Camping with Bacon, Advice?

[BaconsMom]

Jake and I go camping in South Dakota every year for bowfishing, gopher hunting, fishing, and visiting his family. We leave in 2 weeks, and this year, Bacon gets to come with! It will be his first camping trip, first time on the fishing boat, first time meeting Jake's family! Does anyone have any tips on what to bring, what to be aware of, or what to do?

This is going to be a 5 hour drive for us, his longest car ride ever, but he is great in the car.

Bacon will be sleeping with us in the tent, in his crate.

We always bring our large canopy, so there will be plenty of shade!

Here is our packing list for Bacon:

Leash
E Collar
Tick Collar
Collar
Food
Jugs of water from home
Portable Bowls
Dog Cot
General First Aid (gauze, tweezers, quick stop, etc)
Bumpers and chews

Anything else you guys can think of? We are pretty excited!!!

[MightyThor]

We're just getting started with Thor and camping, and I'm sure I'll figure things out as I go along! Looking forward to reading these replies!

We added two new things to our 'puppy bag' for our first camping trip and both were useful. First, we had a separate rope leash with one of our retired climbing carabiners to clip him into some of the tie down points on our truck. When we stopped for water/food/break we'd clip him in so we'd have our hands free but could still keep a close eye on him. He couldn't roam dangerously far from the truck when he was clipped in.

Here he is clipped into the line at a water/food stop. It was also useful around camp when we were working on camp tasks but didn't want to confine him to the crate. Next time I'm going to throw in a second, longer line so he has more freedom in safer spaces.



Second was a new doggy bed that is lightweight, portable, has an easy to wipe down bottom, machine washable, and big enough for him to spread out on. He spent most of his calm off-leash time hanging out on this bed, seemed to like it a lot. I like it because it rolls up into a nice portable little roll with a handle.

[Grumpy]

Looks like your list is complete. I like the camping only dog bed idea and clip lead too. Think I'll add those to my bag.

Might want to check out vets or where there is a e-vet close to where you're staying. God forbid something happens and you have no idea where to go. I try to scope out where the closest regular and e-vet are incase something happens I can't handle.

How about treats and antlers?

[Jeff]

Here is the Dog Scouts Camping list for Dogs Great guideline, this is for a week long trip camping so adjust for your needs. I added some notes underlined.

Crates
Bed
water dishes, for the camp and portable collapsible for hiking.
food bowls
toys
collars, Always have a spare, they break or get lost, they really do.
leashes (short and long)
backpack for hiking
life jacket
water toys
medications
dog food
dog treats
fanny pack for treats
bug spray for dogs, I recommend Amazon.com: Vetri Repel Flea and Tick Repellemt Wipe Pack by Vetri-Science Laboratories [Pet Supplies]: Pet Supplies wipes lets you get on the head and nose without spraying in the eyes. Natural product you can use it too.
4-5 old towels
shade cover for dog (sheet, tent cover)
clickers
nail clippers
personal dog first aid kit
big rug or mat to put crate on
lots of poop bags
special scarves for dogs
fan for dog
water for dog
brush for dog
long lines
shampoo for dog

[smartrock]

Yeah, I see life jacket is on Jeff's list. I had the impression that when dogs go out on boats it's safest to have a life vest on them.

[Jeff]

Oh yeah forgot something else. A lot of campgrounds require a copy of the dogs health certificate. You can get one from your vet. Just says where they are at on the shots and stuff.

[jjswengb]

This is a great thread! Oscar will be partaking in his first "boys only" camping trip with my fiancé, dad, and brothers this summer. I'm definitely going to use these lists to pack his bags. My fiancé would probably just grab his food, dishes, and leashes and say "Oscar's ready!" HAHA. Love the idea with the rope leash and carabiner.

What kind of cot do you have for Bacon? I see the bug spray listed is for flea and ticks. Does anyone have suggestions for a mosquito repellant?

[POPTOP]

Just what I was going to mention - vac record. Also make sure you have an ID tag. You can get a clip type holder you can change from collar to collar as needed. Be sure to have hydrogen peroxide and gauze, both square and roll type along with some vet wrap. Hopefully you will never need it but when you do it's great to have along.

[ckfalz]

Tie out
Towels!
nail clippers
I like a light up collar for night time visibility
life jacket?

[Shelley]

All great suggestions above!

Make sure the spare collar has your cell phone number on it, all of my collars and spare collars have my cell number instead of my house number. Or you can write your cell number directly on the collar with a sharpie, and make sure your microchip registration is as up to date as possible.

With the multiple dogs, it gets more complicated. All of ours get to go to Lake Shasta or camping and or both, every summer not to mention dog shows, so they have been all over the place.

We have strung long cables with snaps on the ends between trees and higher up, think over your head height, and used 8-10 foot cables to attach dogs to the run. Park Rangers and camp hosts love this, even when there is a 6 foot leash rule, it shows you are responsible and keep tabs on your dogs.

The best single thing to bring camping is an ex pen, we put two in the ex pen and two or three on the line and switch them out occasionally to potty after we are done boating for the day. You can hang water buckets from inside or outside the ex pen too. An ex pen would be ideal for one dog as well.

We bring along extra food, and treats, they burn a lot more calories camping and swimming than usual, so we feed them more and maybe add a mid day small meal. Make sure they get as much water as they can drink.

Bring Benadryl!! You never know what they might get into or what will sting them, so add Benadryl to your first aide kit.