Camping and Doods: Is it a yes or a no no?

[alliedoodle]

Last summer when Muffy was only about 4 months old we went to a lovely cottage in Wales but at £500 for just over a week I thought was extortionate.

I would love to try camping with Muffy but we don't have a tent or caravan. Wonder if ther eis anywhere you can rent a dog friendly caravan.

DON'T SAY HAVEN

[Heather]

Alfie looks gorgeous, he's a lovely colour.
Congratulations
It's fun having two isn't it

Heather

[Bid]

We took the dogs camping at Swanage for a weekend just to see what it was like. For the first half hour Daisy freaked - she barked at the tent, she barked at anyone who had the audacity to walk past the tent, she escaped and ran round the campsite barking. Whilst all this was going on Barney ate my whole weekend supply of Burns

Once that was over they loved it. As has been said, a line is essential - and the ones that screw into the ground are not strong enough I had to tie Barney to the car in the end. Other usful tips - you need someone to stay in the tent even if you just pop to the toilet block You need a dog-proof container for food. It can get very cold at night - even for dogs in their fur coats (Barney came home with a urinary tract infection which I think was not helped by the cold nights). From their poinht of view the best thing about camping is they get to be with you 24 hours a day

[Pippin]

Liking the dog bag. Can you get them in Pets @ Home? We are hoping to have a long weekend away in a cottage next month and I don't think we can take Pippin's crate along with everything else we'll need but I am nervous of how she will behave if we have to leave her for a little while in the cottage without her crate.

[Hilli]

What gorgeous photos of your doodles.

We bought a caravan couple of months ago and can't wait to go with Yogi, been googling lots of sites in Scotland to see the dog friendly ones.


Julie- I haven't seen the doggie bags before, they look really great especially with the gorgeous Bailey modelling it.

Hilli

[julies0708]

hilli, you can get them from this site - they are not cheap but it has been invaluable to us in the caravan and when you leave just fold it up and throw it in the front of the caravan till next time you need it!! One thing though is that they need to be tied down at each corner to stop them moving with the dog

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/dog-bag/dbgintro.html

[Millie's family]

I'd say it's a definate yes yes Mill's has been camping since she was 6 months old and loves it. As others have said we took the crate the first few times and always use a stake and line outside the tent. The only other thing others haven't mentioned is that Millie always woke with the birds 4.45ish for the first night or two, after that she got back into her usual routine. It was something she grew out of though and she lies in like a goodun now

Go for it, it's great fun, all the pubs in holiday areas seem to accept dogs so if it rains go for a beer

[Hel&Mark]

Have been on an awayday since early this morning, so thanks for all the replies,
I've only just got to the computer to read them and I must say it all sounds quite
positive. We will have to do it as we LOVE camping and it would be such a waste
of all our equipment if we never did it again! We probably won't do it this summer,
however, as we would like to have got to the point where we are confident with
B's behaviour before we book a holiday. This summer will probably be a holiday in
a cottage again, but we will try Scotland for a change. At the end of the summer
I think we'll try a weekend in the tent to see what happens, maybe just in the Peak
District so we can easily get home if it goes pear shaped.
Thanks again everyone, you've given me lots to think about, some really helpful
comments and some hilarious anecdotes (it wouldn't be the Labradoodle Forum
without them!!).
Helen
x

[kATE]

I was say its a defenate YES !!! its so much fun ...
We have taken our 2 labradoodles and 3 young boys camping a few times , we ALL had a great time , even when it rained , even when we had 3" deep mud

Can recommend a couple of good dog friendly family sites :
Trawsdir caravan and camping ste , Barmouth , Wales http://www.barmouthholidays.co.uk/

Millfarm caravanand camping site , bridgewater , somerset http://www.millfarm.biz/index.html

[julie.caplin]

Oscar loved camping. We did take a screw in stake but found that he just stayed near the tent so didn't use it. The only problem was the tent got very hot in the mornings (we picked the only hot week of summer!) and the first morning when we woke up he wasn't in the tent. He had got crawelled out and was laying in the shade by the tent. The only prob was having to always go to dog friendly beaches etc.

[Esther]

I would say. STOP WORRYING

I have taken Riley camping twice in his first year in a tent. He dodn't chew the tent. He barked a little as wasn't used to the new rules but after a day he was fine. Regarding going to dog friendly campsites. Most have the rule that all dogs are to be kept on leads. Most supply info on local dog exercising areas or even supply one.


I have just booked a 8 day stay in a camp site in Dorset for August. I'm going with 4 adults, 4 kids an doodle and a bernise mountain dog. Trust me doodles love it. Relax and don't worry so much. You get stressed and worked up, the dog will pick up on it and worry. Then no one will enjoy their break.

Take it easy and enjoy a relaxing holiday. I would suggest that if you are still worried, book a long weekend break at a locat site and test the water. I bet your doodle will supprise you.

good luck.
x

[cheryl-frampton]

Esther, what campsite are you going to?

[Esther]

Its called the Inside Park in Blanford Forum. We've been there several times as my mum also stores her caravan there too.

[fish]

we took Ripley for a 'camping experience' in the summer. found a dog-friendly campsite in Warks, and had a hoot.

as a gal whose tastes run to 4/5* hotel mini-breaks, I had to be bribed with fizz to even contemplate it.. however, dog loved it and we tied her lead to OH's ankle when we retired for the night, as she got a bit hot and tried to snaffle out the bottom of the tent

woke up in the middle of the night to find dog happily snoring away between us

[julies0708]

The only prob was having to always go to dog friendly beaches etc.

come to Scotland, its full of dog friendly beaches!!