Camping + Dog = ?

Never allow a dog off leash in a public campground, especially one who is not highly trained, completely reliable and 100% under voice command. He may not hurt anyone but there are people who truly fear dogs, particularly of the horse variety. And his size won't necessarily protect him when he enters another dog's camp site. YOU will be entirely responsible for anything that happens, whether or not you happen to be nearby. Not fair to horse-dog. It's not too late to really train your dog to be the perfect camping dog. Gift him the gift of serious dedicated training. You'll both be so much happier and better off.

I have no idea where you are camping that dogs are even allowed off-leash. Every place I've ever camped with dogs has required them to be leashed or confined at all times. I don't recall seeing other owners breaking the rules by allowing their dogs off-leash in the camping area (deep into the trails is another matter), and I have never had anyone bring their camping dog around to "meet the neighbors." I would frankly be appalled and extremely pissed off if you let your dog approach or enter my campsite unleashed. And if you tried to "meet the neighbors" with your dog on leash, I would firmly tell you to keep your distance, because I don't care HOW friendly your dog is, my dog is NOT friendly to other dogs when she's on her territory or on leash. She's defensive, reactive, and territorial (and WOULD be leashed because those are the rules). She very easily might get into a fight with your dog unless your dog is very respectful of other dogs' BACK OFF signals. Do you walk Cargo on leash a lot? Because it sounds like he doesn't have a lot of respect for you and/or is not familiar with being in situations where it's not OK to run around and do as he pleases and act like a big doofus. Also, the time for your dog to move around and sniff and explore is when you take him hiking, which should be pretty easy to do for hours and hours and hours when you're camping, right? So, if you ever want to take your dog camping, I think you need to do a few things: 1) Work on basic obedience. You especially need a much better "recall" if you hope for your dog to be a good canine citizen when working off-leash, anywhere. If you can't stop your dog from rushing up and greeting other dogs, then your recall/obedience isn't strong enough. You say that you don't think your dog would hurt another dog: would you be so certain of that if your dog rushed up on a leashed, reactive dog and got his face bit? 2) Keep your dog on leash or on a short tie-out when in the campsite. If he runs into the end of the line trying to go play with other dogs--well, that's why the line is there. 3) Stimulate your dog plenty while your camping. Because you've worked a lot on obedience first, you can walk your dog around the camping area plenty to see the sights and sounds and sniff all the sniffs without him lunging and pulling like an idiot at other people's campsites, because you've trained your dog to walk on leash without acting like an idiot around other people/dogs already. 4) If you are able to instill a solid recall in your dog and you really want some off-leash time, either to play with other dogs or to explore, do so away from the camping area, and only with dogs/owners that you have arranged to play with.

Thanks for all the helpful replies! Everyone has their own understanding of dog owning, training, and all things similar, providing this variety of useful advice. The insight I most appreciate are those who bring their dog to remote, less populated, back-trail camping locations. During Cargo's first camping trip in Colorado, I quickly realized this was the wrong campsite. Again, as the first trip, I didn't know how Cargo would handle himself. He'll react to my recall. Throw in another dog, well, that'll take a few more years and a session or two of obedience class. As a teenager, our family would travel deep into the wilderness to find prime, remote camping. It was pure bliss to roam with my two brothers around the mountains of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming accompanied by the family dog, Junebug, unwavering by our sides. I accept that Cargo cannot be compared or expected to have Junebug's mannerisms, however, with the right training, I'm confident Cargo will be our loyal camping companion. I hope to figure out a proper leash method, though, I would much rather find adequate remote camping in my native Colorado territory. Rest assured, I have utmost respect for other campers, their space, dogs, and campsite etiquette. Cargo's mess is always picked up. He won't continuously bark. He's rewarded for doing good. I try to use positive commands while avoiding negative. Most importantly, I want to have a relaxing time without infringing on anyone else. Cargo will be taught on-leash while camping until his maturity and obedience level is on par. Any suggestions on a high-tension, max-force outdoor leash? Cargo's a big guy. Now, the pictures! http://augustrking.com/images/Shake!.PNG http://augustrking.com/images/cargo%20dandelions.jpg

Should I reprimand him initially? By reprimand: "Cargo, NO. Bad. Cargo, NO." This is very unlikely to work. Even if Cargo understands "no" and "bad" as indicators that he's doing something he shouldn't (which is highly questionable to begin with), he won't know which of the many things he's doing (breathing, slobbering, walking on a bed of pine needles, etc.) is upsetting you. It's much easier to train your dog to *do* things (come, sit, stay, leave it) than to *avoid doing* things, because you can't positively reinforce the absence of a particular behavior. (It may be possible to effectively punish some behaviors, but it tends to be both difficult and destructive of your relationship with the animal.) One http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1860542387/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ offers a rule of thumb that says, more or less, that if your pet rock can do a particular thing, that's not a behavior that an animal can be trained to do, e.g. your pet rock doesn't trample other people's campsites, so you can't train Cargro not to trample other people's campsites. You should read some training books or take a class with your dog so you understand how training works, and then you should work with your dog to establish this sort of control. Until you do, you have absolutely no business letting him off leash near others in a campground.

I camp with my dog (a 24-pound probably-Border-Collie http://workerant.smugmug.com/Animals/Kenda-Hiking/i-Q3HXZ2H/0/M/IMG_0347-M.jpg) all the time, though we usually camp in the backcountry and not in public campgrounds. There are a handful of public campgrounds in my area that do not have leash rules. Perhaps OP has found one like this so I'll work on that assumption. I do not think your dog is ready to be off-leash in a highly stimulative environment like a public campground. My http://workerant.smugmug.com/Animals/Kenda-Hiking/i-Znrn9Cc/0/M/IMG_0514-M.jpg, who is never leashed in the backcountry, would probably be leashed in the environment you describe. Even though she is highly trained and socialized (she's a shop dog during the workweek) and reliable with recall, there are too many uncontrollable variables in a public campsite. Elderly people with fragile skin? What if she jumps up and hurts them? What if she gets a wild hair and steals some food, or worse yet MAKES food of a wild hare, which would probably freak some people out? An unleashed dog will get out of your sight: what happens when some well-meaning kid feeds her chocolate? You should also consider the fact that some dogs will never, ever, despite perfect training, be reliable off-leash. This tendency runs strongest in hounds, who follow their noses to the exclusion of all else, but Huskies are notorious runners too. My little collie is flawless off leash; I do not EVER let my http://workerant.smugmug.com/Animals/Maeby/i-jP6B29H/0/M/923228_646658505350325_2072429623_n-M.jpg off-leash, even to walk from the house to the car while waving treats in her face. You need to train your dog and learn more about what to expect when he's loose. A public campground is not the place for that. Add into the mix that he's only 2 and most dogs are hot messes until somewhere around 4 years old, and my answer is NO, you should not let your dog off-leash in a public campground. As for the choking-on-his-collar problem, this at least has an easy solution. Pick up an http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/collars/easywalk/description from any PetSmart. It's a harness that connects in the front of the chest. It will hugely reduce leash pulling and completely eliminates choking at the neck.

Hi there. I camp with my young dog, who I keep on-leash. I also had an awesome, awesome older dog growing up who would follow me around and not go running off after things even if he wasn't on leash. I find it useful to not try to mentally expect that I should be able to treat Current Dog like Good Old Dog. I recommend you work with your dog to be well-mannered on a leash, and keep him on one. If you can't control him on a leash, don't take him camping yet. But help him get there. If you do, I think you'll find that plus another year of growing up will make a big difference. Also, nthing the requests for pictures of Cargo; he sounds like a great big-hearted dude.

Is Cargo your first dog which wasn't a childhood/family pet? It sounds like you're mostly used to dogs who are already fairly well-trained, and that you and Cargo would both benefit from taking a basic obedience class together. These classes aren't just for the dog - they're also for you as the owner, to give you a better sense of how to communicate effectively with your pooch, what you can realistically expect of them, etc. They'll also give you a lot of great tools for getting and keeping your dog's attention, beyond just reprimands (which often don't work NEARLY as well as rewards and positive reinforcement). At the campsite, I would definitely echo everyone else here saying that you need to keep Cargo on-leash - not just for the benefit of other campers, but also for his own safety. I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows someone whose beloved dog was lost because she wandered off on a camping trip even though they were sure she would NEVER leave their sight. And from my own experience, I once had a fox come right up to our campsite; my dog at the time couldn't care less, but my current dog would have charged off after it in a heartbeat (new friends, oh boy!). All it takes is a few seconds of distraction on your part, or something too interesting for your dog to resist. If you're concerned about they way your dog is getting jerked back by the neck when he's tied up, one thing that might help (in addition to, not in lieu of training) is a harness that makes it more difficult for your dog to pull. We have one of these http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/collars/easywalk/description and it works wonders. I'd definitely test it out on walks before hand, but this might make being tied up a bit less unpleasant for your dog. (Finally, "Cargo" is a marvelous name for a giant dog! And I'd love to see pictures if you're up for sharing ...)

He's a young dog, he'll need some time. You should probably keep him on a longish leash and take him for extra hikes and wear him out as much as possible on the hikes. You can probably have him off leash in the woods if he can reliably not roam off so far he gets lost. Always reward him for coming back or responding to 'leave it'. For a long time we carried around dog treats in our pockets for just this thing. I mean for years. Dogs, like people, change as they get older and your dog will probably mellow out. It'll just take patience, positive reinforcement, and maybe not having things as perfectly as you'd want them sometimes--I didn't like having our dog on a leash at our campsite, I felt like that might ruin things for her. And she was probably a little bored. But we went for long walks and she ate some hot dogs and slept in the tent with us, and ultimately I think she had a better time than if we left her behind. Not everybody is cool with dogs, especially big dogs like yours (Ours is medium-small. When she barks at people they *laugh*.) I bet your dog is great, seriously. You just have to help him through the big doofus stage.

Cargo would tear off towards the other dogs only to be jerked backwards by the neck. Since he's a very smart dog, that's how he'd learn to stop doing that, if you'd only give him the time to do so. If you think he'll be bored when he's confined to your camping spot, take him walking... you'll have to do that anyway, for toilet purposes. As a camper, I've had to deal with other people's friendly but curious and unrestrained dogs. It annoys me to no end if they come trampling over my cooking area (possibly knocking my food over, or trying to eat it! Ugh!), slobber in my face because camping chairs are low, and then there's always the possibility that they'll pee against my tent or poop in the area where I was planning to live for the rest of the week. You say he's friendly and I believe you. I still don't want to be greeted by your horsedog. Please keep him on a leash. If you're looking for suggestions for good places to go camping, some sort of indication of your preferred location might help. I have no idea on which continent you'd like to set up camp.