Camping With Your Dog

You’ll probably find that most campsites allow for you to take your beloved pets, but you may have to follow some extra rules like keeping them on lead and making sure they are at least tolerant of other dogs. Where you choose to take your four-legged friends will depend entirely on the kind of locations you enjoy together. You might want to go for nice long walks in the forest or visit national parks. There is also usually plenty of camping near the coast where tourists tend to flock to enjoy the beach that your pooch can often enjoy too. Whenever you take your pup anywhere new, especially while camping, you should have an understanding of dangerous plant life that you should avoid.  

Tourist areas are often very dog friendly as people more regularly take their pets on holidays, so you’ll be able to find a number of restaurants, pubs and places where you can bring your best friend along with you.  

Before you travel with your dog, there are a number of things you need to prepare. You always need to make sure their information is up to date on their microchip, and an ID tag should always be worn on their collar. It means someone can get in touch if your beloved pet goes missing. It’s easy to get carried away and take a wrong turn while running through new trails and exploring new places.  

Beyond the basics of travelling with your pooch, you may need some extra things for camping to ensure you have access to everything you need.  

You might not want to take the whole house with you when you go camping, but your pooch will need somewhere to rest their head. If they have a bed they use to travel in the car, this could easily be moved and kept in the tent or caravan to sleep in, or you could get them their very own camping bed. A bed to travelling should be nice and light weight. A great option is a mattress type bed like the Scruffs Chester Mattress Large Graphite. Without sides, the nice soft mattress will easily pack away in the car and slot into most spaces, so it’s convenient to carry around.  

If you plan to go on lots of cross country adventures with your pup and get nice and dirty, a bed like the Snug & Cosy Pescara Green, Waterproof Dog Bed is another great option. It can provide all the comforts of their regular bed, but it’s waterproof and able to withstand lots of dirt without having to constantly wash it. You can simply wipe any muck off, which is great for camping.  

You may not be able to bring all of your grooming supplies camping and be prepared for your pooch to get a little less pristine in nature, but you will still need to bring some basics. While it’s fine for their coat to gather a little dirt or sand they can shake off as a gift after your weekend together, you’ll still need to make sure they stay warm and dry. Having a doggy towel like the Rufus and Rosie Quick Dry Towel means you can dry off after any excursions. Leaving your pup’s coat wet will lead to them getting cold, so you should always have something to dry them off.  

Camping by nature isn’t the cleanest holiday to be on, and you often end up gathering half a field of mud under your shoes. Your four-legged friend has two extra feet and no shoes to take off, so they will walk mud through the tent or caravan if you let them. To keep everything nice and clean, a towel at the entrance will help protect everything inside from muddy pawprints. If you’re camping for a longer period and your pooch likes to have a roll, get yourself a spray like TRM Pet Fresh Pet Deodorant Spray so they can stay smelling fresh until you get them home for a good bath.   

Anywhere you go with your pooch, they should always have access to fresh drinking water, so you will need to take their bowls with you. If you want something a little more travel friendly that won’t bulk up what you’ve already packed, the KONG Travel Fold-Up Dog Bowl takes up next to no space. If can be packed up small and even comes with a caribena attachment so you can clip it to yourself and take it on longer walks with you.  

You are also going to need to take a supply of food with you, but if you buy your pooch’s dinner in larger 20kg sacks, you aren’t going to want to take the whole thing. An air tight container like the Whitefurze Food Storage Canister will keep their dinner nice and fresh and means you don’t have to take more than you need on your camping trip. 

 

Car travel with your pets is all part of the fun of going camping together. By law, your dog needs to be restrained and unable to cause a distraction as you drive. This will usually mean they need to be in the back seat or the boot to keep both them and you safe. A travel harness like the Ancol Travel Exercise Harness will help them to travel in style while also keeping them secure. You should always attach your pooch to a harness in the car rather than their collar to make sure that if you have a bump, no pressure is put on their neck through pinging against their collar. If they already have a harness, you can just buy an attachment to secure them into the back seat, like the Rufus & Rosie ISOfix Universal Car Restraint.  

If they travel in the boot of the car, they can have a little more freedom, and you can pop their bed in with them to relax, but you will need a guard like the Streetwize Deluxe Dog Guard. A boot guard will keep them safe by preventing them from climbing over the back seats to get closer to you. For smaller breeds, they may not want the entire boot to roam around in, and the security of a car seat may suit them better.  

Needless to say, camping is a little different than letting your pooch go out in the garden to the toilet and making a note to go out there and pick it up later. You will need to keep the campsite clean and free from waste, so you’ll need a healthy supply of poo bags. Since you’re spending time in nature, why not consider the more eco friendly option of biodegradable poo bags like the Earth Rated Scented Dog Poop Bags Refill Rolls.  

Almost all the time you spend camping with your pup, they will have to be on the lead. Most campsites are great at being dog friendly but require them to be under control and on lead at all times. You may also not want to risk them wandering off on new trails and walks that you’ve never been on before. It’s worrying enough if your beloved pet ever goes missing, but it’s even worse if it’s somewhere new where they don’t be able to find their way back to somewhere familiar. Having them on lead all the time doesn’t have to restrict them. You can get a nice long training line like the Lightweight Recall Long Line Dog Lead that gives them plenty of room to explore. If you don’t want to handle that much lead, then the Flexi Classic Retractable Cord Medium Dog Lead is another great camping option to give your pooch some extra freedom.  

For all of your camping needs and to keep both yourself and your dog safe when you go on adventures together, visit us in store and online for exclusive deals.