Camping with Your Dogs - Ten Commandments

CAMPING WITH DOGS –

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

In the U.S. alone, more than 30 million people each year take their pets with them while camping. Yet, when we first started camping with our dog (as well as our friends' dogs), we were unable to find much written on the subject. Sure, there were the occasional articles in magazines that reminded us to use pet ID tags, bring plenty of water, and take their favorite toy.

But in terms of providing genuine support or bottom–line information, there was nothing out there. Since it was something that we felt was badly needed, we decided to write this article.

While there are numerous issues to consider while camping with dogs, these are some of the most important.

1.  Make Sure that Your Dog Can’t Get Lost

It’s one thing if your dog gets free in your neighborhood. It’s another when you’re at a rest stop, nine hundred miles from home. Either train your dog to come when called or make absolutely sure that they’re on a leash at all times.

2.  Get All of their Vaccinations Up to Date

If your dog gets into an altercation with another animal (or a person), the central issue will become their rabies shots. If you stay at a campground that has a demanding pet policy, you’ll need to verify your dog’s vaccination records. If you cross into Canada, you’ll have to confirm that your dogs have had their shots. You get the idea.

3.  Make Your Dogs Easy to Identify

If your dog does get lost (unfortunately, it happens all the time), the ability to easily identify them will become critical. For permanent identification purposes, consider tattoos or microchips. At a minimum, make sure they wear tags that show their name, your current phone number, and the date of their last rabies vaccination.

4.  Clean Up After Your Dog

The biggest complaint about dogs has nothing to do with their bark, their bite, or their behavior. If you pick up after your dog, you’ll be helping dog owners everywhere.

Clean up does not only include their droppings, but their food and water. You may want to consider collapsible bowls as these take up such a small amount of space, and we usually leave them in our car so that we always have them - even when we are not camping, but just taking a hike.

5.  Learn How to Provide First Aid to Your Dog

If a medical crisis occurs while at home, you drive to your local veterinarian. But if you’re heading down a dark highway in a strange town, it will seem like a bad dream. Although there are ways to get help while on the road, it always takes more time. In the meantime, your ability to provide competent first aid could save your dog’s life.

6.  Involve Your Dog in Everything You Do

If you really want your dogs to have a good time, include them in your activities. Take them with you on long walks. Buy a cheap plastic wading pool and let them play in the water. Throw a ball. Cook them up a hamburger. If you do stuff like that, they’ll do cartwheels the next time you decide to take them camping.

Remember involving your dog in everything also means eating and sleeping. You may want to consider bringing their dog bed to make them feel more at home.

7.  Call the Campgrounds Before You Go

Even if a park claims they’re pet–friendly, always call ahead to confirm their policy regarding your dogs. We’ve arrived at parks (with our medium-sized dog) after a long day on the road only to discover that “pet–friendly” meant dogs weighing under 20 pounds.

8.  Plan Ahead for the Unexpected

Have a plan (for your dogs) in case of a flat tire, a serious accident, or a fire in your RV. Start with a few extra leashes, a pet carrier, and an extra fire extinguisher. Then have a fire drill to identify potential problems.

9.  Learn About Your Camping Environment

The U.S. is a huge country with a vast assortment of dangerous wildlife, treacherous plants, unpredictable weather conditions, and demanding environmental challenges. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you might inadvertently be putting yourself and your dog in danger.

We found out how critical this was when we took our dog (and our friends' dogs) camping at Roosevelt Lake, AZ. There were jumping cacti everywhere and before we knew it, while we walked thru the desert, the dogs just walked right over them and let out a big yelp telling us they were hurt! We should have carried pliers or something to be able to get them out easily - instead we had to use our bare hands and one of the dad's shirt. We got a little cut-up from the incident as well. From then on out, we had to keep the dogs in the campground or on the roadway for walks.

10.  Recognize and Respect the Views of Others

While some of us can’t imagine traveling without dogs, others can’t image traveling with them. If you keep your dog under control and clean up after them, you won’t give others much to grumble about. 

And definitely make sure all of the dogs get along, can eat and drink together, and keep away from small children who might be walking around with food in their hands, just at the dog's mouth level.

These are just the Camping with Your Dogs Ten Commandments we came up with, but I'm sure there are plenty of others. When it comes down to it, just don't take your dog for granted; plan ahead for specific needs they might have, and you'll all have an enjoyable camping experience.

Happy Camping with Rover!

Camping Tips For Families

Camping outdoors is a great way for families to spend quality time together, but it can sometimes get stressful for parents, especially those with small children.  

Planning and preparation are the keys to success in any event, so take a little time before your outing to plan some fun camping activities for the kids as well as the whole family.  

To make things easier on you and your children, pack each day’s clothing in a separate plastic bag.  At night, your little ones can return their dirty clothes to the bag and keep their clean items separate from the dirty laundry.  Allow each child to choose a toy or two to bring along, but encourage them to keep it simple.  Books, stuffed animals, or puzzle magazines are good choices.

Provide each child with their own flashlight for the camping trip.  A personal light is not only fun for kids, it can make them feel more comfortable in the dark night air.  Flashlights or personal lanterns allow children to read before bed, make shadow puppets in their tent, and make it safely to the bathroom at night.  You may consider giving each child a Coleman for kids Glow Sticks when the sun goes down.  These are battery operated, kid-friendly - with 4 modes: glow, flashlight, combination, or flashing. And, they come in different colors so that each kid knows whose is whose.

Enlist each child’s help in preparation, meal time, and planning activities.  Let young children help make trail mix for the trip and older children can pack their own suitcases.  Plan one major activity each day, like hiking, horseback riding, or kayaking, and allow your children to explore the outdoors in their own way the rest of the time.  Allow older children to help prepare meals and assign everyone a meal time duty, like setting the table or cleaning up. 

Review your family camping rules before leaving for your trip and again when you set up camp.  Remind your young children to stay within your view and older children to never go out of earshot.  If your school age children are sleeping in their own tent, pitch the tent next to yours and provide them with a whistle in case they get lost or hurt while playing.  Review the rules of nature etiquette with your children as well.  Remind them to keep their voices down and to never disturb the animals.  Tell your children to stay on the marked trails while hiking and to always throw away their trash. 

When you are camping with children, safety is usually a primary concern.  Always carry a First Aid kit with bandages, antibiotic cream, pain reliever, and any allergy medications.  Remind your children that they can only play near fire or water if an adult is supervising the activity and make them avoid areas with ledges or steep drops while alone.  Keep children in the middle if you go hiking or horseback riding to protect them from falls, snakes, and becoming lost and remember to check everyone for ticks each night.