Camping with dogs can be a lot of fun! But camping with pets also comes with its own set of hazards. To help ensure this grand adventure is a good one, let’s discuss ways we can prepare you and your dog for your trip before you ever set foot on the campsite.
You may be asking how to best camp with your dog. That depends a lot on your dog. Will your dog enjoy camping? And how will you manage your campsite to keep your dog safe?
We’re not trying to be a buzzkill! We will guide you through some information that will help you answer these questions. Then, you can prepare to go on a camping adventure with the peace of mind that you have taken steps to keep everyone happy, healthy, and safe. First, make a list of helpful equipment from our guide The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Dog Activities: The Gear You Need. Then, let us help you create a plan that works for you and your dog!
How To Camp With Dogs
The first thing to know about camping with dogs is that each dog is different – just like people. So, here are two things to keep in mind:
Step 1: Selecting Your Shelter
I love tent camping. But my first dog could nose through the zipped door of my tent. She would never be left in a tent unattended, but I worried that if she heard noises outside while I was asleep, she’d let herself out.
While training could reduce this behavior, I was never going to have a 100% guarantee that she wouldn’t get out unless my shelter had more secure sleeping quarters.
So, we upgraded to a pop-up camper. And we have successfully camped in that same camper for 20 years with many different dogs.
The great thing about camping is that you don’t have to be at a campground to do it. Set up camp in your backyard. Spend time hanging out with your dog in the tent (or other shelter you decide to use). Feed your dog in the tent, too. And before your first trip, sleep out in the tent with your dog. If your dog is too agitated to settle down, you would rather learn this at home than when you are miles away at a campground.
And if your dogs don’t make it through the night, you don’t have to give up. Continue to give them more slow, positive exposures.
We keep our camper up year-round. When we go outside, my dogs like to check it out. Sometimes, we go back there to play, read, or relax. My older dog often asks to sleep out there.
If you don’t own a tent, see if your friends and family will loan you one for a trial run before purchasing one. Some stores, such as REI, will rent different size tents. This is a great way to determine how much room you need. This will be determined more by your dog’s sleep habits than their size. For instance I need more room for my German shepherd than my greyhound, even though my greyhound is bigger. My shepherd likes to sleep on the floor away from my body heat (but where she can see me). Where my greyhound will sleep right on top of me.
A dog containment system keeps your dog safe from running away. And if you are staying at a campground, most will require that your dog be safely contained or on a leash.
In our Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Gear, I suggest the Knot-a-Hitch system, a trolley system that allows for more exploration and an ex-pen.
Screw in stakes are also popular at campgrounds, but I have seen many dogs successfully pull them out. If you already have a stake that you have used successfully, you still want to use caution. The soil conditions at each campground will vary, affecting how securely a corkscrew stake will stay in the ground.
No matter your chosen system, you want to introduce it to your dog before you leave. Does your dog get frustrated if it is on a tie-out system and can’t get to you? Or when contained in an ex-pen? If your dog can see you and can’t get to you, it can cause anxiety to escalate.
Spend some time making positive associations with the tool you choose. If your dog will be on a trolley system or a hitch, introduce it at home. You ensure success by following the steps in this video. This specifically addresses building calm behavior in an exercise pen, but you can apply similar steps if your dog is on a hitch or tether.
Step 3: Finding Dog-Friendly Campsites
Now that you have your housing and containment system, you must decide where to camp.
Keep your dog in mind while searching for the best place to camp. If your dog barks at other dogs and people, you want to find more secluded spots. Look for primitive spots in national forests. Check with the park to ensure that dogs are allowed and see how far you will need to hike to reach the spot. Then check with your vet to ensure your dog is in good enough shape for that trek.
Try camping in the off-season when there are fewer people at the campground. Work with a positive reinforcement trainer to make sure camping is fun for you and your dog. The right trainer can help you work with the underlying emotions driving this behavior, and they will have suggestions specific to your dog to help you both find more peace on your camping trip.
If you believe your dog will enjoy the campground environment, check out The Dyrt:
Their database indicates dog-friendly campgrounds with a paw print. Read reviews of the campsites you are interested in.
Once you find a campground that you are interested in, call them to verify their pet policies. Some campgrounds will have leash requirements, and some will want vaccine records. Still others might have breed restrictions. Make sure you have all the info before you put down a deposit.
Training Tips For Camping With Dogs
The campground is full of new sights, smells, and sounds, which are big distractions for dogs. When teaching any behavior you would like them to readily do while camping, you need to focus on proofing behaviors. Dogs are poor generalizers, so getting them to sit in your kitchen doesn’t mean they will sit in the middle of a field full of smells.
How can you help make their behavior reliable? Follow these basic training tips with each behavior you train. For maximum success, train in order, and do not move on to the next step until behavior is reliable in your current step.
- 1. Build the initial behavior using positive reinforcement in a quiet environment.
- 2. Once the behavior is reliable, start to vary the locations in the house where you cue them. Make sure to reward each response.
- 3. Start to add distractions. This can be a change in your body position or someone walking through the room. If this is too distracting, lower the distraction level. You can build it up once you reliably get the behavior with lower-level distractions.
- 4. Do short training sessions with REALLY good treats outside.
- 5. Dogs are context-specific, so your next goal is to make a list of places you can take them for short training sessions, from the lowest level of distraction to the highest. Some great places to start are industrial parks on the weekend, church parking lots on weekdays, and sports fields during the off-season.
Here are some helpful behaviors to train for your camping trip:
Crate Training
If they aren’t already, there are a few reasons to get your dog used to a crate. The crate is the safest place for them in the car. In addition, crating your dog at your site is a great plan when you leave the site (i.e. if you go to the restroom where they can’t come with you).
If crating is brand new to you and your dog, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Crate Training.
If it has been a while since you have crated your dog, pull it out and let him sniff it. Hide some treats inside and let him go in, grab them, and come out.
You can create a fun shaping game with the crate. At first, mark (with a yes or a click)/treat any interaction your dog has with the crate. Watch your dog… does he look at it? Sniff it? Walk in it? Whatever interaction he offers, mark/treat it. The more you play this game, the more excited he should be to interact with the crate.
Eventually, you will only mark/treat him as he gets closer to the crate and then when he steps inside. Here is a great video that shows you what this looks like.
Shaping builds a dog’s confidence and will really help him make positive associations with the crate.
Once your dog is comfortable going in the crate, you want to add closing the door. The easiest way to start this is to close the door, treat, and open the door. Then slowly add duration (wait a few seconds before giving the treat and opening the door) and distraction (take a step to the left, then treat). You will slowly build up both these criteria separately.
Set up training sessions in these spaces if you want to crate him in your tent, car, or camper.
Try this:
- 1. Feed him his meal in the crate and close the door.
- 2. At the lowest level, play some camping ambiance videos like this one.
- 3. As your dog finishes up, slip in some extra treats.
- 4. Open the door. Let the dog choose whether he wants to come out or not.
If your dog is stressed (does he keep his eyes on you, is he eating?) , stop using the sound and just get him used to the environment. If he seems relaxed, slowly increase the volume of the video. Then, start building duration (time spent in the crate) and distance (you will walk away and walk right back).
You don’t want your dog crated for too long while camping. Your dog should be out enjoying the enrichment nature has to offer. However, being able to crate for short periods will keep him safe and sound when setting up or using the restroom.
Recall, or Coming When Called
“My dog will come when I call him at home, but ignores me when we are outside.”
If I had a dollar for each time I have heard this, I would be very wealthy!
I know this is frustrating for dog owners, but it is completely normal. As mentioned above, dogs learn in context. So, if they learn a behavior in one environment, it does not automatically transfer to another.
In addition, the level of distractions outside is always a lot higher. You have to set up training scenarios in high-distraction environments to build a reward history for coming when called in that context.
If your dog already comes when called in the house, you will focus on short training sessions outside. In the first sessions, your dog should be on his 4-6 food leash. Is he successful 90% of the time? Then move up to a 10-foot-long line, then a 30-foot-long line. Then, find a secure area to try working the recall off-leash.
NOTE: While the leash is used for management, be cautious not to pull on it when calling your dog. That tug can become part of the cue from your dog’s perspective, and then your recall will fall apart when the dog is not on the leash.
The 2 Minute After Dinner Exercise
- 1. After dinner, I want you to take 5-6 small pieces of your dinner (if it is dog-safe), put them in a plastic bag, and put them in your pocket. I love wearing hoodies for this…. The big kangaroo pocket in front is a great way to hide my treats.
- 2. Take your dog outside to an area he is comfortable (Your backyard or your front yard. Start in the area he spends the most time).
- 3. Take 1-2 steps away from your dog and say come. You want to be close. You also want to wait until there are no distractions. So if there is a squirrel in the tree, wait for a few minutes.
- 4. When he turns toward you, say yes, and give him a treat.
- 5. Do this 4-5 more times and end the training session.
- 6. If your dog is play-motivated, you can go right into a play session for a bit.
Do this every day. Ask for the recalls in different parts of the yard. Start by gradually adding distance. Then, move it to another area (so if you started in your backyard, move to the front). List potential locations for short sessions with gradually increasing distraction levels.
The benefits here are:
- Keeping the training sessions short and sweet leaves the dog wanting more. We want to create a behavior that the dog LOVES doing.
- By using your dinner, the dog gets a different treat every day, which keeps reinforcement exciting and motivating.
- A play session after training can help your dog retain what it learned. This study suggests that dogs that have a play session after training will relearn the task 40% faster than those who rest.
If your dog doesn’t already come when called, you will want to start from scratch. Start with this video and build a response inside before heading to the yard.
Place Training
Teaching dogs to target a bed or a blanket is one of my favorite behaviors. I love it when I am camping so my dog can stay with me but out of the way of potential dangers or temptations.
For instance, if I am eating dinner, my dog is on her place near the table, so she isn’t being a nuisance. Or if I am sitting around a campfire, I put my dog’s “place” near me but far enough away from the fire that we minimize any burn risk.
Place training also gives your dogs something to do when you want to relax.
Pick the “place” you want your dog to target and put it on the ground. Mark/treat any interaction with the place at first. As your dog becomes more interested in interacting with the mat (because it makes treats happen) you will begin to refine what you mark/treat. Start with any feet on the mat, and eventually four feet on the mat.
When your dog is good at placing on the mat, ask for a down. This is a behavior chain (the dog goes to the mat and then goes into a down).
When your dog offers these behaviors, you can name them. I use “go to your mat,” but you can name them whatever makes sense to you!
For a visual example, check out this video.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do dogs love camping?
The specific reason will depend on the dog, most dogs love camping for two main reasons:
- Being outside provides a lot of natural enrichment opportunities that many dogs love. New sights, smells, and sounds are exciting to check out and investigate. But this can also overwhelm some dogs. So, be sure you know how your dog responds to novel environments before booking a trip.
- Quality time with their humans. At home, most of us are distracted by everyday tasks, the TV, or the computer. There is usually a lot more focused one-on-one time when camping.
Where do dogs sleep when camping?
It is important that your dog sleeps somewhere safe and secure. So, if you want to camp in a tent, try sleeping in the tent in your yard. Does your dog try to get out? You may want to consider some extra training in the tent. You can also bring a crate, but you will want to put it in the tent with you.
Is it OK if dogs sleep outside?
No, this isn’t safe. If you are in a camper or tent, this leaves your dog open to people approaching, teasing, or even taking your dog. If secured on a leash or in a crate, they are trapped if a wild animal comes along. And, if they aren’t secured, your dog is at risk of running off.
In Conclusion
With some preparation and training, camping with your dog can be a wonderful experience.
Once you decide on the tools that will work with you, you must make positive associations with them (e.g., tents, tie-out systems, or X-pens). You want your dog to feel comfortable with all of the elements so that it can be confident when at the campground.
So get out and see how you and your dog like to conquer the outdoors together. If you take some time to prepare them for your adventures, you will have many years of great explorations ahead of you!
