If you want your dog to be hale and hearty, you must start spending more time together outdoors. A great way of doing that would be camping with the pet; however, for making the plan successful, you must prepare yourself and your dog well. The tips below will help you in having the best possible preparation before camping with dogs.
Make your dog exercise regularly
A dog must have a certain level of fitness for taking part in camping activities. So, you must make him do certain exercises for acquiring the required fitness. You should always start slowly. That’s because you may end up damaging the animal’s joints by putting too much pressure on them too early. Ideally, you should begin by five minutes of outdoor exercise for every month of the dog’s age, twice daily; stick to this rule until he is fully grown. This means, if your dog is three months old, he should exercise for 15 minutes; on the other hand, a six-month-old dog would need to exercise for 30 minutes. It can be any kind of exercise, brisk walks, playing Frisbee at the park, etc. Never make the animal carry weights until he is fully grown (at what age a dog would be considered to be fully grown depends on his size and breed). Regular exercise would ensure that the dog would be fit enough to withstand the adversities when camping.
Train the dog
The most major part of the training would be ensuring that your dog responds to your call. Before you take your dog camping, you must make sure that he comes when you call his name; he must do that even if he is surrounded by several other dogs or have multiple distractions around him. You should also train him to come even to a dog whistle. Some other commands your dog must be familiar with and respond instantly to include “Leave it”, “Stop”, “Never do this again” etc. It would also come in handy if you can teach your dog to stay in the car until you call him. In short, try to teach as many commands as possible; the more command a dog knows the better-equipped he is for camping. Your primary goal should be using positive reinforcement to show that you trust the dog and encourage him to trust you back.
You should start slowly
Ideally, your dog’s first hike shouldn’t be more than a mile long. The place you take him to must have a pleasing weather. It would be good if you (and your dog) are accompanied just by one or two people with whom the pet is familiar. Increase the distance covered and time spent camping once your dog becomes accustomed to the idea of staying outdoors.
Get some essential supplies
When camping with dogs, you must carry certain supplies with you; these include:
Water: The first thing you must do when preparing for a camp with your dog is setting aside a light plastic or collapsible water bowl and a water bottle for the animal. Make sure that other than the bottles you take for yourself, you carry a separate water bottle for your dog. As dogs don’t sweat, they need to drink plenty of water for cooling down.
Backpacks: If it’s a long hike or a multi-day trip, the weight of a dog tent, food, water, and other essential supplies might become excessive. You can fill a backpack with all those additional items and put it on the dog’s back. This is safe to do as a dog boasts the ability to tow up to 25% of his own bodyweight.
Lights: You might need to spend several hours in full dark or twilight when camping with your dog. To stay safe and see things clearly during those times, make sure you carry a high-quality flashlight with you.
First aid: The majority of dog first aids are similar to human first aids. Even then if you are confused, buy a readymade dog first-aid kit and carry it with you when camping.
Author Bio-
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidWo20393058
David Wood is a camping and hiking enthusiast and the creator of the website CampingHeavens.com. His website has been providing tips and tricks for making the camping experience more exciting and fun-filled. Wood is particularly interested in making people who spend most of their free time indoors, sleeping go out and explore the treasure of nature.
