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  1. #1
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    Default hiking with dogs

    For those of you who take your dogs along with you on your hikes, where do your dogs sleep at night? I prefer not to stay in the shelters and don't have a tent. I prefer a hammock. Having my dog share the hammock with me is out of the question. I can't figure out a good place for her to sleep at night. How do you guys handle this problem?

  2. #2

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    if i was a hammock hanger that wanted to take my dog along, i would switch to a tent or tarp
    always put your dogs needs in front of your needs and it could be a succesful hike. i think the dog needs to be closer to the human, than a hammock will allow. my dog slept outside the tent often, but during lightning she like to huddle a little closer, made her feel safer. just my 2cents

  3. #3
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
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    Kaia is my 2 yr, 70lb+ Black Lab. i carry a cut down poncho liner for her to sleep and rest on. at nite she sleeps in my hammock. if it goes above 50 she sometimes jumps to the ground. i have a 140" by 59" 1.9 sil-nylon DIY hammock. i use full length quilts when she is with me. my tarp is 8'8" by 11' cuben tarp. i hang 12" off ground. she has 40 nites hammocking on trails and 350 mi's of hiking under her collar.
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

  4. #4
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Quote Originally Posted by CrumbSnatcher View Post
    if i was a hammock hanger that wanted to take my dog along, i would switch to a tent or tarpalways put your dogs needs in front of your needs and it could be a succesful hike. i think the dog needs to be closer to the human, than a hammock will allow. my dog slept outside the tent often, but during lightning she like to huddle a little closer, made her feel safer. just my 2cents
    +1 to this. My dogs have always slept inside the tent with me, it keeps them comfortable and out of trouble.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  5. #5
    PCT, Sheltowee, Pinhoti, LT , BMT, AT, SHT, CDT, TRT 10-K's Avatar
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    I've taken my dog on 6 overnight hikes so far (just one night) and I carry my Lunar Duo so there'll be plenty of room for both of us inside the tent. I leave the door unzipped and the vestibule half unzipped and he goes in and out when he wants.

    Trivia: A soaking wet German Shepherd will dry completely in 4.5 hours.

  6. #6
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Wink

    Quote Originally Posted by 10-K View Post
    Trivia: A soaking wet German Shepherd will dry completely in 4.5 hours.
    My pointer dries out even faster if she sneaks into the tent when I'm not looking and uses my down bag as a towel.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  7. #7
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    Shelter floor.

  8. #8
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    amaroniclassicdogbed.jpgAmoroni makes this Jem - just dissemble and hike... Little old school.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by CrumbSnatcher View Post
    if i was a hammock hanger that wanted to take my dog along, i would switch to a tent or tarp
    always put your dogs needs in front of your needs and it could be a succesful hike. i think the dog needs to be closer to the human, than a hammock will allow. my dog slept outside the tent often, but during lightning she like to huddle a little closer, made her feel safer. just my 2cents
    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    +1 to this. My dogs have always slept inside the tent with me, it keeps them comfortable and out of trouble.
    ++1 Me, too. I'm a hammock hanger and after a couple of backyard trial nights with my new hiking buddy I realized he just wasn't able to get comfortable with the idea of me hanging over him (along with the night noises). So now when we hike together I'm a tenter again!
    BigToe
    Men have become the tools of their tools.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by nu2hike View Post
    For those of you who take your dogs along with you on your hikes, where do your dogs sleep at night? I prefer not to stay in the shelters and don't have a tent. I prefer a hammock. Having my dog share the hammock with me is out of the question. I can't figure out a good place for her to sleep at night. How do you guys handle this problem?
    it's all about the dog. get a tent. his/her comfort comes first

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf View Post
    it's all about the dog. get a tent. his/her comfort comes first
    +1. i told numerous people swayze was a trail princess. some guy asked me in the middle of mahoosuc notch who had it easier, me or the dog. i definitely said, "the dog... no one's coming around behind me saying, 'oh, can i take your pack here?' or 'let me help you up/down this section.'" between her bag balm pad massages and ice cream and pizza leftovers and half of hotel beds, many people on the trail told me, "i bet that dog think she's in heaven."

    i would say to get a light, two-person tent. i had the msr hubba hubba for my hike, and it was one of my best investments. there really is no downside to having a tent for you and your dog to sleep in... it keeps your dog from running off or bothering other hikers, it will keep you warmer at night (two bodies are always better for body heat than one), etc. etc. i don't really know what to tell you if you're insistent upon hammocking; i don't have any experience with that.
    "i ain't got a dime
    but what i got is mine
    i ain't rich,
    but Lord, i'm free."

  12. #12
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nu2hike View Post
    Having my dog share the hammock with me is out of the question.
    since you are not putting you dogs needs first even I say take a tent. i made my hammock with my dogs needs in mind.
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

  13. #13
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    I hang a hammock and leash Grace to one of the trees I'm tied to. She has cover if she wants it but she usually prefers to lie on the ground in the open. btw Grace is 111lb Newf. How comfortable your dog is will depend on the breed...

  14. #14
    Registered User Hoofit's Avatar
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    Spooning with your dog in a hammock?
    Better keep them claws trimmed!

  15. #15
    A little more than 50% dog
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    Hello all! First time poster.

    I just picked up one of the hennessys, and have slept in it the past two nights. I have two dogs - one 80 lb lab mix and one 50 lb cattle dog. the first night was a steady 32f all night. the lab slept on the ground underneath my head, and the cattle dog slept comfortably out of the cold nestled up with me. I left the zip open so he could bail if desired, but he stayed with me all night without issue.

    To be fair, the cattle dog used to sleep at my feet in the bag with me on below freezing nights in canaan, so he has a bit more confidence and experience when it comes to sleeping in a camping rig with me. Also, i have camped in another open air hammock which he has gotten in and out of many times with ease, and at his leisure. using the elastic straps to minimize sway of the hammock also seemed to put him more at ease with jumping in.

    The lab is a warm enough sleeper that unless its well below 0f he will happily sleep sopping wet with his belly in the wind, so he doesnt even have a propensity to sleep within heat-exchange-range of me anyway.

    i intend to do my first section hike this spring with both of them and my hennessy, with an extra rain/wind-only-shelter in the pack. i have a black diamond mirage 2, and the rainfly+footprint+poles= a full rain and wind shelter with groundtarp, right around or under 2 lbs. i may also just sew up a larger custom fly for the hammock which would account for extra sleeping area for pooches.

    To get to the point - I think endubyu's statement is very correct. My lab is a lot more like his dog grace, but my cattle dog is a special case whos grown up camping and has the awareness and wherewithal to be trusted in a hammock. If i were camping with my old pit mix, hammock would be out of the question. She wouldnt LET you sleep if she wasnt in the bed with you, and the invitation to enter the aforementioned open air hammock made her act as if she'd seen a ghost.

    This is definitely the kind of issue that, if you dont already know all of your dog's traits or behaviors related to the issue, i would definitely spend a good chunk of time experimenting with as extensive as possible scenario tests before coming to a foregone conclusion in either direction. Hammocks are awesome, and so is being in the woods with your dog. I consider myself lucky that i have the opportunity to enjoy both without sacrificing the wellbeing of my most beloved family members.

    -Lucky

  16. #16
    Registered User shelterbuilder's Avatar
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    Can you hang your hammock low enough that she is more "alongside" than "underneath" you? That might help to solve the issue.

    One of my huskies thinks that ANY tarp is her own personal hammock - thankfully, most of the tarps that she has destroyed have been really cheap ones!

    My first husky used to sleep on a square of wool fabric doubled up and laid alongside of me in the tent or under the tarp (yes, even in the shelter if no one minded).
    Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!

  17. #17
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    Mine always sleep where they wanna, Usually outside on grass. One liked to come inside and curl up. Another would only do so in the worst of weather.

  18. #18
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    I am a hammock hanger and always have my siberian husky Juno with me on all of my trips. I have a 20ft tie out for her that i bring along, and i always have a pad for her if she so chooses to use it, and in winter I also have a poncho liner that I put on top of the pad. During normal fair weather when my tarp is rigged in porch mode she usually is just tied to a nearby tree and she usually sleeps somewhere near me. If the weather is fouler and I have my tarp closed down all the way I run her tie out between the two trees I am hanging from and clip her leash to this, kinda a makeshift zipline. About 75% of the time she sleeps directly under me. The rest of the time she is usually outside my tarp somewhere sprawled out with her legs in the air. I used to be a tenter and she would sleep in the tent with me. It just takes getting them used to a new setup. I also agree that her sharing the hammock is out of the question, one nail snag and the hammock is ruined.
    "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." George Orwell

  19. #19
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    Well, in the past my dog slept in the tent with me, I just zipped the dog and the dog is as good as tied up. I'm planning on switching over to a hammock so my dog is going to try sleeping in a(very cheap) hammock with me and we'll see how it works out. He's small, so I'm hopeful.

  20. #20
    Registered User d.o.c's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    amaroniclassicdogbed.jpgAmoroni makes this Jem - just dissemble and hike... Little old school.
    lol im glad my hound dog dont know bout this otherwise id have some splanning to do........

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