Camping with a dog – an outdoor experience for the whole family

Camping is becoming more and more popular – many people enjoy camping as it allows them to stand back from their stressful everyday routines and find relaxation in nature. Tune out, concentrate on what is really important, spend time with friends and family – and of course, the dog is included as a member of the family. To make your camping holiday into a relaxing experience for dog and humans, we have put together the most important aspects and travel tools.

Depending on the travel destination, it is recommended to carry out certain anti-parasite treatments, vaccinations or deworming before travelling. Should you plan to travel abroad, your dog might need to comply with certain entry requirements. Get information well ahead of your trip from your vet so that possible waiting periods can be observed.

You should take along a first aid kit so that you can help your dog with smaller health problems right away when on tour. The most important items can be found in a first aid kit for dogs. Along with bandage material, our sets also include tick tweezers as well as tips for first aid.   

It can make sense to add items to the travel kit, e.g. a remedy for diarrhoea, a pain killer as well as products for wound care. Get advice on this from your vet in good time before your trip.

A dirt-absorbing mat is ideal for keeping the entrance area clean and dry. The long fibres clean sandy dog paws when the dog comes in. It is also a great idea to place your wet dog on the mat. It not only comes with a water-proof back, but also allows your dog to dry off quickly.

A microfibre towel, also available with hand loops, is extra absorbent and dries quickly.

Especially with wet feed, small individual portions are ideal, sealable food containers or tin lids to provide a fresh meal while on tour.

For hiking tours and walks, light-weight foldable travel bowls, bottles with integrated drinking bowls and travel sets are suitable. It is really important that your dog has access to a good supply of fresh water while travelling. Puddles and stagnant water can be fatal for your dog (leptospirosis), especially when it is hot and during longer dry periods.

There are many options for places where the dog can relax: a dog tent, the familiar dog bed, a mat to lie on, a travel blanket, a camping lounger or a sleeping bag. We would like to present some of these options that are particularly suitable.

In particular for dogs that use a dog box or a kennel as their place of retreat at home, the dog tent is a good mobile alternative. The integrated insert provides a cuddly place to lie on. The fine net inserts provide good air circulation and protect against insects.

Although the tent offers good protection against the sun, it should be set up in the shade. Please note that the tent does not offer sufficient protection against bad weather in continuous or heavy rain.

Thanks to their raised position, camping bed and dog lounger are great options to avoid uncomfortably hard, dirty or wet surfaces. The robust material dries quickly and is easy to clean.

On top of that, your dog is well protected against cold or hot grounds. The breathable net material of the dog lounger provides cooling air circulation on hot days and can be equipped with a cuddly blanket on cold days.

Such a travel bed is easy to transport, set up and fold again, and can be stored space-savingly.

There are cuddly sleeping bags even for dogs! They are specially suitable for pets that like to withdraw into caves when sleeping and love to be covered when they sleep.

The light-weight sleeping bag can be opened and closed with a zip, and can also be used as a blanket to lie on.

Our travel blankets BE NORDIC Hooge or Samoa Classic can be rolled up and transported space-savingly. Travel blanket Hooge comes with a handle and has a soft padding. A cooling mat can be inserted into the dirt-resistant and robust Samoa Classic blanket.

Often a camping holiday means extended walks or bike tours. Pay attention not to plan tours that overchallenge your dog, and plan sufficient breaks in which the dog can drink and recover in the shade.

Chewable snacks, snack balls, a filled licking plate or a sniffing carpet can help overcome excitement or boredom. In particular sensitive dogs profit from these.

If you are travelling to the coast, water toys such as e.g. the aqua toy tugger are a good choice. This toy is also well suited to fetching games on land.

Pay special attention that your dog does not dehydrate or overheat on hot summer days.

Along with a stay in the shade and free access to fresh water to drink, there are more options to make the heat bearable for your dog:

Take long walks in the early morning hours or late in the evening. A damp cloth hung near your dog can cool the environment by evaporation.

On top of that, cooling mats are a great option to regulate your dog's temperature in hot weather. However, please make sure your dog can choose if she wants to lie on the mat or not!

Cooling toys such as cooling bone or cooling dumbbell can help to cool your pet.

Along with securing the dog during the journey it is important to plan sufficient breaks, in particular for longer distances, so that the dog can drink fresh water.

In the summer, heat accumulates quickly and the interior of a car can reach extreme temperatures. Therefore, sufficient ventilation in the car is essential in high temperatures.

The car cooler allows you to fasten the boot lid in a more or less open position depending on the model. We recommend a combination of two ventilation lattices for the windows plus a car cooler. The ventilation lattice is clamped into the window for a maximum of air circulation. With both products, the car can still be locked; however, they are not suitable for preventing a break-in or your dog breaking out.

Even in moderate temperatures and a cast-over sky, high temperatures can occur in cars in a very short time. Even if windows and car boot are open, utmost caution is required! Always park your car in the shade and provide fresh water for your dog, and do not leave her alone for more than a few minutes.

The following table shows in an impressive way how quickly a car can develop into a death trap for your dog (red area)! From 25°C panting is no longer sufficient.

If there is enough space and the ground is suitable for this, a mobile dog fence provides your dog with a maximum of freedom to move. The area of the dog run can be marked out with pegs in minutes as desired, a carrier bag allows clean transport.

The fence is not secure against dogs breaking out or biting the net, therefore you should never leave the dog unattended here.

A drive-on plate for attaching your dog is the simplest way to attach your dog securely independently of the surface you are on. First drive your car onto the plate so that it is central under the tyre, then you can attach your dog securely.

In addition, the plate can be used for some excellent other tasks, e.g. for securing bicycles or other things.

In soft ground, an alternative is a tie-out stake that is twisted into the ground.

• Make sure that your dog always has free access to shade and water.
• Do not leave the dog unattended.
• Never attach your dog with the collar, use a harness that fits well and is secure.
• Use a special tie-out lead. This is shock absorbent and bite proof. With normal leads, there is the danger that it coils itself around the legs of the dog and tightens. The wire rope of the tie-out lead minimises this risk of injury.
• Never attach more than one dog to one attachment device! Should you want to tie up more than one dog, make sure that the leads cannot get entangled

Here are 2 short checklists that can support you in your preparations:

• Are dogs allowed? If yes, how many, and what are the costs per dog per day?
• Are there separate camp grounds for you and your dog?
• Is there an obligation to have your dog on a lead?
• Is there an area where dogs can run freely or is there access to a dog beach?
• Are there service stations for people with dogs (dog dirt bag dispensers, dog showers etc.)?

• EU pet passport & if necessary, certificates issued by your vet (for trips abroad)
• Possible further necessary documents
• Collar tag with your holiday address and phone number with the country code (Germany: 0049)
• Comfortable and familiar place to lie
• Towel
• First Aid Kit
• Bowls (for travelling as well)
• Means of attachment and/or mobile fence
• Supply of food, if necessary, check that there are cooling facilities
• Replacement lead, collar, harness
• Tracking lead or retractable lead
• Muzzle (possibly necessary on public transport or in city centres and for emergencies)
• Weather protection for the dog if necessary