Two week camping trip with puppy

[Jessi]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are in the early stages of planning a trip for the end of the summer. We're really excited about our first visit to the pacific northwest (Oregon and Washington specifically) and we'd love any tips you can offer about great places to camp and hike. We'll probably stay with friends for a few nights but we're planning to camp for most of the 2 weeks.

We'll also be bringing our golden retriever puppy along with us. He'll be about 7 months old by the time we go. We've done a little bit of traveling with him so far, but just to stay with family, so I really don't know what to expect. I'd really love any helpful tips about traveling with a puppy you can offer. I've never camped with a pet before!

Thanks so much!!
Jessi

[Mark Sedenquist]

We're really excited about our first visit to the pacific northwest

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum!

We'll also be bringing our golden retriever puppy along with us. He'll be about 7 months old by the time we go. We've done a little bit of traveling with him so far, but just to stay with family, so I really don't know what to expect.

Here are some tips:
Overview
Pet Restraints

Mark

[Jessi]

Thanks for the links and the welcome, Mark!

If anyone has any first hand experience and/or pet travel tips, I'd love to hear them!

[TravelingAg]

We camp a couple of times a year with friends, and everyone always takes their dogs. Here are a few things we have discovered over the years:

- take a long leash that can be wrapped around a tree while still giving the dog room to walk around. (Most campgrounds won't let your dog run off leash).

- Take a toy meant for water, especially with a retriever, if you are going to be camping near any lakes. I don't know what the weather will be like when you go, but we live in Texas, and it is always nice to give the dogs a way to cool off. Plus it allows them to get some exercise and burn some energy.

- If you are camping in a tent then be sure to lock the zipper if possible. Our dogs are notorious for nosing their way out in the middle of the night. We usually just use the clasp from the leash.

- Some campgrounds have lots of gravel and pebbles. And some dogs don't do well on that. One friend brings an extra chair for her dog who has sensitive feet and and tends to get bloody paws.



You also may want to look online and see if there are any dog parks where you will be traveling. That is also a great way to let them get some exercise. IT seems they are becomming more and more popular so they should be easy to locate. And I would also recommend doing a search for 24 hour vets along your route, just incase there is an emergency. Don't forget to pack a copy of your dog's ver records. Especially vaccinations. You will also want to be sure to pack some toys and things that have familiar scents to your puppy. And keep in mind that those toys may not be suitable to take home (they get dirty and stinky, etc.) so bring things that you don't mind throwing out at the end of the trip.

Hope that helps.

Hope that helps.

[Jessi]

Those are really great suggestions, TravelingAg, especially about clipping the tent zippers closed. If our pup is half as curious and wiggly in august as he is now, he'll be squirming his way out in no time.

Thank you so much for responding! I really appreciate the tips. :o)