Any Tips for Camping with a Wet Dog?

UnionMillsNW · Jan 17, 2020

Hey folks,

I have a German Shepherd which has been my faithful companion for several years. She loves hiking and camping... she also loves water. She'll jump in any lake or river and has no problem standing out in the rain.

Well this has started to be a problem for me. I hike light into my campsites and don't have room to hike in eight towels to dry off a German Shepherd. She usually sleeps in the tent with me as she's too large for the vestibule. I'm not worried about her running off but if she's outside the tent she cries and paces all night and I don't get any sleep.

A damp dog is no worry, but we were out during the New Years monsoon and she was soaked.

So to all my friends out there that take their dogs into the woods: how do you keep your dog, and more importantly your tent, dry?

Thanks.

Flopsweat · Jan 17, 2020

UnionMillsNW said:
Hey folks,

I have a German Shepherd which has been my faithful companion for several years. She loves hiking and camping... she also loves water. She'll jump in any lake or river and has no problem standing out in the rain.

Well this has started to be a problem for me. I hike light into my campsites and don't have room to hike in eight towels to dry off a German Shepherd. She usually sleeps in the tent with me as she's too large for the vestibule. I'm not worried about her running off but if she's outside the tent she cries and paces all night and I don't get any sleep.

A damp dog is no worry, but we were out during the New Years monsoon and she was soaked.

So to all my friends out there that take their dogs into the woods: how do you keep your dog, and more importantly your tent, dry?

Thanks. View attachment 651185

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UnionMillsNW · Jan 17, 2020

Flopsweat said:
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Doggie Wetsuits, every dog suit is made to the measurements of your dog. Making every suit a perfect fit. Doggie Wetsuits are great for Dock Diving, Surfing, Swimming, hunting, Stand up Paddle Boarding and even hip therapy. Order your custom Doggie Wetsuit today

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Thanks for the reply. I've considered a suit/jacket of some sort.

My understanding of wetsuits is that the user is warm...but still wet.

Stomper · Jan 17, 2020

Separate tents.

P7M13 · Jan 17, 2020

Ha! Good luck!
Maybe you can train her to (1) stay out of the water, and (2) sleep in a very specific part of the tent.
If you can do that, you are the MAN when it comes to doggie obedience.
I just got used to it with my dog (Golden Retriever). In the morning, when I would break down the tent to move on, I'd get a pint or more of the dirt and needles that came off his coat in the night.
This evolved into me taking 2 hours to break camp in dry weather, where I would string lines and hang the tent plus bags for that time before stuffing them in my pack. In rainy weather, it's a "fuggit, let's go!" attitude. Not much you can do besides be a soaked otter, and might as well smile.

oremike · Jan 17, 2020

I build a fire and put up space blankets on the opposite side from my tent to reflect the heat into the tent. if said dog was laying in the vestibule it would dry off some as well. Obviously the fire needs to be kept away from the tent and reflective surfaces but done correctly will make a warm and dry space.

KKG · Jan 17, 2020

You might give the "Fake Chamois" a try. They soak up a Crazy amount of water(or other liquid) and then when you ring them out, you can get like 90% of the liquid out of it. We used them when we had a wet Springer Spaniel.

Spitpatch · Jan 17, 2020

My dogs have always been trained to believe wholeheartedly that any bed they have that I send them to they need to deal with. They have been short haired hound dogs. I cannot imagine your plight with the long hair..
My dogs have often slept drier and warmer than me. A tarped airline crate with poofy ground cover will keep any dog warm and dry through any night.
They sleep in or on my bed on expedition only when it is necessary due to weather, and only by invitation.
We do well.

L84Cabo · Jan 18, 2020

Just some thoughts/ideas

Work on training to keep her out of the water. I gotta believe this can be done. A good trainer can likely help.

Pack a Chamois or some type of similar highly absorbent towel that you're able to ring out and is quick drying. You won't get her completely dry but you should be able to get a lot of the water out of her.

Pack a small-ish, waterproof sheet/ground cloth so that you can wrap her up inside the tent and help keep the water off of everything else.

If the issue is keeping her dry in the rain, they do make rain coats for dogs. I don't have any direct experience with these but I gotta believe there is a decent one out there.

Note...Mr Woofington is more than capable of carrying a bit of weight. If you don't have a dog pack for her yet, perhaps now is a good time to get one. She could easily carry the weight of the things I've suggested. But you'll want to think about this carefully. If you are unable to control her and keep her out of the water, you don't want her jumping in a lake with a pack on as she could drown. Which leads me back to my first point. You really gotta step up the training so that she will only go in when YOU allow it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!