[Andy Schmidt]

What do you dog folk do with your K9 at night when in the back country? I haven't taken my dog backpacking yet, but am sure it'll happen in the next couple months. I'm thinking my options are 1) zip-line between two trees with a leash. or 2) share the tent. I'm not too fond of the share the tent idea (mostly out of fear of gear damage and/or destruction... you should see our hardwood floors) and whenever I've tied him to a fixed object at the park or a friends house he goes berserk fighting it and howling. He's not particularly hyper, mischievous, or destructive he's just... a dog... with dog habits. Scratches before he lays down... likes to run around and explore... etc. Any alternate ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

On Summit of Mt. Dickerman -- Oct 13, 2007

[Canuck]

I don't often take my dog (chocolate lab) backpacking, it's just easier with a pack not to have a leash too. But when I do, I bring my crappy Fred Meyer special $60 tent. It's a 3-person with a floor made out of that blue tarp material. We've had that tent for many years, and it's still in decent shape. It's a couple pounds heavier than my usual backpacking tent but worth it, to have her in the tent with me. If I kept her outside of the tent, she'd cry & keep me (and anyone within hearing distance) up all night.

[joker]

Each of my dogs has carried half a ridge-rest pad for him/herself (along with their food and water and bowl and maybe a tennis ball and chewable toy), and this has worked for me thus far in preventing any tent floor damage. Tried dog outside once, and this kept me awake because he was alert and noisy looking for what was moving around outside the tent, whereas he settled right down once in the tent. Perhaps that would change once the novelty wore off, but given how well it worked to have him inside, that's just what we started going with.

[goats gone wild]

My Elly dog (a black lab) slept in the vestibule with a foam pad and a blanket to lay on. This kept her near me and we both slept well. Anytime of the night I could just unzip the tent and give her head a pat.

[solohiker]

My dog ALWAYS sleeps in my tent - on cold nights she crawls in the bag with me.

Usually after a day of hiking she's tired enough to settle down easier than a day at home. I don't really like the amount of dirt she brings with her, but I pick up the tent and shake it out in the morning. I give it a better cleaning once I get home. The hardest thing is keeping her dry when camping near a lake or stream. I try to keep her out of the water after dinner. I also bring a dog-brush, because with a good brushing her fur dries pretty quickly - it gets a lot of the dirt out, too. Keeping her outside the tent all night would be a disaster. At best she would bark at every chipmonk that ran through camp (feeling like she was protecting me), and at worst a cougar would find her on an evening hunt and have her for dinner .

[Stella]

Our 3yo black lab sleeps in the tent. We put a fleece covered sit pad at the foot of the tent that she now identifies as her spot. It doesn’t stop her from migrating during the night to other, warmer spots, but at least she starts out there and it gives her something to scratch. Like Solohiker’s dog, ours is usually tuckered enough to be manageable in a tent.

[grannyhiker]

My dog is part of my sleeping system--he helps keep me warm at night! I keep his claws clipped as short as possible and so far have no problems even though I have a lightweight silnylon tent. I have a closed-cell foam pad for him to sleep on. If we expect temps below freezing, I have a light sweater for him. In temps above freezing, his perpetually shedding Lab/Golden retriever coat is enough to keep him warm. If I had him tied outside, he would whine all night. If I put him in the vestibule, I'd be tripping over him during my multiple middle-of-the-night exits.

[jenjen]

Buster dog sleeps on a piece of Z-rest inside the tent. Leaving him outside would be a disaster. I haven't found that his paws are any problem. The biggest problem I have is with him thinking he shoud have the Thermarest and sleeping bag. After a full day's hike, carrying his share of the gear, he's tuckered out enough that after we've established that the sleeping bag is mine he just curls up and goes to sleep.

[grannyhiker]

I've managed to teach Hysson to stay off my sleeping bag. At $325 it's a little too expensive to use as a dog bed. However, when I was using a Thermarest he would sort of slide over onto it during the night and I would wake up to find myself on the cold hard ground. Since I switched to an insulated air pad, I haven't had this problem--it's enough thicker that he can't slide onto it. I really switched for the sake of my elderly hip and shoulder joints and because the air pad is almost a pound lighter than my old Thermarest LE. There has been this additional fringe benefit that I now stay on my pad and Hysson stays on his. I do spend a few minutes combing Hysson (well away from the tent) before bedtime. This removes some of the ever-present shedding hair and, more important, removes any ticks that might be crawling around on him.

[hikermike]

My Golden Retriever always slept outside at my invitation...but she'd always shove up against me outside the tent shoving it over. My Yorkie and Chihuahua sleep in my bag at my feet.

[E's Mom]

Like others have mentioned, our dog always sleeps with us while we're camping. There is the warmth factor (for you AND your dog), plus fear (our dog wants to be close to us when it gets dark) and the safety issue already mentioned (a dog alone would be a cougar- or other wild animal magnet). If you bring your dog backpacking, I'd strongly advise finding a way to keep him with you in your tent at night.

[Slugman]

Daisy the wonder dog always sleeps inside the tent, on her own piece of blue foam pad. I have my sleeping bag unzipped and spread out comforter-style, so she snuggles up to me under that. Her paws have never damaged the tent, and I bring an old washcloth to wipe her paws with before she enters the tent. She doesn't carry her exact things in her pack due to size/shape issues, but she carries more than her share of the total weight.

[moosefish]

I could never get my dog to stay off my sleeping bag or my thermarest. Like others I was pushed off during the night. At REI yesterday I saw they had a dog-sized tent that I think was for sale.

[Mount Logan]

REI Adventure Dog Tent

[Andy Schmidt]

Thanks for the responce. Dogy z-rest + doggy spooning... here I come.