Looking to do alot more camping this fall but with the dogs. Any tips and gear i will need since ill be bringing the sled heads along? Harrise looking for you to chime in on this one.

I'll add my little bit here, but I'm sure Eddy will love this post

When we go camping with the dogs, we made sure they had a backpack that could carry their things. We only have one that we can adjust to fit both of them, so here's what it contained: water for the dogs, their food/bowls, their tie out (necessity, especially at night since we had a lean-to and not a tent-- also don't want them offleash obviously), some trash bags.

In our packs we made sure to carry a blanket or two for them to lay on. You'll also want to be sure they're up-to-date on their flea/tick prevention. I'm sure NC has horrible bugs at this time of year too.

Granted, this is all for hiking your stuff in camping and not car camping

Yeah, we do exclusively car camping because of all the food/booze and the cost of backpacking gear. "Roughing it" doesn't really fit into our vocabulary. We travel in a comfortable manner and Colorado makes it easy to do. I should get a picture of all the crap we take along.

My first tip is to wear them out good before heading out. It makes the car ride much easier (at least 2-3hrs for us). Then canvas the campsite area for a few minutes when you get there. I like to cover a radius of about 50 yards from where the tent will be. This has reduced the amount of wandering they do greatly, although I would wager yours will be on lead. As far as other gear, here's our list...

• An extra towel or two
• Long lines plus one extra if one should snap.
• Lots of nylon rope for anchoring the long lines to trees
• Harnesses (they don't tangle the same way tethering to the collar does)
• 150% of the food they would normally eat (our hikes will burn off more than that)
• 15L of water from home (average of 4L per dog, their intake varies wildly depending on weather but running out would suck)
• Additional water for hiking (.5L per dog for every two miles or 500' elevation gain)
• Muzzle (part of the first aid kit, taught Ridik to shut the hell up too)
• Poop bags
• Water and food bowl for each dog
• Choke chains/martingales (sometimes they need to be secured by something they can't get out of)
• Rawhide/chew toy to occupy them during eating/chilling out times
• Brushes (When I remember to, I like leaving their hair in the forest)
• Ultra high value treats for added concentration
• Beds/pillows for them to sleep on (we have old couch cushions that they use)
• Tarps; one to put outside of the tent entrance and one to put inside the tent. This will make it much easier when packing up. Just fold up the tarp from the floor and take all of the hair/mud/debris out in one fluid motion. Also serves the same use inside the vehicle.

I went back out to the pile and that looks like everything on the dogs' gear list. Aside from the packs and their hiking contents. I didn't put first aid stuff because it's always there in our kit anyway. The rawhides and treats aren't used much since my idiots seem to resource guard more when camping. That and it's just one more thing to remember to put away before bedtime. I also use flat and wide feeding bowls to minimize spill and the subsequent cleanup. Something tells me a bear can probably smell one piece of kibble from far far away.

Well since Eddy covered that so well i will have to just say the only thing i would add is an anchor to screw into the ground in-case there are no trees around, we ran into that while camping on a lake last summer and the 20ft lead with the anchor worked great. i did not think about the kibble on the ground, (thanks Eddy for not checking me on that!) after that though i think i will bring a smaller sized tarp to feed them on in-case any food does fall out of the bowl while at camp, on the hikes i don't care cause we are far enough away. does the rawhide need to be packed up at night? i have been leaving that in the tent for them to go to bed.

Thanks you guys that should help

Also do you let the dogs sleep in the tent with you or leave them on the runs?

If we had a tent big enough, our dogs would sleep in the tent with us

they sleep in the tent with us, Eddy does the same thing, to much to worry about if they are left out. also based on my first "bad" camping trip now secure the zippers from the inside of the tent with some kind of secure clip so the dogs if they try can not push the nose between the 2 zippers and open the tent. i use the clip i have on my keys as the nose of the keys would also wake me up if something was trying to get in or if they were trying to get out.

This is a great list for us first time campers. I know this is an older post. Is there anything that you would add or found useful in the past year since this was posted?

Any specific recommendations on tie outs for those of us who own houdini reincarnated? Do you secure them to anything when they sleep in the tent with you? I see myself wrapping myself with the leash while sleeping just so I would know if he even tries to move, lol

Dee&Frankie wrote:

I see myself wrapping myself with the leash while sleeping just so I would know if he even tries to move, lol

I can so see myself doing that as well, if we ever work around to going camping with the dogs. lol

Dee, i went to walmart and got the heavy duty twist anchor there as well as the 20' plastic coated wire leads with clips on both ends, i like to hook one end around a tree when i can and the other end on the dog. for the tent i made sure that the walls of the tent were fabric and not screen at least half way up to prevent tears. when we go to bed S&J have beds that they sleep on and a water dish in the tent. we keep the leashes on at night in case we need to grab them, you could always pack a cinder block and tie him to that in the tent if he tries to run it will be a bit harder!
you can see how well the dog beds did in this pic... we line them on one side of the tent.

Zip ties and duct tape.
Then you can cobble together a fix of most anything.

Oh, a camping thread does exist! Yay!!!! I see myself sleeping with a leashes wrapped round my wrist as well..LOL!!! I think this covers it all! Awesome!

This camping trip is getting closer and closer. Almost a little over a month away and I'm starting to freak because we have NOTHING! I don't even know where to start. Other than the tent. I found this one on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-COLEMAN-Camping-Waterproof-6-Person-Instant-Tent-/350499324787?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519b634373

It's kinda pricey though ($150), but it's supposed to go up in a minute Which sounds awesome, but kind of unbelievable. We've never been camping and have NO CLUE how to put up a tent. Try doing it with 2 huskies around. Plus it has a lot of screens. How about if they see something at night and want to chase it or something.

How much should a sturdy, easy to put up tent cost?

Or this one might be better?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-8-Person-Tent-14-x-8/15111312

If you guys aren't planning on camping a ton I wouldn't worry about spending too much money on one. Ours was expensive I think, don't remember the price. But we use it a lot and have had it a long time.

Melissa, that Coleman tent is awesome! I think I will be upgraded mine to that one. Mine is an easy set up but definatly takes longer than a minute and mine is tiny! You literally have to crawl in the door to get in it. If your new to this, you will appreciate the easy set up and take down. You can easily fit two crates in that tent if you need them.

The tent & tarp is just a roof over your head. The important thing to have is a damn warm sleeping bag myself it has to be rated for: 0 degrees or lower. These 32-50 degree bags are a bad joke especially for someone that lives in Miami and south FL.
It can get cold in Georgia and nothing sucks worse then trying to sleep while shivering your booty off at night. An overly warm bag can always be opened up to cool off as needed an unwarm one you just stay cold.

Get a foam pad to put under your bag if your not using cots. Keep your tent zipped tight at night because snakes like a warm bed to.

Well, my never been camping, from Miami, never in a COLD place, HUSBAND seems to think that we don't need sleeping bags. That an air mattress, warm clothes, and a comforter will be sufficient. Ha! I'm not going to argue with him because everything turns into a discussion as to why he's right and I'm wrong, SO I told him to take that for him, but I'm taking a sleeping bag or LOTS more than just a comforter. Shopping for this trip with him shall be interesting!

Oh, and we're camping in Ocala, FL Len. I think it gets pretty cold there though. Burrr! We're driving to GA from there to see my best friend, but we're staying at her house. Unless she kicks us out and makes us camp in her forest backyard. LOL!!!

My dad has a small really old tent you can use if you don't feel like buying one. I would recommend bringing a sleeping bag though. I think it will be too cold without one.

Some sleeping bags can double as a nice comforter if you're sharing an air mattress with someone. personally, I would much rather using a sleeping bag as a comforter instead of the regular ones you use in the house, as you can get a waterproof sleeping bag. Very helpful when it's raining and the tent happens to leak above where you're sleeping. You must also be careful with dog nails on an air mattress, making sure to have a few fitted layers to help prevent any holes.

Definitely make sure to bring extras of any important stuff. Tikaani somehow broke his and Tetsu's tie-out lines, while we were setting up the tent, in an attempt to catch some ground squirrels. We didn't bring extras, so they had to be tied up with their leashes for the rest of the trip.


If you've never gone camping before, a great way to get your feet wet is to rent a site at a place close to home. That way, it's not a big deal if you forget something as you can just take a quick drive home to get what you need.

Bring sleeping bags! Seriously, it sucks more than anything else to lay awake shivering at night. Been there, done that multiple times. That was the best part of SERE training, you learn REAL quick how to make a good shelter. Len is right too with the pad. That will insulate you better than a sleeping bag alone. You can even make yourself a pad with a bunch of leaves and sticks, and then throw a space blanket over that. Enough leaves in there and it makes for a reasonably comfortable surface. You just need to make sure it's about 12" thick, because it really compresses once you lay on it.

Even if you are in Ocala, in early Feb it gets cold. It's fairly similar to Pensacola (maybe a little warmer) and I've seen high temps in the 20's in January. Bring extra socks too, I've camped before where everything else was warm enough except my feet. That one sucks really bad too.

Sara, thanks for the offer, but we'll probably just invest in one. Can't hurt to have one. If hubby enjoys this camping trip I'll definitely be wanting to do it more often. I've been wanting to go camping for YEARS and he's never agreed. I think the huskies convinced him

I'm with you Len and Meredith! I'll probably just buy the sleeping bags and he'll end up using them.

I also need to get the dogs backpacks soon so that I can start using them on their walks now. That way they'll be used to it. I believe that we're going on a hike also and they'll need it. Sara, correct me if I'm wrong

Oh boots, we need boots too. Especially since we're going to GA from there and it might be snowing.

Do you think Mya and Kody will need a sweater?

MelissaI wrote:

Do you think Mya and Kody will need a sweater?

You do that and I hope they bite you.

I'm getting a little nervous about camping. Almost to the point of backing out. But I won't because I really want to do this. My only thing is that I am going alone, which scares me a little. But I'm sure I'll have you guys to help

I have a scout camping trip in January, so I'll be testing my equipment then. I still need to make sure I get everything for the Frankster.