Thought I would open this up to a new topic...
Have been thinking and hoping to do it ever since my lad was a pupster... but somehow haven't yet!

Thanks to Cracar's thread, there's a lot I haven't really thought about so do please share your experiences - good and bad. Particularly any pitfalls!!! :)

I'm in England so we don't have as much freedom as in Scotland but there are one or two places locally that I'd be willing to take a chance on for one night only (If I am brave enough). Bear in mind I don't drive so will have to backpack everything and walk from the nearest bus stop.

So far I have realised that collecting the right [in my case, also lightweight] equipment isn't going to be enough as I have one dog that is a hairy muddy sponge and would insist on sleeping across my legs, and therefore be quietly leaking moisture into my sleeping bag all night long. As well as giving me cramp. And insomnia...! I bet he will be up & down like a tart's knickers at every moth burp.

If I take the other, she is a food criminal and I might have to hang my supplies in a tree like they do in the USA when bears are about.... but she can jump very high, and for all I know she might decide to climb trees if the reward was worth it! Plus if I am in a place I shouldn't be, even if for one night only, do I really want to hang things in trees to advertise my presence...? 

All and every experience welcome :)

I've only been to regular campsites and shows camping, but I found you always need a fair bit of space in tents to be comfortable even with small dogs. You might be grateful of having a bit of extra warmth as even in the middle of summer it can get very cold. A tie out stake and benching chain is most useful for keeping the dogs safe while allowing them more freedom than a crate and also dogs seem adept at opening tent zips too....

It's a lot of fun, but really helps if the weather is kind ;-)

If it's just for one night then I would take tinned/packet food with you.

Are there any campsites near you - not wild camping but a proper site? I was thinking that it might be worth trying a local site first of all to try it out and ease you gently into camping - if there are some amenities available such as a loo and fresh drinking water it will make your first trip easier and you can then judge things such as  how much water you would need to take with you for wild camping as water weighs very heavy.

I am doing my first camping stay in a tent with the dogs at an agility show -having  had a caravan and a camper van previously I am now going to give the tent a try- and I am amazed at how much stuff I will need to take with me for just a weekend - and I am only taking basic essentials. We used to rough it in a tent many years ago and I really enjoyed it at the time but our dog at the time was much smaller than the big hairy one who will be accompanying me :-)

I've been camping with my dogs, 1 slept in with me, however if he was muddy he would of been left in the car overnight which was parked next to the tent. The other dog was a puppy and he was in his crate in the communal area of the tent. Never had any issues with dogs only if others bark they will, and it does make for some restless nights, especially when the wild animals start stirring early hours and then the dogs want up and out!!!

I love camping, but next time the dogs will more than likely be left to sleep in the car regardless of crates!! Crates are worth it though if no car!!

Not any practical advice to offer but it reminds me of staying after Builth having had too much liquid refreshment so me, husband and dog were put up in the awning of a friends caravan in a bedroom annexe. Awoke in the middle of the night to find dog on top of me breathing heavily, realised that the earth was indeed spinning and they had pitched downhill so all the blood felt like it was rushing to my head.

The final insult was wondering what I could feel cold and damp against my tummy?? It turned out to be a slab of frozen tripe ( well now almost defrosted) that our friends had got out to give my girl some breakfast, for some reason I had decided it would thaw quicker in the warmth!

Happy Memories, we went on to get a very well equipped caravan as I am not that much of a camper.

Enjoy the camping,it's great fun :0    

What a great topic and so funny!!lol!!
I'm hopeless at organising so I can't give any pointers execpt the screwytie things.  I find these invaluable when camping as my lot run everywhere at 100mph!  In fact, once, when we had the caravan, we went to a Haven site near Blackpool(which I totally recommend) and I thought the dogs were secure as they were in the awning with the run of the 'van too.  Turns out, they could escape through a little hole near the wheel and did and ate all they could find from other peoples caravans and awnings.  We came home to find 3 groaning, fat spaniels and a warden looking for 'something' eating from the caravans!lol oops! We had to lie and say we had stuff missing too!
Another time, we were parked at a tiny site outside Scarborough and OH was going fishing with the car so I got the bus into scarborough with the 2 kids and left our old(now gone) spaniel in the 'van with the window open a tiny crack for air.  She thought she had been abandoned so escaped from the caravan and proceeded to follow my scent all the way to the bus stop on the main road from York to Scarborough.  She stopped the traffic and caused jams all the way back to York running about that road.  But when the police turned up, she high-tailed it back to the van and jumped in the opened window, closing it behind her!! We packed up and left in a hurry very red-faced!
Now, when we take the dogs, security is my main issue!!

Could you have a trolley thing like people take to shows??
If your dogs are used to crates I would take one. We took my two dogs camping and when they were not being supervised they were in a large crate together and at night :) :) I NEVER left them on their own in there (well only to go to the toilet!!!)
So if you could attatch the crate and a suitcase to a trolley you could pull it to the campsite :) :)
Oh and those screw in things and a long lead to attatch the dogs to to stop them running around :) :)
Lea :) :)

Another vote for the 'Screw tie' thingies, but add some chain leads to attach to the dog/s.

At Bedlington Camp we were sure we'd thought of everything and felt really superior when we spied a Bedlington racing over the field we were camping in - at least ours were safely on a lead (smug) - except that Bedlington didn't half look like our 'Pocket Rocket' and it moved as fast as our 'Pocket Rocket' and ... Where was the 'Pocket Rocket' ?     Yes, that was her racing over the field having quickly chewed through the thickest lead we had  

Luckily she was after having a mooch with one of our friends whose Bedlies were into finding 'bunnies' and other comestibles in the hedges and was perfectly safe.

We managed to find a nice chain lead the same day in a local shop ;)

The more I read this and the other thread about camping grub the more I think we are right in never going to go camping ! :-)

I favour camping in a travel lodge/premier inn/ holiday inn etc. these days.    Too many days spent throwing a HUMONGOUS WET tent into the boot of the car only to get home to pouring rain for weeks and a tent going mouldy for lack of space to dry it out properly :(

If only we could get dry days to camp I'd be an enthusiast, but 3 wet dogs and 3 wet people in a wet tent pitched on mud is my idea of hell :(

> The more I read this and the other thread about camping grub the more I think we are right in never going to go camping ! :-)

Noooo! Camping's great! You just need to get organised, that's all. Crates are good, I hadn't thought of using a dog show trolley but that sounds good too.

And later, if you've taken the family, when the kids are all grown up, if they go camping too then you know it was all worthwhile - you've set the next generation of happy campers on its way :-)

>Another vote for the 'Screw tie' thingies

Make sure that they are sturdy, my dog killed one by his pure weight after pulling wanting to move for something(prob a Rabbit)..

Talking of chewing through leads I went camping with some colleagues in the New Forest, I took our old Lab, we had another Lab there and also a colleagues Border Collie. The Collie was known to chew through his lead, he did this a number of times, each time being retied back up again, his long lead getting shorter and shorter as the minutes rolled on.
The Collie soon gave up on his lead and chewed through one of the Labs, we found him wandering about.. LOL.. Have to laugh at it, cheeky sod!!

>Another vote for the 'Screw tie' thingies

Make sure that they are sturdy, my dog killed one by his pure weight after pulling wanting to move for something(prob a Rabbit)..

Talking of chewing through leads I went camping with some colleagues in the New Forest, I took our old Lab, we had another Lab there and also a colleagues Border Collie. The Collie was known to chew through his lead, he did this a number of times, each time being retied back up again, his long lead getting shorter and shorter as the minutes rolled on.
The Collie soon gave up on his lead and chewed through one of the Labs, we found him wandering about.. LOL.. Have to laugh at it, cheeky sod!!

We first took our puppy camping when she was about 6 months.  Apart from trying to get inside the tent as we were putting it up - it went fine.  I just explained to her that there had been an apocalypse and unfortunately all the humans and dogs now had to live in temporary plastic housing all very close together . . .

We tied her to the wheel of the car when we needed her to stay put (make sure it's a heavy car first . . .)

Best things we took
Folding canvas crate (nice & warm with all the sides down) - we made a plywood top which means it doubles as a useful & quite sturdy table
Big bit of vetbed for her to lie on outside the crate (she only wants to go in the crate when it is time for bed)
Equafleece PJs - the ones with rear legs as she gets cold in the evening
Non-spill dog water bowl - all the others get kicked over
Folding sofa - takes up less space than 2 chairs, is very stable, and one person can sit on it with a dog curled up next to them . . .

Other things
When we are cycle-camping our Vizsla travels in her trailer.  This has a roofrack for additional camping stuff - also the wheels pop off & it doubles as her crate/tent for overnight
We take kippers for breakfast.  Just light up the BBQ & put the kippers straight on the grill for a couple of minutes both sides - sprinkle with cayenne.  Add all detritus to dog bowls.  Watch out for other campers gravitating towards your site like zombies as they smell them cooking
Take a light for dog's collar.  We camped in the New Forest (Hollands Wood - excellent - dog friendly and the cycling/walking tracks go directly from the campsite).  We let her off for a run around the field/open space and she disappeared as it was pitch black!

Dill I think we are on the same wave length on this topic!!

We went to stay in lodges in a forest last year and there was also a large camping area on the site !

It peed in down with rain for a few days and the people camping looked thoroughly miserable but we were fine with our centrally heated luxert lodge with ensuite bathrooms and a hot tub !! :-P

:-D  Sounds like my kind of holiday :-D

camping a few years back to the new forest,with our friend and their two salukis aswell,they had a motor home though,I didn't know if peg and daws would like it or not but as it got dark they took themselves off to bed!they just wandered into the tent and into bed and that was that.
I couldn't help but wonder that being salukis they would have lived under canvas with bedouin tribes so perhaps something in their genes.
The only thing was in the early hours of the morning it got a bit cold I woke up and daws had his head laying on me and I could fell his teeth chattering,it was then a mad rush to unzip my sleeping bag get him in with us and warm him up.
Because peg has arthritis I had bound her up with so many blankets she couldn't move so she was happy and warm as toast.
At one point I had to tie peg up to the back of the motor home,where she immeadiately puffed herself up and went 'on guard' and barked at everything,she really gave me a look that said I thought this is what you wanted me to do.
Country pub lunches,sunny days and shops that dont mind if you bring your dog in,makes me want to go again.

> camping a few years back to the new forest,with our friend and their two salukis aswell,they had a motor home though

You've reminded me..... when The Lad was a youngster I had a friend with a large box van that he'd converted into a camper. I think puplet was only about 4 months old on his first trip in the van, including an overnight stay, when we went to Hayling Island and parked up beside the beach. The bit of the van that was over the cab was my friend's bed, but he'd built in cupboards below that also served as sofa/bed space, where I slept - dog on my feet! So yes, I have had some experience of camping with dogs already! :)

We had a few other trips in the van when he was older, and I also remember as soon as it got light outside he'd get edgy and barky, which meant some unscheduled early starts! But tether him to the towbar on a sunny day and he was happy as larry, watching the world go by and stretching out in the shade.

When we caravaned at some shows the dogs had their own tent where I could get two soft crates in, and had them tethered in front during the day. 

Having wind breaks around your pitch reduces barking at everything going past.

I'd originally planned to have them in the van with us, but I get up several times a night for the loo, and no-one would have got any sleep.