before heading home.

Thanks for any suggestions / thoughts!

I don't do a lot of carcamping but I do sometimes on my way to trips so hopefully I'm helpful.

Can't speak for your area, but generally dogs are always required to be on leash in campgrounds. I have tie outs that I use (I attach to a tree or picnic table) for on the campsite itself.

Usually I have the dogs sleep in the tent. Luc and Teagan don't get along in tents once I've fallen asleep so for carcamping Teagan is normally in the car (with the windows down, etc) or in a second person's tent. She now has her own dog tent however (tie out still required)!. I've only ever done the car in the fall, never done that in humid weather or where it was particularly warm at night so that may not be something to do for you, I would worry about that.

I think that if you don't want to do the tent crates covered by a tarp sound like a great idea. I would just watch the angles of coverage in case of rain.

And otherwise, have fun! It sounds like a fun trip and I'm sure the dogs will have blast

I ran across these when I was looking up hints about travel with dogs, and they all looked pretty good:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4877234_camping-dog.html

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/dogcamp.html

http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/camping/dogs.htm

I would want my dogs in the tent. Gut feeling.

Of course, you'd never leave the dog on a tie-out -- only when you are right there, as in within reach. (A tie-out turns the dog into trapped bait if I am not there.)


P.S. I loooove travel-with-dogs. If you start out very organized, even raw feeding can be done pretty easily during travel (I use THK with RMBs added, and even with no RMBs if I hit a shopping snag).

Edited by Connie Sutherland (07/01/2009 12:02 PM)
Edit reason: p.s.

So... I'm embarrassed to ask this, but if they're in crates overnight, do I have to worry about animals pestering them? The dogs would be bigger than any animal out there, but man raccoons can be mean if they want to...

This is where we're looking at going: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/goose_island/ I think it sounds pretty cool. I'm thinking late september or October; by then it should be in the 80's/90's max during day and 50's/60's maybe at night. Shouldn't be too hot to enjoy. Right now its miserable! I'm hoping it will be less busy then as well.

FYI, don't be embarrassed to ask these questions. I'm watching this thread with great interest as I'm a complete newb on the subject too!

Car camping with dogs is easy peasy, Backpacking is fun too but takes a little more planning ahead.

We haven't taken Yote camping since he is such a pain in the neck, but the other two just sleep loose in the tent with us at night. They are usually so pooped by that point that they crash hard and sleep until morning.

If that wasn't an option I would make sure I could fit their crates inside the tent, maybe one on either side of the bed.

I would be uncomfortable leaving them in the crates outside while we were sleeping, raccoons can be mean, and coyotes, snakes or creepy people could be a problem.

That isn't even taking into account that they are in a new place with strange noises and smells and would likely bark at every bug and breeze out of fear or nervousness.

We do tie them out at the campsite but only when we are there and within reach.

I haven't had to deal with saltwater, but for sand and grit we wipe off paws, bellies or feet before coming in or out of the tent. I also carry a small dustpan and broom for cleaning up grit and dirt on the bottom of the tent as it can eat holes through the fabric.

How on earth could crates fit inside a tent?

I think as long as the crates were next to the tent that's fine. You should be able to hear what's going on (unless you are an extremely deep sleeper) as tent walls are pretty thin.

My preference is inside the tent as well.

As long as you keep your campsite properly clean and all food away I wouldn't be too worried about animals coming on to bug your dogs in crates vs. them reacting to an animal just outside the tent. Either way I'd imagine you would wake up.

Edit: Snakes though, I can't speak too. We only have one kind of poisonous snake up here, it's range is extremely limited, and it's not very poisonous.

Dear Carolyn: we camp about every two weeks with our three dogs.
Here is what has helped us: We take the dogs crates with us. They sleep in them like they do at our house. They adjusted really great to it. We cover them but maybe you could put your dogs into their own tent in their crates at night next to you.
Are they crate trained?
We never let our dogs drink out of lakes, ponds, ever!! there is or could be bacteria in there. So, we keep our dogs leashed when near water. The rest of the time we have a metal fence, two of them we bought and set up with ur chairs inside the area, and our dogs are in there with us. We never leave our dogs unattended!!! I thought the fences would easily be breached, but they have not been, and since we are there, we play with them and bring their toys.
We proved special treats for them when we camp and they are in their crates at night.
We keep on the outlook for people who do not leash their dogs and allow them to roam. Be sensitive to others camp site. One time a lady and her children let out their german shepherd mix in the morning and didn't follow him, he came over to our campsite and pooped and peed all over our little mat we had placed out where our chairs were, yuk!!!!
I find it a blast to camp with the dogs, once i get a set pattern and equipment that helps with containing and enjoying my dogs. They love to see new sites. However, be careful, many dogs like to explore and can get lost. We have had an incident when people came asking if we had seen their dog, it ran off, and unfortunately I do not know if they ever found it again. There are preditors out there where we go, mountain lions, and coyotes, so domestic pets won't last long.
I think you will really enjoy your self with your dogs.
Let me know how it goes.
May God bless you.
Sharon

My preference has always been in the tent with me. I usually bring my old sleeping bag for them to curl up on (Ivan prefers to crawl headfirst INTO the bag, with his tail and back legs stretched out) so that they are not directly on the tent floor sleeping. I don't ever tie them up, because not only would I have to worry about large predators, (bear, mountain lion, etc) there are also snakes and a bunch of other silent poisonous predators around.
In an emergency, I would hate to be unable to get over to them fast enough.
I don't think I would ever do the crates in a second tent (car camping of course) simply because I would be unable to keep an eye on them and I would want to as we are in a strange environment. Crate with a tarp? No way. They are caged up for snakes, spiders, racoons, not to mention fire ants (we have those here and they can kill a dog if there are enough bites), as well as large predators.
I strongly recommend having some kind of collar that lights up (not reflects, because there may be no light to reflect it) or bring some chem lights (cylalume, etc) to attach to a collar. There are some that are really small and have a hole at the top, which I put a split ring through, and attach to the collar. There is also a battery operated collar that I got last year. It day glow orange glow, 4 weekend trips, and still going strong. Plus it's water proof.
I would also make sure that the dogs are microchipped, just in case.

Thanks all for the advice!!

I think we're going with the in-the-tent method! We'll do a dry run camping in the back yard and see how it goes.

Cameron I'm so glad you reminded me of the fire ants... (in addition to all the other critters) how could I have forgotten those?