Camping with your dog
Camping is always a fun activity and it is a great way to holiday with your family and your dog. No kennel fees to pay and plenty of walking and fresh air to help you sleep well at night under canvas.
The Peak District is well known for being a great place to walk and there are plenty of campsites which cater for those holidaying with their dogs. Sites such as www.pitchup.com allow you to browse campsites and pick the best campsite for your needs. You can use the filter to search for dog friendly campsites.
To make this experience as problem free as possible, a little planning goes a long way.
If this is the first time that you have taken your dog camping you will need to ensure that they are as calm as possible. Expecting a dog to get used to a flapping tent at night, may take a bit of time. It is perhaps useful to pitch the tent nice and early in the day, and get the dog used to moving in and out of the tent. By the time evening comes, it will be happy to sleep in it.
Campsite Etiquette
Useful skewer for securing your dog when camping
Not every campsite accepts dogs, so you will to check beforehand and make sure you read the rules of the campsite. Dogs will need to be kept on a lead around the campsite and will not be allowed to roam free. You can purchase long leads and stakes that skewer into the ground which you can attach your long leads to.
It pays to get the dog used to this before you begin your camping trip, the last thing you want is an agitated dog on holiday with you. A persistent barking dog will only upset your neighbouring campers and could end your stay earlier on the campsite than you intended.
In Case of Emergency
Whilst you are away, make sure that you aware of where your nearest vet is, just in case you require their services at short notice. A quick search on yell.com will identify this information. You should also need to ensure that the dog is up to date with inoculations. Make sure your dog is micro chipped or at the very least is tagged with ID telephone no – just in case it gets lost.
Keep your dog comfortable
A comfortable dog is a happy dog and will settle well when it is expected to go to bed at night. Make sure that your pet is surrounded by familiar bedding and toys. You may consider taking a crate for your dog to sleep in at night. This might make it feel more secure and comfortable at night. Plan where the dog is going to sleep early on and place his bedding there so that he can get familiar with his sleeping area.
If you try and keep to familiar routines in terms of bedtimes the dog is likely to settle much easier.
During the day, particularly if it is quite warm, make sure you can find a spot with some shade for the dog. It may be wise to find a pitch that is near the edge of the campsite, so that of you need to take it out last thing at night for a toilet stop, then you are not tripping over everyone else’s tent pegs to get out of the camp site.
Disposal of dog mess
Ensure that you dispose of all dog waste in the appropriate bins. Usually camp sites who allow dogs, will provide the appropriate disposal receptacles, but this is not always the case, so make sure you bring plenty of poop bags and ensure you know where the bins are for safe disposal.
A useful checklist
- Water bowl and food bowl
- Clean water supply/water receptacle
- Towels for cleaning wet dogs and dirty paws
- Toys to keep the dog amused
- Treats for taking with you
- Long lead and skewer/stake for attaching lead to on site
- Bedding
- Extra poop bags
- First aid kit e.g. tick remover, antiseptic cream, bandages
