First, let me congratulate you on a real cutie pie. She's wonderful.
But fortunately, I love dogs more than I do being reasonable.
Wow, that's so true of every dog owner (speaking for myself, who is sadly between pooches at the moment)!
So any suggestions for taking a puppy camping for her first time???
A bunch. I last did it in 1979, and can proudly say it went off very well. She was about Bear's age, too.
1. Leash! Sorry, but puppies won't necessarily listen: hmm, you calling her back, or that cool looking butterfly over there? And look at that neat stick another 100 yards up! Is that a lake down there?
2. Flea collar. Ticks and fleas love pups.
3. Pick her up in tall grass/weeds. She can't see, and you don't want her stumbling into something bad.
4. Patience. She'll need to pee about every fifteen f-damn minutes at night. Sometimes, she won't--she'll claw to go out, and then when you get up to leash her up, she'll just stand out there looking at the moon. Whatever. Don't get mad: this is awesome for her, too, and she'll be just too excited!
5. Check her pads. Puppy pads aren't as conditioned to rough ground, and the poor sweetie might get raw spots or even blisters if you do a lot of walking.
6. Rest. Dogs sleep a lot. Babies sleep a lot.... baby dogs sleep even more! :yawn: Don't exhaust her to the point of illness: she'll need lots of rest.
7. Water. Check her water--you know not to drink stagnant water by the side of the road, but she doesn't. Bring her plenty, and make sure she drinks YOUR water, not something she finds.
8. After you come home, watch her carefully. Inspect for fleas and ticks. Make sure there aren't worms in the poop. Get her to a vet if anything seems odd to you. Better embarrassed than heartbroken.
9. Have fun. I've been camping with dogs (as you probably have), and they are enormous fun. But a puppy! They've never seen such cool stuff before, and are so excited...well, it's hard not to share in their wonder.
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