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Okay, we have been camping for a number of years now but this year we got a puppy, she is 15 weeks old and my question is - Where do your dogs sleep in your tent?    I have a crate at home that she sleeps in but I do not shut her in it, so I am not sure if she will like being shut in when camping and might just howl,  bark etc.  Do any of you just have your dog loose in the tent at night? Do they try to get out?

Just asking all these questions so we are prepared for next years camping trips

Thanks in advance

Tx

Our Cocker Spaniel (a lively little begger at the best of times) just sleeps on my slippers...until the middle of the night when she crawls onto the bottom of my sons airbed and starts snoring!

She never tries to escape at night, but during the day we have her on a tie-down peg.

We have a 2 year old boxer who is very clingy to us and when we started camping this year were a little worried about how he'd take to it.  Our first tent - Gelert Cyclone 6 was quite dark and had no mesh doors or SIG.   He didn't like being in the tent and managed to escape under the side causing havoc in the campsite - he thought it was a great game charging around saying hello to everyone.  Luckily our fellow campers were very understanding and we eventually managed to persuade him to jump in the car.  We had to feed him in the boot because he wouldn't eat in the tent. 

To cut a long story short we liked camping so much we sold the Gelert after the first trip and bought a Sun Valley 8 which is very light, includes SIG and has mesh doors.  Our dog was instantly comfortable in this tent.  We had taken his crate for the first trip in it just in case he wouldn't settle but he was fine.  He was happy to be able to look through the mesh doors at passers by if we were in the tent and he also settled on his usual bed at night - we didn't need the crate.

If you aren't planning any more trips until next year don't forget your puppy will be much more settled and mature (???!!!) and hopefully you'll have been able to wean her out of her crate well before you plan to go.

We erected the tent in the garden and left it there for a couple of days so that he got used to going in and out, perhaps you could try this.

Good luck.

Our dog sleep loose in the tent in her inflatable dog bed. We also take her sleeping bag which we use on her bed at home so she knows that its her bad. Of course that doesn't stop her trying to bunk in with us. She doesn't try to get out and when she does in the morning she pushes the door with her nose. If she can't find a gap she waits.

Obviously yours is still a baby but I'm sure she'll get used to it. Best thing is to give it a try! Must admit we were dubious as we only got our dog in May and she was a rescue, but she's the perfect camping dog. Well behaved, doesn't bark and only wanders off if she catches the scent of a bbq!

Mine sleep in the bedrooms with either me and OH or youngest child and do not try and escape until the morning when as soon as you open the door they think its walkies.  So I get dressed quickly and take them out, I have not tried all three together (oldest child stays at home and dog sits) but they enjoy it - I have 2 staffie pups 6 months old and a lab aged about 6 (rescue dog).

Our dogs sleep on top of us in our beds, same as at home.

OK so we're too soft on them. But they do keep us warm.

Hi

We have a very active 1year old boxer, went camping for the first time 3 weeks ago to honey bridge park in sussex in borrowed tent with no SIG.At night time sercured dog to back of car with long rope and snap hooks feed into the tent and went to bed thinking what a good idea this was. At around midnight woken up by wife"dogs gone "as i tried pulling the dog back in under the side of tent the tent ripped.Sercured dog on short rope to kids bikes this time and went back to bed,at about 0300 woken up again by wife "dog gone again" this time snap hook broke and dog has really gone.Running round camp site at 0300 after a boxer that runs and jumps like tiger is not fun belive me.Have now bought oasis 700 with SIG also new snop hooks.

ps if it happens again 1year old  boxer 4 sale

We have 2 cocker spaniels ages 3 and 2 and we've only been camping once but we love it now.  We have a sun valley 8 and our dogs slept with us on the double air bed.

They didn't try and get out cos the tent is so big they thought they were at home!!!

Good as gold they were and they were allowed to run free around our tent.  Can't wait for next summer now, we're (me hubby, 3 kids, 2 cocker spaniels) absolutely smitten with camping!!!

Linda

My cocker spaniel has camped since he was about 16 weeks old and sleeps in the inner tent on a cushion type dog bed.  I always make sure that the groudsheet is covered with a travel rug, and when it's warm he quite often just sleeps on that.

what about this.....

http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/shop/Detail.asp?ProductID=1503&GCID=C18202x001

Our dog is about 12 inches tall with little stumpy legs and the only bed he can sneak onto is a lilo so there is no way he is going to miss that opportunity. Once he gets onto it he sleeps like a log.

Carol