Do you take your dog with you?

[edwardr132]

We are really quite new to popup camping.  When we brought "Max" our 8 yr old Golden Retriever dog; we felt like we were chained to the dog so to speak.  We all wanted to go to the pool at the campground (our first overnight outing other than the driveway, but one of us had to stay behind all the time and watch the dog.  Is this common practice?  We saw that in the rules of the campground, not to leave a dog unattended.  We did tie him up to a pole most of the time except at night when he slept with us in the popup or when we walked him.  The only time Max barked was when other dog owners walked by with their pets.

For longer trips, we are seriously thinking about kenneling the dog even though of course that raises the cost of camping...  

What do you do to make it easier to take the dog with you?  Will National or State parks allow you to bring a dog to the parks?

[mike4947]

Way back years ago we got what was the best advice on pets and camping. They are the equivalent of a 2 to 3 year old. Would you leave a 2 year old alone?
I we are "camping" we always took the dog and shared dog watching. All our animals enjoyed camping as much as we did.
Now if we were going somewhere for sightseeing where we'd spend little time at the trailer and basically used the RV like a hotel room, the animals got their vacation at the local doggie motel.  It cost us almost as much as a hotel, but when we came home they almost didn't want to leave...LOL
So they got a good vacation, we got a good vacation, and we didn't have to worry about them alone in the RV or take turns watching the fur kid.

[jpreiser]

If it is really hot we leave them home and have someone comeover and feed them/let themout, both our goldens are old... 11 and 12 so it is getting harder and harder for them to make it up the steps , and so forth. they prefer to stay home now and sleep all day:)

[cyclone]

My dog loves to go camping - she starts going a little crazy when she sees us packing the cooler, etc.  Say the words "let's go" and she's a nutcase!  Our state parks allow dogs but they must be leashed and never left unattended.  Yes, sometimes it's not terribly convenient.  I do know people who leave their dogs inside the camper and they are fine.  Mine?  Well, we thought we would try that and got about 10 feet away when she started barking.  Decided right then that where we went, she also went.  When we are just "camping" for a week-end, she goes along.  If it's a trip where we have plans that don't allow for a dog, we either kennel or make other arrangements for her.  I will say also that we ALWAYS clean up after the dog, and do our best to keep her as quiet as possible.  The best camping with dogs advice I can give is to take along the "ingredients" for Skunk-off (as my vet calls it).  Of course, we hoped we would never need that.  Wrong!

[chasd60]

We have 2 Chihuahuas that we take on every trip that our family goes on. We leave the Chihuahuas home alone when we work all day and it isn't much different when we camp.
 
We take them for walks in the CG and traveling around if we are going  sight seeing. In the camper, we take a crate for the dogs and we leave a fan on for white noise so the dogs do not get anxious about outside noises.They are not the typical yapping Chihuahuas.

[ForestCreature]

We take our dog for most weekends. He's been camping since he was a pup and loves it. He only goes on longer trips if it's a place we have been before and we know that we'll be doing dog acceptable things and not to cold at night , now that he's an old man. If it's and area we want to explore and non dog items are on the agenda, he stays home.

Some hiking trails do not allow dogs, be sure to read the rules. Most parks allow leashed dogs in the campground. We never leave him alone and go off doing things.

[GeneF]

When we had our Golden, we use to take him with us on weekend trips or weeklong trips IF we were just camping but not sightseeing.

He enjoyed camping with us and was not a problem but we never left him unattended.

If we were on a longer trip that involved sightseeing, hiking or other activities that we wouldn't be allowed to take him on, we left him with friends or in a kennel.

If you enjoy hiking, then you may want to leave the dog home.  Many state and national parks do not allow dogs on the trails.

In a New York state park, dogs are not allowed off of your site for any reason.  You can not walk them around the park.  This is STRICTLY enforced.  Learned that my first visit.

[ILUVTHEBEACH]

We always take Frank with us.  We can't get out the door without him.  Once he knows we are packing the car he is glued to our sides or he will just go out and sit in the car and wait for us.  He loves to camp and we enjoy having him with us.  If we go out, he will go with us.  If it is to hot, we just stay at the campground.  We do like to go to the beach and we found a beach at the shore that allows dogs.  He even goes to the beach with us.

[packerfan1]

We take our 6 year old 50 # mutt with us on weekend camping trips that are 'local' ...at the state park 20 minutes or so away.  We can always drop her off at home sunday morning when we typically leave camp for a while to go to church, etc.

On longer trips farther away, we kennel her or leave her with my sister...especially if we sightsee.

If we camp with her, someone always stays with her or we walk her...she whines a lot if we leave camp without her, and temps can get hot in a closed up PUP in the summer...too hot for a dog.

[SpeakEasy]

Back when we had a dog (Cocker Spaniel) we normally did not take him camping with us. (Too much hassle) However, I did take him with me on a few occasions when I camped alone. I found him to be a great companion, even though I am not the primary dog-lover in the family. He loved being at the campsite, and he loved going on hikes. He seemed to be in smell-heaven. Now that he's been "gone" for about three years I've come to realize that some of my best memories of him are those camping trips. I even have a somewhat fond memory of how he broke my camper's awning pole as he went charging out to bark at another dog being walked by our site. I wasn't too happy with him at the time! I also fondly remember the neighbor camper who thought she was secretly slipping him some of her fried chicken when she thought I wasn't looking! We all had a good laugh last summer as we watched a neighbor's dog raiding their garbage bag when none of the people were looking. Dog's can add a nice touch to the camping experience, but the owners really have to be responsible for them.

BTW - the reason many National Parks do not allow dogs on the hiking trails is because of wildlife. In some of the western parks, where bears and mt. lions are a possibility, dogs would be at some risk. It's best to abide by the rules.

[OC Campers]

Our "girls" always go with us.  Our older dog sees the food box and suitcases come out and she doesn't leave my side.   If we go someplace where we want to site see, chances are we are camping with other families and can leave them with a "hired hand".   Now, if we were going someplace touristy by ourselves, we probably would consider kenneling them.

I know they are a hassle sometimes but our "girls" are members of the family and love camping as much as we do.  
 
Jacqui

[wynot]

Our dogs come with us.  This next trip back to where we lived in South Carolina is going to be interesting, because we will take the dogs with us, then kennel them for some of the time there because of our visiting folks.  Because of mid summer South Carolina, we don't want to take a chance on the A/C going out in a closed camper.

Ordinarily, we leave the dogs in the camper when we leave the campground, rather than take them with us (unless gone for a long time). But our dogs settle down and sleep while we're gone.
 
I think what a lot of un-dog people don't realize is that a dog would prefer to be hot and miserable WITH you, than cool and comfortable separated from you (for example, in a kennel).  Even so, I wouldn't want to take our dogs with us for local visiting and leave them in an opened vehicle sitting in the sun.  That's not right.

[neshotah]

"They are the equivalent of a 2 to 3 year old. Would you leave a 2 year old alone?"

I wouldn't leave a 2 or 3 year old child alone, but a dog, of course. When we go to work he is left alone for hours at a time. When camping we have put him in the camper with a chew toy, and went to the pool for 30 minutes.

[Manchesterjim]

Ours is a Pekinese/Pomeranian....small dog with a big ego....and he's 16 yrs old right now so we're a bit more careful these days but.....

 
He goes with us every weekend to our season site and he just seems to "know" when its Friday.  We spend a lot of time at the camp beach during the weekend so while we're there he generall stays in the camper with the TV on low.....Like the other small dogs, it keeps him from getting upset over the outside noises.  Since he's small, we don't have to worry much about him climbing on a bed and getting out through the canvas, although anything is possible.
 
We tried crating him last year, but he responded best to the TV.....If temperature looks like it will be a problem in the camper we simply don't leave him......or take him home (only 30min away).

[cjpoppin]

We take our little dog Pickle's with us everytime we camp.  Having a pet along is a big responsibility and there are times when you can't go do things maybe you'd like to do.....We must ask is this a dog friendly site or place? We have thought about leaving her with someone in our camping group but we haven't done this yet(planning on trading off dog sitting next time out with another person in our club) I'm such a worry wort........We left her in the camper one time and I'll never do this again the whole time I worried about the trailer catching on fire or some one getting in and taking her or maybe she'd find away to get out or bark the whole time we were gone even though she isn't a barking kind of dog......See I said I was a nut case!  Guess one has to choose when camping with pets if they want to bring a pet or run around places they can't go and to leave them at home with a sitter....Good camping to you and have a great summer!