What dog preps do you need for winter camping

BushcraftBrainTrust

BushcraftBrainTrust

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I was thinking about bringing Buddy with me on a weekend winter camping trip. What supplies/gear do you guys bring for your dog. I'll already bring extra food for him, but I'm not sure about what else I need to bring to keep him warm, especially at night (he already has his hat:D). I will be bivy camping with a tarp. Thanks.

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depends on the conditions, is there snow?
pits in general have short hair, a coat is almost necessary if temps fall below freezing, booties can be a savior as well. last thing you want is burning your dogs paws, he'll never be able to stay out long in the cold after that. a nice bedroll as well for at night, tuck him in bring him in closer to your body to share heat. just plenty of common sens. depends really on where you are and the weather conditions, I may be going over board, but the last time I went out tarp camping with mine it was -15 degrees celcius and that was warm.

Dog sledders put Vaseline on the bottom of the paws, to protect against cold temps, and avoid the paws getting shredded from constantly running ice/snow/ice. I don't see the harm even if your not mushing. raw meat also gives the body more energy and heat for the animals to store. But if you have kids, turning a pitbull onto meat is probably not the best idea.
 
Thanks for the info cuphead, lots of good information. It will be camping in the snow around 20-30 degree F. I have an old Thermarest foam pad that I could cut smaller and have an Italian wool blanket I could bring for him. Looks like I need to pick him up a coat and booties. BTW, Buddy is an Amstaff Terrier. They have a different temperament than pits even though they both come from the same family tree.

Thanks again
 
i have 2 staffordshire terriers and they have a tendency of being high energy so booties and coat comes off, but you never know at night you can always lay down pine bows and make a bigger surface area, if you plan on doing most chores at camp infront of your fire then have a nice fire wall.. just be carefull if the pine bows too close to fire (they will dry up fast and catch on fire if an ember lands on it... pine has a tendency to spit when burning.. but you know a bit of common sense and keeping an eye on him :thumbup::D
 
I have an old Thermarest foam pad that I could cut smaller and have an Italian wool blanket I could bring for him.
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That is a great start... My Lab doesn't get out with me like when she was a pup but once she laid down I could always pull part of the blanket over her back and she was good to go. I've even seen a few people bring sleeping bags for their dogs... funny to watch the dog get in it, turn around, and then pop its head out. The one looked very much like an old rectangular bag folded over for extra insulation under him.

Ski
 
I would have a thin insulated pad (wool with waterproof bottom for him to lie on) even though he is well insulated with double coat wolf/shepherd )
I would take some advice from some mushers and feed a warm meal at night and increase fat a bit.
 
Thanks everyone for the ideas. I think for his first trip I'll stay relatively close to the car. I bought a bunch of surplus ECWS Gortex bivys from eBay for something like 6 for $30. I can cheaply improvise a bag for him with a bivy, shortened Thermarest, and a wool blanket.



Thanks cuphead, it especially helps getting advice from someone who has the same breed dog.:thumbup: Any pics of them?
 
If you are going to use booties- start putting them on the dog one at a time for a bit of time so they can get used to something on their feet. If you don't they have a tendency to try to tug them off on the hike.
 
I haven't needed to try any footwear on mine but he does have a wicked coat. I don't know if better coats exist but it was the best I could find at the time. It's a Hurtta Pro, and very much like snowboarding clothing. It's already very water repellent but after a Nikwaxing even better still, and dries fast. If need be I'd slide a little kiddies hot water bottle under it next to his chest when we are nesting, but I've not needed to do that yet. He's got some wool blankets although those are strictly for transported events like fishing at the beach. Neither of us wants to hump those round the woods. I went for a far superior solution and made him a quilt I cut down from an old synthetic Ajungilak sleeping bag. It's way lighter, compresses much smaller, and dries faster. These things are imperative to me. Very cold weather and snow may not bother wool too much if you're standing up, or you can pamper it on an single over night trip, but both of us require more than that. His blanket or quilt is going to get kicked around, trod on, and generally dragged through the rough. Body heat and the pressure of body weight will soon find whatever it is sucking up the damp. Even if I went down to Argos and bought a super cheapo kiddies “my first sleepover bag” to cut down, in generic hollow fibres, it would still be a lot better than him using his woolly blankets. Been there, done that, and they are inadequate. I don't take a mat for him, he shares mine. We'd both be missing a trick if we didn't buddy up for warmth.

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take a light weight 2 man tent instead of the bivy and let your dog sleep inside with you. i would think this is the best method vs. leaving your dog out in the cold.

a coat sounds like a good idea. shoes/boots would be good for the dog as well but some dogs dont like them. if thats the case get some of this stuff.

http://www.musherssecret.net/

its an all natural paw protection for your dogs. i've got a fairly small dog and she doesn't like to spend too much time on the cold ground but after applying a little bit of this stuff she seems to handle the snow ok. I simply rinse it off her feet with warm water when we get back in the house and the little residue left eventually wears off.

have fun man and make sure to take lots of pics :D
 
I have a boxer/staffy/mastiff whos my constant mate in the outdoors, he has a sweater for when its really cold but thats the only extra kit I take for him other than dog bickies, at night he sleeps on the end of my bivvy bag and then spends the night creeping closer and closer to my head. I usually wake up with him snuggled in to my chest licking my face, Ive tried keeping him at the end of the bivvy but he wont have it.

I love staffy and pitbull breeds, they are lovly pets when bought up right, they are very intelligent and viciously loyal, nothing creeps up on me in the wild with bronx on guard.

So I would reccomend a dog sweater and a thermal mat if he doesnt sleep on yours and some dog biscuits. aslong as theyve got a mat or something keeping them off the ground at night he should be fine, the great thing Ive found with staffy and pitbull breeds is they dont stray at night in the bush and they always stay close, just my experience there.
 
cuphead said:
last thing you want is burning your dogs paws, he'll never be able to stay out long in the cold after that.
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cuphead, could you explain this a bit more, I'm not seeing the connection and google isn't being my friend :(

Thanks
 
stewey1 said:
the great thing Ive found with staffy and pitbull breeds is they dont stray at night in the bush and they always stay close, just my experience there.
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That is sooo true. My Amsaff will run off during the day to explore, but he won't go more than a few hundred yards in the country (he is always on a leash around civilization). However, I have noticed he won't go farther than about 100 yards at night from the house, and barely 30 feet into the dark while camping.

The cold is not something he likes very much. A jacket is a must below 10-20 degrees if he is out for more than a few minutes. I do need to get him some booties for winter hikes (this is is first winter up north and he still getting used to it).
 
I'd take a big sleeping bag because if he's anything like my Bull terrier he'll be in there with ya !:D

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-10
 
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