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

[Hel&Mark]

Hello all,
Quick question. We usually camp in a large tent for our summer hols. Having given it some thought, I can't really imagine being able to do this with a young dog in tow. I won't put Barley in Kennels, we'll just go in a cottage instead (and practically take out a bank loan to afford it ) if we think camping will be too difficult. We have lots of room for the dog in the tent, but I have the following worries:

Will a dog friendly site be full of mad dogs off their leads knocking my small children over?
Will it matter if Barley barks?
What if he never stops barking?
What if other people's dogs never stop barking?
What if he chews the tent (quite likely)?
What if other people's dogs chew my nice tent ?
What if there's a dog he takes a dislike to and we're supposed to be there for 2 weeks?
What if he rolls in fox poo (almost a dead cert) and there's nowhere to bath him?

You can see how this is going.
Has anyone got any positive doodlecamp experiences they would like to share? I could be persuaded to give it a try, you don't know 'til you have a go. But Barley is still very much at the L plates stage of training and I somehow imagine that it could easily become a doodle debacle.
What are your thoughts folks?? I need to know if I would be a brainless fool to take this on ...
Thanks,
Helen
x

[cheryl-frampton]

You will never know unless you give it a go.
We are investing in a caravan and getting rid of out trailer tent this year.

[Wills Miller]

Hi there Helen, I would say it is a definate yes. We have a caravan, and have not been in it since we got William, however we have taken previous pets and never had a problem. On any reputable site all dogs must be kept on leads, most people fasten their dogs outside their caravans/tents and the dogs are really well behaved. Maybe its the change of scenery or that they are with their families all the time but I have been away a lot and never witnessed a loose dog or a noisy one. As for damage,that wont happen as you wouldnt leave Barley in the tent alone would you?, so I say go for it and I bet you have the best holiday ever. Where are you going by the way?, we are thinking of taking the caravan down to cornwall but it is a long trip for the puppies, well boys now actually. Hope you have a great time. Jillx

[Sooty]

Try a weekend close to home first and see what happens. Mac loves our caravan but it is huge with decking and a garden Not tried the tent yet though. Can you get everything in the car???

[wet.dog70]

Went camping with my old Newfie a few years back. No problems; all dogs were kept on leads. This was in Glen Coe. We walked the legs off the dog, took him to the pub (no drinks of course}, watched a band then retired. The only problem was the snoring: the Newf, not me

[Heather]

We have been camping a couple of times with Barney.
He was about 7 months the first time and I took his crate with us.
We didn't have any problems. There were other dogs on the site, but they have to be kept on a lead at all times. We brought one of those long lines that attach to a peg that you hammer into the ground.He got tangled up in it a few times to start with, but soon got the hang of it. Obviously he was never left alone. He did bark occasionally, but no more than usual.
The second time we took him he managed to roll in fox poo within the first hour of our arrival!I just washed him down with a bucket of soapy water. Actually the smell wasn't as bad as it would have been at home as we were outdoors
If you do decide to camp again I would recommend that you find a site with a good dog walking area where you can let them off the lead. When we were on the camp site I would take him for a short walk every hour.
I do remember the first few hours being a nightmare because we were trying to put the tent up and Barney was REALLY excited. The next time we went one of us took him for a walk while the others sorted the tent out and that worked much better. I also took a big bone for him to chew in the tent which kept him happy for ages.
We have 2 doodles now and I hope to take them both camping this summer. When we have taken Barney before the weather has been good, but I don't think it would be much fun in bad weather.
I think the suggestion of trying it for a weekend is very good.

Heather

[cheryl-frampton]

This year is the first year we will be taking Bentley with us, hense why we are getting rid of our beloved trailer tent and investing in a caravan with awning and dorma bedroom so we can put a crate in for Bentley. As a family with 2 girls aged 7 and 9 we have been to some great dog friendly camp sites. If you inform the sites when booking that you have a dog they will try there best to situate you near the dog walking field.
We will be looking at loading the caravan up with our belongings and so leaving the boot free for Bentley.
Anyway for the campers out there with Doods who want a large trailer tent we have a Cabanon Atlantis for sale shortly with some accessories. It will be going for about £1500 as its only 3 years old. Google search it and you will see it in its full glory.

[susiegill]

Hi there

We have a caravan and regularly take Rosie with us We haven't been with Molly yet, but look forward to taking them both as soon as we can.

We haven't had any problems with noisy dogs etc. Most people like us keep their dogs under control. It's brilliant, I would say definately go for it

[madaboutdoodles]

Hi,
We took Cass camping for the first time last August ( just for 5 days ) she was 6 months old and she absolutely loved it
As someone else mentioned we had one of those long lines that you attach to a peg and she loved being able to sit outside and watch everyone We went to a little campsite in Ramsgate dogs had to be kept on a lead around the campsite but the next two fields beside the camp were parks so perfect for dogs and Cass had a great time playing with a black labrador we met every day and the owner told us about this lovely quite beach that usually only the locals know about and it was fantastic and only about 5 minutes from the camp
Cass absolutely loved the beach and we all had a great time ( can't wait to go camping again )
Here are some pictures I thought you might like to see

I'm sure it's down here somewhere


Wet and Happy


Can I help?


Completely relaxed

[DizzyDora]

Definitely A Yes Yes Yes!

2 recommendations though take a cage Kona has always used hers
& at 2 yrs she still uses it as her bed & a dog spike & long lead for
tying your dog to, both of these will give you some peace of mind.
We had never camped before we had Kona & at 50+ we hadn't even
thought of it. Our 1st holiday we tried a dog friendly cottage &
although nice enough I felt it was expensive & 2nd grade for the price
to our many past cottage experiences so we (I) bought a cheap tent.
After a lot of persuading and cajoling by me to get OH to try camping
we did 4 days in Norfolk just to try it out & we loved it & better still
so did Kona even in the rain. We sold that tent & upgraded we now have
a brilliant large tent and thoroughly enjoy camping & have found every site
that we have used have been great obviously you choose sites that suit
all your requirements & are dog friendly. I can not wait for the spring &
I think will be our destination will be Dorset!

[Frank-e-doodle]

We took Frank camping (in a tent) to Cornwall last year for the first time and it was great fun. The only draw back was finding a nice dog friendly beach and the fact that sites charge around £6 a day for a dog which is an absolute rip off

We will be going again this year with both our doods and Alfie will only be about 6 months

[julies0708]

Bailey has been off with us caravanning since he was about 3 months old and LOVES it.

we only have a medium sized caravan but we have an awning and he sleeps in that in his dog bag which is similar to a crate but folds up into its own rucksack saving space!



give it a go, and don't worry about what might happen.........you never know it might not happen

[Heather]

What lovely photos of dogs enjoying their holidays

Frank-e-doodle what colour is Alfie? Photos please.
You probably don't remember us ,but we met you at the first Essex meet.
We've got Barney who is 3 and have recently adopted Molly who is 7 months
through Labradoodle Rescue.I remember we spoke about camping last year.

Heather

[becky.q]

We've taken Daisy caravanning with us eer since she was 11 weeks old. She used to sleep in the awning, but for some reason we now let her sleep in the caravan. She is no bother, and now people talk to us, whereasbefore we had her we could go all fortnight without anybody speaking to us.

So it's a YES from me
Becky

[Frank-e-doodle]

Hi Heather, Alfie is a chocolate F1b from toradoodles in Scotland, I've yet to introduce him to the forum.
We purchased a new nine birth tent last year so it should be big enough for the four of us and 2 Doods