Camping with the family dog

mnblade

mnblade

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Feb 7, 2000
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Going camping in Florida this coming weekend and I want to get your thoughts on bringing the pup. He's 115 pounds of Hovawart (a German dog, bred for guarding). My feeling is that he can sleep out under the stars and be fine - his smell and growl will keep any four-legged predators away (two-legged ones too!). My wife, however, maintains that he'd be a sitting duck for anything that wants a tasty meal .... panther, black bear, gator. She wants to bring the crate in the truck and have him sleep in that. We're going into a pretty wild are near the Everglades, so she may have a point. Still, I've done a lot of camping down here and never heard of anyone losing a dog. Any thoughts, guys? Thanks in advance.
 
"his..growl will keep any..predators away (two-legged ones too!)"

Remember that he may think he is protecting you from a "predator" who may just turn out to be a nice, innocent hiker. I had the unfortunate situation of being "mistaken" for a predator last weekend. Two ladies were snowshoeing with their mongrel and I was walking back from an ice climb. The mongrel apparently didn't like my helmet, sunglasses or how I smelled and became extremely aggressive and tried to bite me. It reached the point where I almost had to strike the dog with my ice tool before the lady grabbed and held it.

So, the moral of my story is leave the dogs at home. Someone might just see the dog as a predator and end it's life....which would be an unfortunate mistake.

Enjoy the outdoors.

D
 
Unfortunately, leaving the dog home is not an option. Either he comes with us, or we don't go.
 
Dogs get killed by 'gators all the time. You never hear about it because it is so common it isn't news worthy.

There's also the risk of snakebite, too.

You have a great dog. IMHO... crate or "tent" when not under your direct control.
 
Having a dog staked out overnight, puts him at a significant disadvantage to any predator that may enter the camp. Leaving him untethered may result him in drawing the camp boundaries differently than you (or friendly passers by).

I have only crated my dog inside my home, where she is "safe." Putting your dog in the crate will allow him to smell, and maybe see potential threats, but he won't be able to do anything about them. I guess if he gets really provoked by something, you can always check it out.

We keep our dog inside the tent when we turn in at night. Of course, we bought a tent with a huge vestibule to accomodate her. :D
 
Originally posted by Arma Moluta
We keep our dog inside the tent when we turn in at night. Of course, we bought a tent with a huge vestibule to accomodate her.
Click to expand...

Your dog will let you get by with keeping her in the vestibule?! Not ours; she's inside the tent with us. Regrading the aggressive mongrel and the hiker/skier, that is just a crying shame. The lady was being VERY inconsiderate in my opinion, by not taking the matter into hand much earlier. Irresponsible owners are a peeve of mine. :mad:

My parents lived in Florida long, long ago, and mentioned to me many times growing up how often dogs would disappear, with only their collars found months later, inside the belly of a 'gator. Those things are hell on dogs! And I'm talking in the back-yard, not just "out in the everglades." :eek:
 
My dog always comes on my adventures and he sleeps by my side. They are the best alarm system that you can have.

Diligence, I hate it when people do not control their dogs too. Just today I had a loose dog come after me and my dog. It was very agressive and it got kicked super hard. Sometimes I get in the owners face over this issue. It is a danger.

I keep mine on a leash at all times for various reasons.

mnblade, it sounds like you have a beautiful animal. Take him and watch out for him as he will watch out for you.
 
Heya fellas-

My first post, I think!

My Jack Russell puppy was leashed to a tree so he could play in my parents back yard while we ate lunch about 80 feet away. He would bark every once in a while as he always did. Suddenly my sister looks over at him and there is a full grown raccoon 8 feet from him, staring at him like he is ready to pounce on my dog. YIKES!!!! I ran over and grabbed the dog and scared the raccoon away. My dog never even saw the racoon until I held him up and showed him the raccoon running away. The raccoon looked scragly and a moved around like it was sick. Plus it was during the day. I was REALLY glad no contact was made since there was a good chance it had rabies.

He's not a 115 pound Hovawart, but all it takes is one bite with rabies!

Stay safe:)
 
Just thinkin' you'll need a pretty darn big tent to keep a 115# pooch in with you!;)
 
Inside the tent is definitely a no go. At 115 lbs., he's just too damn big. And as for security, frankly, I'm not all that concerned. Animals are going to come around in the night - they always do. We secure the food and make sure none is in the tent, then snooze away. So what I plan to do is keep the crate up in the bed of the pick-up truck and put him in there for the night.

Regarding aggressive, loose dogs on the trails, etc., I hate irresponsible dog owners that ruin things for the rest of us. :mad: One thing is very cool in Florida now, a good number of our state parks are actually dog friendly again (of course common-sense stuff applies, such as leashes, clean up, etc.). They did some market research and found that tons of people really wanted to take advantage of the parks, but didn't because they couldn't bring their dogs. About 70% still have no-pet policies but the rest say "bring 'em." It's been great taking our pup out for long day hikes in the woods. Two thumbs up for common sense. :D
 
My 80 lb Lab sleeps inside the tent if it's cold outside. In the summer, he stays ouside but tied to a tree. However, if gators were around, I think he would either be in the tent or in the truck. In your case, I think I would put him in the crate.
 
For the dog's safety, I'd find him a safe place to sleep. His smell and growl will not scare away big predators, but it might lure them in! A dog isn't going to have much chance against a gator or panther.

Joe
 
I think you should do what your wife suggested. About your dog keeping predators out you are partially right. I don't think that a panther would get in a situation that could lead to injury, even if it's faster and stronger than a dog, so it will stay away from it. On the other hand it seems that aligators and crocodiles are particulary found of small animals that aproach water so be carefull about that.
 
Rockspyder,
You're right--the dog does manage to make it inside the tent and between our cots. (Okay, so this is lazy-ass comfy car camping!) :D The tent is a big Armadillo that my hunting buddies call "Taj ma Tent." Its pretty much a two-room tent, but one of the rooms (the vestibule) doesn't have a floor.

mnblade,
Only one 115 lb dog is too much for the tent? You need a bigger tent! ;) We used to take our 150 lb Great Pyrenese, as well as our 100 lb Akita. At least the Pyr stayed in the vestibule! Geez, there was a lot of snoring going on in that tent! Probably petrified the wildlife!
 
>"Only one 115 lb dog is too much for the tent? You need a bigger tent!"

===================

True. Ours is a two-person backpacking tent that my wife and I bought when we lived in the Czech Rep. When we camped there, the pup slept outside and we didn't worry one bit. Our biggest worries there were tiny field mice getting into the food in our packs, so we went to the "extreme" security measure of ZIPPING out packs. :D It's a whole other ball of wax on this continent, though, where the pests and predators are more numerous and quite a bit larger. Some day we'll buy a bigger tent, but for now all the extra money goes towards buying dog food. ;)
 
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