# taking the 4 legged family members with you



## Splash Mountainers (May 3, 2004)

Ok, I want to take my dogs camping with us but I'm not sure about the process....

1. Where do they sleep? My wife can't stand the thought of our brand new trailer getting hair bunnies everywhere and scratches on the flooring and all the general mess of shedding dogs..lol..

2. how do you tether them during the day. I have ground anchors with 25' leads..is that ok? Do you need portable wire kennels??

3. Do you need to take them on short overnight trips to accustom them to camping to lessen the "new time" and change to their routines?

Any and all advice is much needed...thanks..

p.s.--any yes, don't leave them to bark all night or if left behind at a campsite--we don't do that.


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

I have been using the screw ground stake. Just make sure there is a shady spot to get to or at least under the trailer where the shade is. Lots of water also.

As far as the tie-outs, think of what is in their way to get tangled around, because eventually the will end all twisted up, just move things out of the way. Little dogs do well in a crate or small fence area that you can travel with.

My dog found last time the ground was to wet so she decided the top of the picnic table was going to be her spot. What a goof.My Goofy Dog on Table

I have a hook I am going to bolt to the trailer frame so I can just connect her run to that when the ground is to hard for the stake method.

My dog sleeps on the floor only, she wants the bed but gets her blanket on the floor next to the bed. The first few nights in the new Outback she paced a lot until she knew what this new home was all about. Plus she is diabetic and has to eat regularly, at home she has a automatic dog feeder, camping, her internal clock gets all messed up so she wakes me up about every 2 hours thinking it is time for her insulin.

Keep their nails trimmed to prevent floor scratches.

Someone just posted about using Windex to remove dog hair, spray it on wipe off in 10 minutes with a towel.

Have they ever travelled? My dog is in the car all the time, jingle the keys and bang she is ready for a ride.

Get a pooper scooper for clean up.

I know you won't but, please don't leave your site unattended with your dogs barking, that is one of the rudest things people do at campgrounds, it annoyes me and I am a animal person. But my dog is trained and usually doesn't bark.

Good luck, your animals will love you for it.


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## Golden Mom (Apr 25, 2004)

1. Where do they sleep?

We have a Golden Retriever. She sleeps under the table. (in regular position, not used as a bed). She is not allowed on any furniture or beds.

2. How do you tether them during the day?

We used a ground stake with a 6' cable. Most campgrounds have a rule not longer than 6'. With her being 75 lbs., we have never used a crate while camping even though she was crate trained as a pup. We also never leave her by herself outside. Someone is always with her. Since she is used to being alone in the house at home while we both work, it is no problem for her when we leave the camper to go somewhere. We just put her inside with the AC on.

3. Do you need to take them on short overnight trips to accustom them to camping to lessen the "new time" and change to their routines?

We started her camping at 6 months. She is a perfect camper and never barks. I think I would start out with a few weekends trips first to familiarize them with the routine. Then go for the longer trip later.

We did have a problem with her climbing the steps. She would not put her feet on those black steps. She would literally jump from ground to inside the trailer. So we put those carpet wraps on the outside of the steps and now she has no problem. Things we do for our dogs









I'm the one that suggested the windex and it truly does work.

Hope all goes well for you and your furry friends!

Have a great day! sunny


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## NWcamper2 (Mar 28, 2004)

Okay here is what I do... having huge Bernese also presents certain problems.

I crate train all my dogs... habit from showing dogs for the last 12 years. The hardest part I have ever found in dealing with traveling pets is keeping them properly housed for the weather. Dealing with hot weather in particular.

I bought a Canine Camper (for the Bernese it is the X-large
link here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=4308215870
I bought mine online from this source, it was shipped fast and new in box. No probs. It is the cheapest you will find online or catalog. I was a little leary of the soft side but have been quite impressed!

Having a 65 lb 6mth Bernese I was worried he would chew it... but no worries he has done GREAT!

Using a camper like this they can travel loose (hard to set one up that size and not have it take up mega space.

Anyway when we get to the campground I take a cheap tablecloth and fold it in have so it is plastic both sides (water/moisture proof) set the camper up under the bed slide...so it is protected from sun and if we need to he goes in it during the day but he does sleep in it at night. If I didn't he would be in the bed with us!

I also have traveled extensively with Terriers (probably the most active and hardest to control, but have really done with ease. Again even when we had a pop-up I would place crates under the rear bed slide and no worries... thinner coated dogs I carry a heavy movers blanket and cover the crate for lower temp. nights.

I still have 2 Chihuahua's that travel with us also, very easy they ride in the same small crate, I have an Ex-Pen (from showing-can be found at jbpet.com) Showing Terriers I have the heavy duty large one. Folds flat and the Chi's have a prefab fenced yard









I am not big on leaving dogs tied out unless we are at the campsite. If we leave, they go with us or I lock them up.


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## summergames84 (Mar 6, 2004)

We have two large dogs that go with us on all camping trips, including our latest vacation of two weeks. We take their dog beds from home, and they immediately felt comfortable in the Outback. Yes, we have dog hair bunnies. I sweep every day to keep it under control. We don't tie them out at all as they are not used to that. When we leave, the only thing we do is put an ice chest inside to block the door as one likes to paw the screen. With the AC on, they just sleep. At night, they sleep on their beds or on the bare floor area if they get too warm. Yes, our living area is pretty much "carpeted" with dog bed. But, they are one of the reasons we love our Outback!









P.S. I haven't had a chance to try the Windex trick. I will the next time we go camping!


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Our dog Casey travels pretty well. My wife resisted taking her until the girls and I badgered her into letting the dog come last year on a weekend trip. Saves a lot on a house sitter or kennel bills when she comes with us. Once she figures out she isn't on her way to the vet, she settles down and goes to sleep in the back seat of the truck. She did fine for 11 hours in the car when we went south in april.

While we're camped, I hook her long leash to a tree or the picnic table and she just wanders around a bit or lays down. When we leave her in the trailer alone, we close the curtains to the bedslide so she won't go up there and she hops up onto the sofa (we put a towel there) and goes to sleep. She only gets up on the sofa when we're not there for some reason. At night she sleeps under the table.

Hair bunnies are just part of the fun of taking the dog along









Mike


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I guess I SPOIL my dogs too much! I won't even tell you that the dog sleeps on the queen bed with my wife, and I sleep on the dog's bed on the floor.









Great advice given above. Our hair bunnies get eaten by the SHARK CORDLESS SWEEPER.


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Oh No, in trouble now...with this girl..

As of Friday, I have made a rash decision to acquire another friendly creature. I may need to buy a bigger Outback...

A three week old puppy destined for 80 pounds. Oh man......whay have I done..

Kevin


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

1) Our sleep on the lower bunks in our bunkhouse or on the couch. We layout a couple of blankets for them to sleep on and so we can contain the hair a bit.

2) Ground tethers work... sometimes. I've found several campgrounds which are two hard to screw anything into that would hold. We have two 15' wire tethers that we attach to the ground tether or to the camper by the back door. At night we always attach to the back of the camper for those 6AM potty breaks.

Ours travel in the Outback. After several trips I can say they do just fine. On the last trip I left open the bunkhouse vent cover (with MaxxAir) and turned on the TurboMaxx in the main cabin.


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## Golden Mom (Apr 25, 2004)

Y: In another topic, we discussed about traveling with dogs in the camper. I was one who had the problem of DH not wanting dog hairs in his new truck. We let our dog ride in the TT for a one hour ride as a trial. It was terrible. It got so hot in there. We left our vents open and even one slide up window. We thought we could put the crate in there and it didn't fit, so we let her have free roam. I think after that experience my DH started having a soft heart








On our last trip (7 1/2 hour) he let her ride in the truck. With the exception the whole family had to get every piece of dog hair out when we returned home. We did. He loves our dog and she is a member of the family, but the dog hair is an issue for him in HIS truck, but the camper is no problem.

I'm glad it worked out for you.

Have a great day! sunny


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## never2la8 (Mar 8, 2004)

I show dogs and travel with them with my trailer almost every weekend. We have also done a lot of camping. I have a 25RSS. I have grass mats which I usually put under the awning and then I set up x-pens around the awning and one door. I put a short one along the side of the trailer so that they can't scoot out. This way we can all be together and the dogs love it. The wonderful thing about the OutBack is that it is easily cleaned. The mats keep the dogs dry and out of any dirt. The mats are easily hosed off. I have never seen any scratching on the floors or couch. I have seen the grass mats at Camping World and on the internet. You can get x-pens at Pet Co or Pet Smart in varying heighths. They just hook together with brass clips available at Home Depot. They fold up easily and you can hook as many as you want together. But, I never go off and leave my 4 legged friends in the pen,.... due to createve escape tendancies!!! I also carry folding wire crates that I can put them in inside the trailer if I need to go somewhere for any lenght of time. My dogs love going and I find that I see a lot more of the areas where I stay because of the need to walk them. I have also met a lot of very interesting people because of the gang. 
Happy Camping!
Debbie


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

GM sorry to hear it got to hot for yours, on our last trip I was worried so I made several stops and each time it was cool enough and the dogs were in good spirits. Next time I am thinking of hooking up my webcam to my laptop so I can see what they do when we're not there. With our camper we can open 4 windows in the bunkhouse, but on the last trip I only had one open along with the running vent. Having lived in Missouri though I know how humdity can play a big factor... here its just hot, not damp heat.


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## missouricamper (Jun 28, 2004)

We bought a shell for our truck bed and put a 12 volt fan in the back window to blow air into the camper shell. However, we've always been too afraid to leave them back there (heat, exhaust fumes, etc) so they always ride in the truck with us. Does anyone have any experience putting their dogs in the truck bed?

I've never tried leaving them in the camper while we roll, although we do put them in the camper if we run in somewhere. It has never been very hot there - we try to find a place in the shade if possible and leave them with ice water. They never seem distressed (although we never tried this on a 90 degree day either).

We have a 25RS-S and now I wish we'd bought the 28 so the dogs could sleep in the lower bunks, out of the way! Instead, they sleep in the Queen with us.... (where else would a princess sleep?!)


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## And4togo (Feb 18, 2004)

Our Dog rides in the back of our Yukon in her Kennal, and it stays in the car, that helps keep it cleaner inside and easy to take her with us if we want to during the day, we tie her up at the site and make sure she has enough rope to hang around with us if she wants to,and at night she comes inside the trailer and will sleep on the floor. 
Rob


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## CamperDC (Oct 30, 2003)

This past weekend while we were camping a just arriving camper rolled up and they had a dog inside the TT that was barking like crazy. I could not help but wonder how long that poor dog had been riding back there barking its head off. I quickly found out that this dog liked to bark at anything that moved. This is an interesting topic for me because I am a dog lover without a dog. My wife is not much of a dog person but my daughter is wearing her down. The wife even stated just last week that maybe we should get our daughter a dog for her birthday. We had a dog several years back that was simply the best dog I had ever known. Anyway it took very ill one day and the vet could not explain it and several days later he was gone. We never knew what happened and we have never quite recovered from it.

Anyway, I am trying to figure out what would be the best type of dog for our family or if I should go to the pound. I would like a medium sized dog that does not shed much hair and is smart. Any suggestions?


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## kimacobb (Apr 4, 2004)

We went through the same process of the "big " decision. We now have a Maltese mix 3/4 Maltese 1/4 shih tzu. Maltese are great dogs...NO shedding, although they need a their hair cut. he's is approx. 9 lbs. we have 2 children and is very good with them. very smart ....but need s LOTS of love,n

http://www.petsworldsa.com.au/maltx.htm

Kim


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## Golden Mom (Apr 25, 2004)

Bichon Frise - Looks a lot like a poodle. Small dog, very good with kids, no shedding but needs grooming. Our neighbor had one, he was great - hardly ever barked. My sister-in-law has a female, she barks at everything. They even tried shock collar - didn't work. I'm not sure why some bark and some don't. 
We have Golden Retriever. Yes, she SHEDS ALOT, but doesn't bark. She weighs about 75lbs. and I wouldn't trade her for anything. She is PERFECT! IMHO!!








We went 3 months without a dog after our other died, she was 13 1/2 years old. It was the most miserably 3 months of my life. But I did extensive research on what kind of dog was best for our family. If you are looking for a pure breed, you can go to akc.org. It gives great details on kind, personality, etc...

Hope your search goes well. sunny

(P.S. We are heading out in about 4 hours......yea!!)


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## j1mfrog (Jun 6, 2004)

If you want a dog just for a pet, I'd go to the pound. Heintz 57 dogs have a good mix of different breed personalities.

Having said that, purebreds might have more predictable behaviour. We are going to raise puppies to teach our kids a little responsibility so we did get a purebred.

Dachshunds are great. Ours barks a little too much but he seems to be pretty trainable.


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## And4togo (Feb 18, 2004)

Well I got to put a vote in for a Labrador Retriever, we love"em, great temperment and great with kids. Also have you thought about a male or a female dog? our last Lab was a male and alot of male dogs like to go around marking everything, that becomes a pain if you need to go out and wash things off before the kids go out and play, we have a female now and she is trained to do her thing in one back corner of the yard. Call a few differant kinds of Breeders and talk to them about what you want and see what they say. Good luck.
Rob


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## egenest (Jan 25, 2004)

DC,
Get a Corgi. You wil not regret it. I have been a Shepherd man for many many years. I now have two Corgis and love them both. They weigh in about 35pounds and are a good size for traveling in the truck.
W6ABE


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