Gear

Hi guys

Does anyone take their dog camping with them? And if so what tent do you recommend. We are looking for a two man tent but with a large covered gear area where the dog can sleep at our entrance but not too close where he'd gas us out of the tent....

Any recs gratefully received.

And speaking of camping with a dog, are there any dog friendly camping sites down south east kent way?

I guess it depends on the dog really?
I have two GSD, and if we all go walking I take them with me, but I have never taken any of them camping with me other than when we all go and use the 10 man tent...
I guess something along the lines of a Wild Country Venturi 2 would be what you need, share the load between you?
I have no experience of this tent BTW.. but that kind of thing, with the extended porch?
I'm always worried about my great oaf sticking his nails through the ground sheet.. or worse..
Have fun

If your dog is anything like mine you'll have trouble keeping him out of your sleeping bag never mind the tent!

Seriously though ours stay zipped up inside in case of nocturnal sheep which would prove too much of a temptation.

In the old days both dogs and the two of us used to fit into a 3-person tent which was fine until it rained.

As it always did rain we now confine camping+dog trips to car-assisted venues and sleep in something approaching the size of a small marquee.

Neither of them are allowed anywhere near stoves either after a dog+trangia incident resulted in me setting fire to my arm.

Our dog is a GSD also. And agree about the concerns with the ground sheet.

lol Marcus - ah your dog sounds like quite the character! Hmmm point taken about the cooking incident.

We'd take him with us, it's bad enough he gets kennelled when we go on holidays so I think it could be a great experience or unforgettable to say the least.

Might go for the 3 person tent option sounds like a good idea.

Thank you both.

I've got a Nallo 2 GT, bought reluctantly with the other half berating me to allow the dogs some cover. It's great, lots of space. They still try, however, to get into the warmth amongst the sleeping bags. The outer door is always open so they can chase the cows and sheep away in the middle of the night.

Best backpacking tent I've ever seen with a 'proper' porch is the Vango TBS Spirit 200 plus. Not to be confused with the normal TBS Spirit 200 recently highly rated in Trail (same excellent build quality but without the extended porch). The plus version is a little heavier at 2.7kgs but its porch is fantastic. I stupidly sold mine a few months ago and regret it big time, this is a pic of one in action...

http://www.trekkingbritain.com/050703-cumbriawayulverstontotarnhows/050703P-ConistonHallCampsite.jpg

We take our Labrador in a Vango Hydra 200+. He kips in the porch and I attach a flexi lead to my wrist in case he does a runner. I believe this years model is even better.

I can just see you being dragged through a campsite in your sleeping bag as he spots a rabbit or lamb in the distance! Ha Ha!

I take my 2 dogs camping with me - Vango gamma 350 and it is just me and those 2 in the sleeping area. I would never dream of leaving them in the porch bit.

Just an idea, but we used to tether our dog with one of those big corkscrew stakes you can buy from camping/caravan stores.

Our dog was a bit of a nutter and it managed to stop him running after things (just). He sheltered under the caravan and slept in the car at night.

I wonder whether you could tether the dog in this manner and rig up a tarp for dog to sleep under. This way no worries about dog getting in the way of cooking/rummaging through bags to find food but he/she still gets their own shelter.

Alternatively go for a tent with two big porches. That way you can have dog in one, and cook/store non-dog stuff in the other. I used to have a R.Saunders galaxy which would have been perfect for this. I think their more popular spacepackers also have two porches.

Of course, if your dog is not a nutter and does not eat everything in site it is not such a problem. Although, I don't think I'd want the smell of wet dog too close to me in the tent, loveable though they are.

Actually, thinking about the tarp idea, our dog would probably have trashed that. His big tail wagging used to cause no end of problems (spilt tea over guests was a favourite trick-that was after he'd covered them in yellow hairs and slimed them!)

have a look at the Laser Large 2 or even the 3.

Those big corkscrew things are great...until your dogs have a little chat in the middle of the night and work out that although it's really hard to chew through a loose lead...

...it's really easy if one of them tightens his up by leaning on it while the other one chomps on it.

Happened to me THREE times in a row - most memorably outside a riverside pub where the suddenly freed dog (Dizzy) was taken by surprise and catapulted off into the water.

It's also best to remove tags from door zips and ensure all zips are moved to the top of the door if your dog is as devious and clever as mine.

Marcus, been there, done that! Metal leads or chains! Our GSD managed to chew through a brand new really expensive lead we had just bought him in less than an hour, and he didn't need help from a buddy, he was on a corkscrew... plan B was needed. (only one dog at the time).
Only other thing with those things is when two GSD's have a chat in the night and figure out that if 50lb of dog sets off like a bull at a gate, the corkscrew thing tends to stay in the ground... but when two GSD's, both set off together, preferably at a slight angle to each other, then darn thing can be screwed into concrete and it will still come up...
Plan C in our case when on family camping trips in the 10 man tent.. anchor the dogs to the trailer using chains....
Now where did I leave our trailer.......

hmmm sounds like a few experiences and a half lol... very entertaining! Thanks for sharing your stories :)

I couldn't vouch for how our dog would behave, time will tell. I wouldn't mind trying the spring device on him.

Roll on summer :)

Osbie, my partner and I are going for a wander up cader idris this weekend for our first wild camping trip. We will have two fairly large dogs with us, a lurcher who is a complete yob and a smooth collie who has smelly feet. I have a vaude mark 2 light tent. Its a three man job with two porches. Its going to be snug and fairly smelly I reckon. I have bought a cheapo pvc groundsheet to put inside the tent to protect the base from their claws. I'm worried about the fly sheet though, the lurcher tends to run in his sleep so he might wreck it. I may stick some little socks on them. It may not work but will be worth a photo.

There is no way my dogs will stay in the porches. They will just whine all night and may chew their way in.

I'll post again to let you know how I got on with the lovable rogues.