View Full Version : Dog on the trail
Baltomorescorner
08-31-2009, 13:30
What forms of shelter have people used for their dog along the trail? I feel confident enough to let him sleep underneath my hammock without any problems but I was wondering what other people have done with their dog while on the trail.
Have you checked out the "Dogs on the AT" forum (down a little ways from Straight Forward)?
Baltomorescorner
08-31-2009, 14:20
I didnt but i will thank you!
Jack Tarlin
08-31-2009, 14:34
Most dogs share a tent or tarp with their owner, meaning you might not be able to get by with a small one-person tent, especially if you have a good-sized dog.
Not sure the under-the-hammock thing will work (depends on the hammock). In order to keep your pet warm and dry you might need to look into a slightly larger size tarp than the one that comes with your hammock. For any number of reasons, a lightweight tent or tarp might make more sense for you guys, especially as most dogs would probably derive more happiness from sleeping WITH their owners as opposed to underneath them.
Most dogs share a tent or tarp with their owner, meaning you might not be able to get by with a small one-person tent, especially if you have a good-sized dog.
Not sure the under-the-hammock thing will work (depends on the hammock). In order to keep your pet warm and dry you might need to look into a slightly larger size tarp than the one that comes with your hammock. For any number of reasons, a lightweight tent or tarp might make more sense for you guys, especially as most dogs would probably derive more happiness from sleeping WITH their owners as opposed to underneath them.
ditto that.
what ever you pick, i recommend a piece of tyvek or something of that sorts that can equal a dog bed, give your dog something that means 'this is your place to sleep'
The Weasel
08-31-2009, 20:39
Dogs need shelter, and gear, similar to people, with some mods. A shelter helps keep an animal calmer, with all the scents that are new, including other animals. It also keeps them dry, including from morning dew that can cause serious chills. Dogs should have a pad; I use a half-Ridgerest for Chase (semi-Lab, about 50#) since he gets sore, too, and can get chilled radiating heat into the ground. I've seen some smaller dogs actually in hammocks with people.
TW
My dog is perfectly happy tied to one of the trees I tie my hammock to. I tie her to a lead in a way that she can get under the hammock tarp if it starts to rain. If it's going to be really cold (she's a Sibe), I'll bring a "butt pad" that she uses as a sleeping mat. I leave her pack, with her food, near her, and she's perfectly happy "guarding" her food all night..... After a day of backpacking, she is ready to go to sleep, and is not up and rustling unless something is around.
Different dogs are different, but this works for us.
This pic is of her under my hammock, and it's raining out.....
sticks&stones
08-31-2009, 21:58
a pad, and the option to use a portion of a tarp. but the dog always went off into the woods to sleep for reasons I never understood. Even in a snowstorm, off into the woods the dog would go, most of the time.
sasquatch2014
09-01-2009, 08:13
My dog is perfectly happy tied to one of the trees I tie my hammock to. I tie her to a lead in a way that she can get under the hammock tarp if it starts to rain. If it's going to be really cold (she's a Sibe), I'll bring a "butt pad" that she uses as a sleeping mat. I leave her pack, with her food, near her, and she's perfectly happy "guarding" her food all night..... After a day of backpacking, she is ready to go to sleep, and is not up and rustling unless something is around.
Different dogs are different, but this works for us.
This pic is of her under my hammock, and it's raining out.....
I do the same thing i tried once to get him in the hammock with me. I wanted to snuggle with my best friend. I couldn't get him out fast enough for either of us. He has a section of a cheap blue foam pad to lay on and he is clipped to my hammock that way if he does get up and pull on the leash the movement will transfer to the hammock and I'll know.
I try to pitch my hammock over some form of object that will help act as a wind break like a log or a rock. That along with the oversized tarp that I have and setting my pack up to act as a windbreak keeps him very happy. I do have a very small tent that I will most likely use in the winter if I bring him out with me. Single digits is a bit more than I'll ask him to put up with his breed is not really made for that for long times.
Fiddleback
09-01-2009, 10:49
Our dog carried all his gear/food and our 4-person tent (Eureka Timberline). After all that work, he was entitled to sleep in the tent and he did.:D
In fact, he seemed to think it was a perfect den. As soon as we found our spot for the night, the tent went up and he went in where he snoozed until dinner. Never a peep, never a problem.
FB