Thinking of going camping with your dog? Our top 10 tips to the perfect camping holiday with your dog!!

I really wish someone had written this top 10 tips to camping with your dog before our recent camping trip! We’d booked a dog friendly campsite, packed everything we thought we needed and yet it wasn’t a great experience at all, so much so we ended up coming home a day early. 

What went wrong I hear you ask, well it was a combination of factors, really little things that ended up trigger stacking Mash my mini dachshund (& me if I’m honest) to the extent that neither of us could relax and enjoy ourselves.

From the vast numbers of dogs staying at the dog friendly campsite to not being able to take your dog into the shower block (& not wanting to leave him in the tent or the car). People around us helpfully trying to quiet Mash down when an incredibly stressed dog who wanted to take on the world sat next to us in the cafe and other dogs owners letting their dog come and say hello because “he’s really friendly” even though Mash wasn’t comfy - all in all we learnt a lot! 

Hopefully by reading this blog you can learn from our mistakes and not have to experience them yourself so you & your pup can have a fab camping trip without the dramas! So here we go… 10 top tips to camping with your dog

How big is the campsite?

Check how many pitches are available at your dog friendly campsite before you book. It sounds silly but as soon as I read dog friendly on the website I was sold! Little did I think about what could happen if there were 100 odd other campers with their dogs! You can hear it now - one dog barked and the rest answered!! Mash ended up with one ear open at all times & didn’t relax as a result!

How dog Friendly?

Check where your dog is allowed to go at your dog friendly campsite! If there’s more than one if you are camping this isn’t such an issue but as it’s just me I need to be able to take Mash in the toilet / shower with me not tie him up outside (dog theft anyone?!) and of course it’s not safe for him to be left in the tent alone. Maybe I should only go camping in a van but that’s not on the cards!!

I’ve found an awesome Greener Camping site near Okehampton called Ruby Country Camping that I called before booking, they only have 12 pitches, dogs allowed everywhere (even in the loo / showers) and each pitch has it's own mown area in a meadow setting - perfect!

Not every pitch is created equal!

When you book ask for a pitch that is away from passing foot traffic if possible, who cares if it’s further to the loo, you’ll all relax more without constant distractions of passers by

Eating out

If you have a reactive or nervous dog (or even to be fair, any dog, they’re not keen on forced encounters) try and make sure you choose a table to one side of the seating area, away from the entrance that way you can see who’s coming in & distract your dog before there’s an issue… similarly, if there’s another dog already seated sit as far away from them as possible - your dog might be friendly but theirs may not want a forced introduction!

Extra special treats

Start your trip away with some extra special scrummy treats for your dog - a great yak snack or antlers will occupy your dog whilst you set up camp and are great for when you want to cook or indeed do anything when you can’t watch your dog 100% of the time!! We highly recommend (and are a retailer for, just click on the image below to go to our shop) Green & Wild's range of eco friendly toy toys & treats

Take the opportunity to explore….

And explore & explore! Lovely long walks with new sniffs will help tire your dog out and help you work up an appetite so you can all relax later… if you have a young dog or a dog that can walk forever then think about taking some brain games (check out our brain games blog) to occupy them when you get back to camp

Dog bed

The same way your dog has their “safe place” at home it’s a great idea to bring their bed with them and give the dog their space to retire too when they want. Just like you a good night's sleep is important to keep stress levels down so you can enjoy your adventures in top form

Last but not least - Beware of the dark!

OMG I never realised just how incredible a dogs eyesight is in the dark - popping out to the loo Mash was off before I’d finished opening the tent - luckily he was wearing a glow in the dark collar (can’t recommend these glow in the dark collars highly enough) & I could see him … playing with a hedgehog over the other side of the campsite! (Apologies to the man in the tent next to the hedgehog, I’m sure my giggling and rather rubbish whispered telling Mash off in the middle of the night once I’d caught him weren’t appreciated!) 😂

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