Camping Etiquette for Dogs

1) Always keep your dog on a leash:

This sounds so trite and as a dog owner you have heard it time and time again. But, it is one of the most common problems. There are a number of issues associated with letting your dog off-leash in a campground. First, they could get lost while running after a rabbit, deer, or coyote. Second, there might be a bigger, dog-aggressive dog tied up in the next campsite that could eat your dog for lunch. Third, you are giving the rest of us a bad rap and the campground might decide to ban dogs. Enough said, I hope.

2) Call ahead:

Even though campground guides may tell you that the campground accepts dogs. Be sure to call ahead, because many of them only accept dogs under 25 pounds or they charge per pet. Look in our guide to camping with dogs here or look in the Travel Life directory here.

3) Clean up after your dog:

We have found that the bags sold for doggie do do are very expensive in pet stores. Instead, we use simple food storage bags from the grocery store. Not the kind with zipper seals, but the plain old gallon size food storage bags with twist ties. These are slightly larger than the pet store bags at less than half the price. The only drawback is that they are clear instead of colored, but you