Camping with Dogs

I use a 4 ft chain with swivel snaps on both ends and then chain a dog to the support brackets of the T@B.  My dogs are trained to a chain before traveling.  I kept 4 dogs that way for a week of trailing earlier this month.  The dogs overnight in their crates in the van.  No dogs in the T@B.

Microfiber mat, just fits the space between the galley and the benches in front of the door. We got it in grey to match the (Tabitha) flooring:

http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/50221301/

We have a German Shepherd and she has her own small duffle bag for leaches,  e-collar, bowls, toys and food. She travels and sleeps in a crate in the car. We only take her where she's welcome and there are trails open to her. If we're going to Yellowstone, we camp in the national forest outside the Park. National forests are the best bet.

Lucky for me, Sunny Day knows I will be back and she rarely barks, and never tears up anything. If she barks, you better pay attention because it is important.  

At Catalina State Park, I gave the camp host a key to the SS because I didn't know how long the tour at the Biosphere would be. He and his wife had three dogs, so they were very accommodating. They told me they looked through the window a couple of times because Sunny made absolutely no noise. She's a good girl. But pay attention if she does bark. 

I respectfully disagree about shaving. Beyond the fact that it will ruin their coats, it also makes them more vulnerable to sunburn, bugs...and strange as it may seem...the coat insulates for both heat and cold....given shade and water....!!  I have shelties and collies who both carry more coat than Goldens....and as long as I am sure to brush out the undercoat when it's ready to go...they are fine.

boo said:

Best thing you can do is shave your dogs hair very short.
Taking him/her for a morning poo or wiping his feet on a wet day is not a big problem.
Shaving them keeps them cooler in summer and almost completely eliminates shedding.
We shave our medium size dog throughout the summer.
He slept in the bed with us on our last/first trip in our t@b. No problems.
He is well looked after, regular baths, all shots, flee, tick, etc.

ps: A tip if I may. If you decide to start shaving your dogs yourself, cheap clippers do not work well at all.

I had no idea people went camping when it was down to 5 below. Are the water and sewer lines in the T@b insulated? Right now I can't really imagine camping in the winter at all. I just picture two people coming into their T@b bundled up with boots, winter coats, gloves, hats, etc. and trying to undress and find a place to put everything, let alone worry about the water lines freezing!

PXL, what surprises me are the crazy Canadians, who actually embrace winter, and have campgrounds that are open all winter!

Fancy that! Getting out and enjoying the cold, rather than 'holing up' til the fine weather comes. If only New York state could figure that one out!

We are new here and actually do not even have our t@b yet. I am reading everything to help learn about this small style camping.  We do have experience with our other larger camper with 4 small dogs... Yes We have 4 dogs, call me crazy... 3 mini wieners and a norwich terrier. Any one who has wiener dogs know they love to bark and when one starts they all go off even at home over nothing. Anyway our first camper we set up camp at home in the camper, us and the dogs. We slept out in it we watched tv in it and just made the dogs feel right at home and special because they even got to sleep with us.  So now they love the camper first problem solved. Next thing is to see if they bark when we leave them? They were pretty good but windows blinds open they watched for us and it eventually lead to some barking, so we left tv on and air on  and shut blinds and they settled good with the homey distractions.
We also have used and plan on using  the large screen room that attaches which gives them outside run around time and feet clean. Another thing we use is a portable roll up electric chicken fence sold by premier1supply  ( we also have chickens but they stay home)  We have not had to electrify it but it is an option, it keeps chickens in and predators out. If you are camping in area with lots of scary predators electrifying may be good thing with some training. It is 100 foot long with step in posts and sets up pretty fast. So we can attach that to the screen room and now they can have freedom while we are there with out running off to see what neighbors are cooking. The other thing we use at home,now don't judge me  we love our dogs they are our children but we use bark collars the pet safe ones. They get a couple of free barks and then a few unpleasant tingles then shut up.... They work !!! and at night they come off for sleep. 
I also have this nifty pet stroller that they LOVE as well as I do... We can fit 3 of them in it with good space to lay down and the 4th dog walks on a leash and they take turns on who walks the leash. We can take them almost anywhere with this, we have crammed them all in there and taken them into restaurants, just throw a baby blanket over it to hide them and the PET ZIP logo and everyone thinks it is a baby. If they get a bit antsy in there I unzip a corner and slip them each a piece of dog food and piece prevails. The stroller pushes incredibly easy it has big wheels and will carry some of your bags if your down town shopping.If you hike it can go there too as long as there are not a lot of logs and big stuff to cross, it even goes up and down steps pretty good.  It is a PET ZIP and I bought it on ebay.
So yes we carry as much stuff as people with kids but it works well and we can go this way. We can not afford to board 4 dogs at about $29.00 per dog per day... YIKES.
 We have a town and country mini van with the stow and go seats. All seats are down and it all fits good with extra space even with all of their cages in there. The dogs travel in cages for safety all tied down and stacked in the middle of the van. If we were ever rear ended they would not be thrown around or hurt. 
So this is how we do it, I do not want to disturb any one elses camping trip with barking unhappy dogs. I hope I will never have a nasty gram on my door when we return to the camper.
Just curious do any of you have a town and country mini van to pull your T@B with ? We are assuming it will be a good match ?

We leave the dog food in the TV. Wouldn't want to attract a bear to the Tab... B-)

P.S. I placed a thick rubberized mat on the floor so the floor would not get dirty or scratched.

We've never taken Max tent camping because of barking - he'd alert to every little sound and smell outside. I hope to be able to take him in the T@B sometimes, partly because his boarding kennel is $45 a day but also because we want to spend time with him. He's half beagle and half Australian shepherd and barks loudly enough for two dogs. (At least nobody will ever sneak up on us.) Thanks for the videos, we're working with him and hopefully will make some progress over the winter!

Photomom said:

We've never taken Max tent camping because of barking - he'd alert to every little sound and smell outside. I hope to be able to take him in the T@B sometimes, partly because his boarding kennel is $45 a day but also because we want to spend time with him. He's half beagle and half Australian shepherd and barks loudly enough for two dogs. (At least nobody will ever sneak up on us.) Thanks for the videos, we're working with him and hopefully will make some progress over the winter!

I love how his videos give you transferrable commands/skills for your dog. I taught my dog "leave it alone" when he was young to teach him to stop chewing things that were not allowed and it has worked for teaching him not to beg, and other impulse control related commands, like, "stay." He does quite well at home, I need to work on his obedience in other locations, though. Once you step outside, it's a whole new world and you have to back the learning up a little. My dog loves working on training, too, which helps.

PXLated said:

Don't have a dog but get visitors...The camp host...
Couldn't keep her out of the T@B...

Reminds me of a certain dog I know.

Yes, he takes up a lot of space, but just look how comfy he is!   Only 2 short trips so far, still learning how to organize.   Having a short hair dog helps.  Washable cotton comforter.  I've left him waiting in the car in cool weather, but don't think I'd leave him in the trailer.