Camping holidays with your dog

Bettina von Ourlovelyfamilylife

Holidays without my dogs? Not for me! Go on vacation and leave Kai-Uwe and Paul (my two Labrador retrievers) at home? That's no longer something I even consider. Kai-Uwe and Paul are part of the family and therefore, I always make sure to plan a dog-friendly vacation.

We love travelling and have made several road trips with our dogs. Particularly when you cover a lot of kilometres in a short period of time with many stops in between, it can be more relaxing to travel with a camper van or trailer. That way, you always have your home with you – just like a snail – and don't have to pack up everything every few days. And that's exactly what this article is about: Relaxing holidays with your dog in a camper van.

TRAVEL PREPARATIONS

Before going on holiday, first inform yourself about the entry requirements of the country you're planning to visit. Most EU countries require a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before. A microchip ID and an EU pet passport. Therefore, check your dog's vaccination record book a few weeks before your planned trip, just in case.

Other countries have additional special rules. For example, Norway requires a tapeworm treatment which must have been carried between 120 and 24 hours before entering the country and which must have been documented e.g. in the vaccination record book by a vet. Word of advice: In order to avoid time, hassle and stress at the border, best check the entry requirements of the country you and your dog want to visit beforehand.

I'M PACKING MY SUITCASE…

……and I bring… well, a lot more than you'd expect. When packing for our first holiday with a dog, we were briefly shocked how many supplies a dog needs. At the time, we only had one dog – our Kai-Uwe – and yet his supplies and equipment filled up a whole trolley bag.

So what does your dog need for a camping trip? The following is what you should pack into your dog's suitcase:

- EU pet passport with vaccination record
– A copy of your dog liability insurance policy
– A muzzle, if necessary
Food bowls (we use the practical travel food bowls by WOLTERS)
- Sufficient dog food and perhaps your dog's favourite treats
– Chew toys to keep your dog occupied
– Dog bed and dog blanket
– Main leash and collar (with dog tag) )
– Spare leash and collar
– Long tow leash and perhaps leash fastener for the camper van (also known as dog leashing peg)
– A few favourite toys
– Emergency medication and perhaps a first aid kit with bandages, etc…
– Tic tweezers and tic protection
– Dog brush
– Towels, a whole lot of towels (for bad weather or going to the beach)
– Poo bags
– For emergencies, be sure to look up the address of a vet near your holiday destination
– Brush and dustpan for the approx. 2 million dog hairs accumulating in the campervan, because a travelling dog seems to shed even more than at home.

THE OUTWARD JOURNEY

I recommend to prepare your dog and yourselves for travelling via shorter test drives, e.g. day trips. If your dog experiences a lot of stress during these shorter trips, a 12-hour holiday road trip perhaps isn't the right choice for them and you should maybe start with a vacation destination closer to home. You can train your dog for drives, until they learn to relax in the car. And then, there is nothing to stop you and your dog from going on an extended road trip.

After a long drive, you often don't know how to sit, because everything is sore and numb. Your dog probably feels the same. They need to move their legs and walk around for a bit and they're probably hungry and thirsty, too. Therefore, you should plan to take sufficient short breaks at regular intervals during your holiday trip. And after spending many hours cooped up in a car, a short walk around the block will be a relief for you as much as for your dog. In order to deal with thirst and hunger, we always take along a big water bottle as well as our WOLTERS travel food bowls. The WOLTERS travel food bowls are great for camping trips in general, because they are super lightweight and easy to store.

SAFETY FIRST

Whether travelling in the car or a campervan: Always make sure that your dog is well secured during the drive. A transport box is a great solution. One drawback is that transport boxes tend to be quite big and you need to fit them into your car. Unfortunately, the trunk of our car is not big enough for two transport boxes. Furthermore, a transport box is not the right choice for every dog. Paul really likes his transport box and feels safe and protected inside, but Kai-Uwe always felt boxed-in and uncomfortable.

Otherwise, Kai-Uwe and Paul each rest upon a comfortable Vagabund Travel Blanket by WOLTERS in the trunk and that's it. With its cozy plush lining, the Vagabund Travel Blanket is also perfectly suited for a trailer or campervan.

If your dog rides on the backseat, make sure to secure them well in a harness. Even if your dog is relaxed about driving, if they are not properly secured, they would be catapulted forwards in an accident, which would not only pose a danger for you but would likely be deadly for your dog. Safety first!!

GADGETS FOR THE TRAILER OR CAMPERVAN

Now I want to show you some gadgets that every dog owner should have in their trailer or campervan:

The first law of camping is that there is never enough room in the campervan or trailer. This is a problem, because Kai-Uwe and Paul love stretching out on the floor. Unfortunately, they have never learned how to lie down, while saving space. And because we don't want to traipse through the trailer, as if on eggshells (particularly after dark), in order to not accidentally step on an ear or a tail, we always take two Cleankeeper Travel Pads by WOLTERS along, which we spread out away from the aisle. That way, the dogs have a fixed place to sleep and we know where we can walk freely without worrying about stepping on our dogs.

Here's a little fun fact: Kai-Uwe and Paul always need a big and voluminous plush toy, which also doubles as a pillow. Every evening, they each grab one of our WOLTERS Plush Ball toys (we have christened them Ernie & Bert) to rest their heads.

In order to prevent chaos from erupting in your campervan or trailer during a longer trip, everything has their assigned place in our trailer. The food bowls are placed where they cannot be knocked over and the leashes have a fixed "parking space" on a hook on the door, so we can grab them without searching.

Of course, everybody hopes for good and dry weather while on vacation. After the daily walk, you open the door to the trailer, let your dog hop inside and sit down for a relaxing evening. Wonderful, isn't it? Now I don't want to destroy your illusions, but… when it's raining, things won't be as pleasant as that.

Imagine that it's raining the proverbial cats and dogs outside and you and your dog return from your daily walk. You're soaked and want only one thing: Get into the warm and dry trailer as soon as possible. But first you need to at least cursorily try to dry off the dog - in the rain – which is nigh impossible. Therefore, you'll inevitably have muddy pawprints and a dripping wat dog in the trailer. Worse, once the dog is inside the trailer, they will shake themselves, because wet dogs always shake themselves. Preferably right next to the white door or the white cabinets to distribute the maximum amount of dirt splatters.

But instead of further elaborating the horror scenario of a trailer soiled with mud, dirt and millions of wet dog hairs on every available surface, I'd rather share some tips for rainy camping days.

Before taking a walk in the rain, place a WOLTERS Dirty Dog Doormat at the entrance of the trailer to combat muddy paw prints. The Dirty Dog Doormat absorbs wet and dirt and is extremely helpful when dealing with soaking wet dogs. When your dog is dripping during towelling them off, the doormat will absorb drops and dirt at once.

Upon returning from a walk in the rain, you should also keep a Dirty Dog Shammy by WOLTERS at hand near the door, so you can dry off and clean your dog after the walk at once. Afterwards, wrap your dog in a fluffy dog bathrobe, so that they can fully dry. Et voilá!

And now for sunny days: If you're lucky and the weather is good, you'll enjoy relaxing outside in the sun and of course you'll want to have your dog by your side. Alas, not every dog is so relaxed as our two boys and just stays next to the trailer. There is a great temptation to explore the campground and meet the other canine guests. I have noticed that other camping dog owners have solved this dilemma by attaching a (long towing) leash directly to a hook on the trailer or campervan. If there is no handy hook, you can also place a tent peg into the ground and attach the leash to that peg (e.g. a dog leashing peg ;-))

CAMPING WITH YOUR DOG HUND

By now, most campgrounds welcome or at least tolerate dogs. It quite rare that your dog can stay free of charge; mostly you need to pay a fee per night. Leashes are always required. Please adhere to the rules and also pay attention to cleanliness (i.e. removing dog poo) so that our dogs will continue to be welcome on campgrounds.

We always try to include Kai-Uwe and Paul in our activities and take them everywhere. But sometimes, e.g. when taking a detour into a busy city or for activities where dogs are not allowed such as certain mountain trains, we also leave our dogs alone in the trailer. Of course, this is only possible during cold temperatures and when you can be sure that your dogs do not bark incessantly and annoy your camping neighbours nor demolish the interior of the trailer in your absence.

For us, camping is the best and most relaxing way of travelling with our dogs and we're looking forward to all future trips