i have a two year old chocolate lab which has yet to enjoy the wonders of camping as sadly i have left her with parents while i have been away before, but i am planning on taking her on my first trip this year (tester)
she is young, very friendly, well behaved but does get excited at times, she spends ninty percent of her time off lead when we are out (live in village surround by open land)
so i am wondering how others have found camping with there dogs and to pick up some good tips and advice
how they deal with having them tied up ?
what comforts they bring (bed obviously lol) ?
sleeping in pod or out ?
all advice very warmly welcome as would like samantha (dog) to be a true camping dog with as little problems as possible
As you can see from pics we have 2 dogs who love camping. If you do a search on here re dogs and camping you will get lots of ideas. We take treats and toys, they share a dog bed when camping but little one always tries to get in our pod! We make sure they have insulation under their bed also as ours are mature ladies! We have two corkscrew type poles one for inside and one for outside...easier to transfer from one to other. When in tent and door is closed, we take them off lead as we have a sig so they can't escape. When outside we ensure they have shade, water and something to lie on (again waterproof and insulated) They are a little unsure on first night but soon settle down and enjoy themselves cos they are always with us. We do factor in that we need to find 'nice walks etc' for them as its their hols too. If your lab is anything like our retriever...water is a must so take plenty of dog towels. Hope Samantha enjoys it as much as Lottie (Charlotte) and Izzy (isabella) do
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
We have two labs who love camping, we take the following for them:
Primary thing is a dog stake like this:
Plus you might want to have a short stick to use to wind the stake in if the ground is really hard.
My two are fine being tied up, we put a windbreak up as well to keep them enclosed. Make sure they have some shade if its hot (you can laugh at this part)
We don't bring a specific bed for them as they sleep on our bed with us and as we have a carpet in our tent they either sleep on the floor or at the end of the bed with us hanging on to the edge of the bed lol
I wouldn't feel happy with them sleeping outside of the bedroom pod as they can open the zip of our tent with their noses. I padlock the zips together now just in case as well.
We take a selection of toys, water toys and chew bones to keep them busy
Its also a good idea to have longer leads for the stakes so that they have a good area they can move about in.
Something I have found is to be aware that children will just come up to your dog and it's another reason we use windbreaks to deter this.
Thats all for now, if I think of anything more I'll post.
i hadnt thought about kids coming up and petting her etc and the windbreaks sounds good to deter that
as much as sam has her bed she can normally be found on and somethimes in mine lol
ill get a couple of those stakes i think i might try her out with one in a field or something she how she is as she hasnt been tied down before and not sure how she will take to it
You might find this thread useful, plus if you do a search (using the icon at the top of this page) there are lots of tips for when you take your dog camping.
I also have a choccy lab which we got from a rescue home. He was 3 yrs old when we got him & as you can imagine I had no idea what he would be like when I took him for camping the first time.
Well he travelled well...(pleased)... arrived & entertained everyone by having a dizzy fit of pleasure at all the grass & space, racing around, leaping & jumping for joy...(v.pleased)... then settled down at night in the bedroom pod (with me) & had no problems apart from one barking session as someone arrived v. late to their tent. ...(not so pleased)
He made himself at home in the morning by inviting himself to everybody's tent for breakfast!! ...7 breakfast's later he lay down & slept for the rest of the morning till lunch then repeated the whole process !!!
Over all he has been great & I would never leave him out of our camping trips cause I'd feel so guilty that he's missing out on all those meals ...oh & the fresh air...oh & the friends he's made (human & K9 )
Not allowed to go without my dogs, they'd never talk to me again,
To be honest being tied up never seems to bother them, They just love going away and sitting outside the tent/van and watching the world go by.
They have a collapsable folding fabric kennel I they sleep in with a fleexe at the bottom and never have an issue, Its when we get home they sulk.
Hope samantha enjoys her trip, it may take a few times to get used to it but in my eyes, the dogs are part of our family so why shouldn't they come on holiday?
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Is she used to travelling in the car? If she is then she will love every minute. We have 2 black labs who go crazy when we load up the car to go camping. We tie them up to the tow bar on the car when we and they are outside as we don't trust them not to pull up one of those screw in thingys lol.
yes she does love travelling in the car just not sure how she will like being tied up as she has a lot of freedom at home and when im out with her but hopefully she will be ok i shall try her out over a weekend first i think if we ever get a nice weekend lol
thanks for the posts they are all welcoming received
Hi I have a cavalier and he has taken to camping like duck to water. I agree with the other tips. A corkscrew stake to tie them to We have always taken his own bed more reassuring for him and just our company. Yes you do have to watch other children and wondering fingers so windbreak perfect to deter this. Hope Samantha has many happy camping experiences as Sunny has.
We too have a two year old lab, but a black one. We took him camping for the first time last year and he absolutely loved it, settled really well. He's very sociable and thinks everyone is going to stop and fuss him, but he does tend to bark a bit, we tried to teach him to 'whisper' hehe. He sleeps in the pod with me and my husband, beware if you get up to go to the toilet, cos if yours is anything like ours you'll have a fight to get back on your bed when you get back!! I'm sure both you and your labby will have a great time on holiday, enjoy!!
------------- May/June - Spring Valley
Aug/Sept - Leekworth
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: camping with dog
