Camping with Canines: Part 1

A hoy-hoy, and welcome back! The following blog is near and dear to my heart, as it will combine two of my favorite things: dogs and camping. ALSO, please welcome my wonderful friend, Hope! She will be helping me with her knowledge and input as well! Let’s get back to the topic at hand: camping with our canine friends. You camp and you want to extend this experience with your entire family, including your dog. It’s outside, they can explore to their hearts content, and there are endless trails for epic walks! What is not to love? This sounds like a dog’s paradise! Well, for some, it is, for others, it might not be. In this blog we will address several different camping with dogs topics including: knowing your dog, researching the campgrounds and sites, what to bring for your dog in all seasons, how to keep everyone (including your dog) safe and comfortable. This might be a long one, so let’s get started!! PS – It is long so this will be a three part blog!

Hope: Hello everyone, and thanks to Bridget for inviting me! A quick intro about myself. I am a long time dog lover, with a 15 year history working in veterinary medicine. I am also an avid nature lover who has backpacked, hiked, and lived full-time in a small camper with my husband and furry kids. I hope to add some pointers and thoughts alongside my good friend, Bridget, on camping with dogs. Now, on with the blog! 

Know Your Dog

History – I grew up with collies, you know, the Lassie dogs? I had heard of dog aggression, but never thought that I would have an aggressive dog. Dogs were dogs, and they were all sweet. Now, a family friend did have a chihuahua that was straight from Hell, but other than that, I never had a negative run-in with dogs. Then The Husband brought home two stray dogs from a day of hunting. Someone had left them in the woods, we suspect for a couple of months. Based on their interactions with humans not in our immediate friend circle, we think that before being left in the woods, they had also been abused. Very long story short, we ended up having to separate the boys (Moose and Bear) because they began to fight. I figured out later that Moose was protecting me, which caused him to become aggressive towards strangers (especially men) and other dogs. Bear was the happy, go-lucky Labrador Retriever. We kept Moose because I knew anyone else would have simply put him down. Bear went to my mom. Throughout the years, The Husband and I worked with Moose and got him to the point that he was approachable with people but was still dog reactive. 

Hope: Sadly, this is an all too common occurrence, and in many situations the outcome is not a happy ending as it was in Bear and Moose’s case. Bridget and Eric were smart and compassionate in how they took time to work with Moose and build on his ability to be in public and out of his comfort zone. I recommend anyone in a similar situation not too be embarrassed or hesitant in seeking professional help working with a dog that suffers from reactivity, fear, aggression, over stimulation, and general obedience training. Some may feel its not worth the time and money needed to do such training. Instead, I encourage folks to see it as an investment in your dogs safety and quality of life. It is also a priceless tool in bonding with your furry loved one. Having the basic command of “come” can save a dogs life.  

I wanted to share this history with you because despite Moose’s aggression, we did work with him. He was eventually able to go into stores with us, local parks, family functions, and camping. But, having an aggressive dog, as their owner and parent, you must be constantly vigilant for their safety and everyone else’s. Taking Moose places, we knew what to look for, how to handle Moose if he was triggered, and how to remove him efficiently and safely. At the house, out camping, and in life, we knew we must always have him on a leash. At all times. I cannot stress this enough. For all dogs. Even though your dog might be fancy-free and happy, if you don’t keep them on leash and they wander over to my dog (who isn’t fancy-free, but happy), there is a chance Moose would have attacked or bitten that sweet little dog in order to protect his family. Always keep your dogs on a leash. I never realized how important this was until my Moo. And as I always told people at the fairgrounds where I would walk him, “My dog is a dick,” even if yours isn’t, mine is. Beware. LOL.

Hope: Bridget touches on one of my biggest fears and frustrations as a responsible dog owner and former owner of a reactive dog. The love of my life was a three-legged pitty bull mix named Martin. Found in a dumpster during the coldest months in Baltimore City, Martin was about five weeks old, and his right front leg was torn and missing. It is highly likely Martin was being used as bait in a dog fight ring based on his condition and where he was discovered. Sorry, I know this is a bit graphic, but it’s an important factor in his story. He was raised in a home with other dogs and went to work with me at the animal hospital every day. Socialized and exposed from a young age to many situations, people, and animals, he grew severely dog aggressive. Please don’t be quick to judge Martin based solely on his breed and dog aggression because he was an angel with all things people and non-canine type animals. I took great care to avoid any situation that could compromise Martin, and he never went anywhere off leash. Most city and county ordinances have leash laws in place. While this may be annoying to folks who feel their dog is fine off leash, this law serves as a safety precaution for people and dogs. Picture this.. I’m walking Martin at a local hiking trail; he is on leash, and I am scanning the surroundings for any sign of trouble. Out of nowhere comes a large happy dog running right towards us. The owner, who is twenty yards away, laughs and yells, “don’t worry he is friendly”. This peaceful walk has now turned into mayhem, with me picking up Martin, turning my back to the loose dog, and placing myself between them to prevent contact. Talk about stress. This could have been avoided if the “friendly” dog had been on a leash and had known/obeyed the command “come.” Remember, just because your dog may be friendly to all that doesn’t mean friendliness will be reciprocated or appreciated.

Therefore, when camping, we always had Moo on a leash or his lead. We ensured his lead was attached to something stronger than his 120-pound self, such as a tree or the camper. Usually, we attached him to a tree. We would also mind where we were in conjunction with other dogs in the campgrounds. If there were other dogs by us, we would warn their owners to keep their dogs on their side of the campsite as ours was a dick. We worked with him and continued to work with him until his dying day, and he grew so much! And we did take him camping with us, all the time! This isn’t to scare you, but to make you aware that you need to KNOW YOUR DOG, be aware of your surroundings for you and for your dog. The outdoors, camping, and pets just go together, but with care and with respect.

Hope: Bridget, such a good point about knowing your dog and being aware of your surroundings. While you may have your dog securely leashed or in a small dog if a small dog portable fence, you can never let your guard down. Our number one job as a good dog owner is to protect our furry kids and be their advocate. Say you are relaxing by the fire with your dog when a group of kids walk by with their dog who happens to be too strong for their little hands to maintain control over the leash. Sadly, the best thing to do is to move your dog into your camper/tent/car until the safety risk has passed. I would also stand up for your dog and speak to the parents of the children and explain why you are uncomfortable with them walking the dog past your campsite. While this may be an awkward conversation it is a necessary one for the safety of all parties. 

NOTE: While on trails, also be very vigilant of other dogs. If we saw dogs approaching us, we would walk off the trail until they passed. And please don’t think that Moose was a vicious dog by any means. He was a bestest boy who hadn’t been properly socialized. He tried. You should have seen him, when he properly approached a dog and didn’t growl. He would look back at me and almost smile, saying, “see ma? I did good!” He was my boy, and I loved to bring him places and have him enjoy his life. Especially after the rough beginning he and his brother had endured. STORY – We had Moose either two or three years, and we worked to socialized him every single day. For our anniversary, we used to stay at cabins down in Brown County for a weekend. Either the second or third year, we took Moose with us. The Husband and I also got fudge from a shop in downtown Nashville. I went to get the fudge while The Husband stayed outside with Moose. After purchasing our fudge, I came outside to find a HUGE crowd gathered in a parking lot next to the fudge shop. At first, I was confused and worried that someone had gotten hurt. Then I realized that was the spot I had left The Husband and Moose. People had seen Moose and surrounded him, petting and loving on him… and he did great!! At that moment, I knew we could do this, hell, we had already done a good job socializing him that he could be in a crowd of people and love it!! It was a very great Dog Mom moment!

Hope: Bridget’s story brings up a great example of knowing your dog. Know their body language and understand how to recognize signs of stress. If Moose had shown he was uncomfortable Bridget would have removed him from the stressful situation and moved on. However, in this case Moose was comfortable and enjoying himself. Because Bridget knew how to read her dog, she could adjust to the situation as needed.

Miss Jones

Now, we have Calliope Jones. And WOW, what a different dog! She is sweet and happy, and loves to approach and be approached by people. For the most part, she is good with other dogs. I am still cautious due to my experience with Moose, and because she is a pit bull. I honestly don’t want people to have any excuse to be jerks. So, we keep our distance. But she is one hundred percent a different dog than Moose. And she loves to camp! Moose would endure it, but he was an inside dog, LOL. Calliope loves being outside and hanging out with us at the campsite and in the camper. She just loves to be included. However, we keep her on her leash and lead, and yes, I allow people to slowly approach her. I know she won’t do anything, but I think it is always better to be safe than sorry. Lessons learned from my Baby Boy. Instead of behavioral things, with Miss Jones, we worry more about her comfort with the weather – which, we will get into in the Dog Accoutrement section of this blog! Want to make sure that she is warm enough or cool enough. Although we didn’t have to worry about Moose getting cold, we did have to make sure he didn’t overheat – which he had done on us one summer. BUT! That’s a different section. For this section, we will simply stress one more time, to know your dog and their stressors or what (or who) might set them off.

Being vigilant and careful is just good pet parenting skills. This makes for not only a great camping trip, but for a better life in general! They are only with us for a limited time, let’s make the most of it! 

Hope: Every dog is different, just like people! This simple fact is something you will have to understand when incorporating your dog with camping, hiking, and any outdoor outing. What is their tolerance for stimulation in public places? Do they handle extreme weather? What is their exercise stamina? Just like with kids, it’s a parent’s job to know their children’s limits and strengths. Don’t hesitate to take that camping trip and tailor it to you and your pets individual needs and love every second together! 

NEXT WEEK WE WILL POST PART 2: Research and Dog Accessories!! STAY TUNED!!