hammock camping with a dog

[ishmael86]

Hey guys:

Maybe a newbie question but I am getting more serious about hammock camping and want to take my dog along for the first time on a hammock hanging trip...

Any tips on getting her used to the new setup? We usually sleep in a tent--nobody sleeps with the dog IN the hammock, do they? She's a little bit nervous--a herding dog, so she always wants to know where everybody is at ALL times. She's experienced the hammock on car camping trips and wants to jump in with me and seems worried about me hanging off the ground. This is the type of dog who will jump in the water after me, not because she likes to swim but because she wants to swim laps around me to make sure I'm alright.

I'm afraid she'll freak out if I'm hanging above her all night and I'll be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no tent and a freaked out dog!!

Also--do you take a groundcover or anything for your dog to sleep on / in? I am also thinking of making her some kind of pad if this works out well.

Thanks

[irrationalsolutions]

i have the same problem. so far i take a trip every now and then with a tent so i can take her with me. i was told by someone on another forum to just take her and attach a lead to her for the night and she will be fine. i had thaought of that myself but since i got the conformation i havent been out myself to test it yet.

my dog is much the same as yours. i have taken the hammock on car trips as well and she does fine with it but i ususally retreat to the tent at night because she has to sleep at me feet.

[SteveJ]

I usually tie my dog to the base of one of the trees the hammock is tied to. One of the guys on another forum (yahoo trail dog group) recently suggested running a line between the two trees under the hammock, and attaching the dog's lead to the line with a caribiner....

I have a siberian husky, and usually don't have to worry about a ground pad for her because we don't usually camp when it's cold enough for her that it's an issue. Once or twice, I've brought a ccf butt pad, and put it out for her to sleep on - I've seen her use it once.

That works for us...I hear you about herding dogs - have hiked with a buddy who has one, and that's a very different dog from my sibe....

[Wise Old Owl]

They are usually very good, my Rugby placed himself under the hammock and every time he heard a noise his head bopped by tush! SO practice in the backyard to figure this out.

[Valentine]

I hang with my dog. Every dog is different I imagine when it comes to this. My experience has been good. I have a Hennessy and getting the dog in through the slit at night is comical. She usually sleeps under my armpit. On warmer nights I put her under the hammock.
One January night she rolled in something awful but couldn't really smell untill you were right on top of her (like you would in a hammock). She was quite foul smelling but it was even colder outside. My reaction when turning my head towards her in the middle of the night was a very rude instinctual movement away from her direction.
I am never alone when hiking and she makes kitchen cleanup easier- she gets all the leftovers.
As far as a pad I did create a fleece/ nylon-pvc coated blanket for her. It is easier for her to carry than a ccf pad.

[Tipi Walter]

This is not an attack or an affront to people who take their dogs inside with them or who bring a pad or blanket for the dog to sleep on, but sometimes I wonder what kind of example of comfort we are setting for our dogs that in the long run might spoil them. It might be okay for us to have a shelter and a zero sleeping bag, but a dog?

I have a chow mix(Shunka)who has a fairly thick coat and his sense of territory-surveillance and integrity is such that he would never want to stay inside a shelter for the night, even at zero degrees. And now, at near 14 years of age and having lived outdoors all of those years, there's no real need to consider bringing him inside anywhere. In fact, recently I went down to my 12x12 basecamp tent where I sleep at night and brought in Shunka so he could sleep on the rug inside. I zipped up the big door and he immediately freaked and charged thru the side of the tent canopy and blew out the other side, ripping a large hole in the UV degraded nylon. If I tried to stuff him in a hammock he'd bite my throat out.

What's more, during butt cold trips he always finds a little nest to arrange in a clump of dead leaves and will often curl up in deep snow after he has scrapped out a spot down to the ground. Dogs often know the best place for them to sleep, and it often won't be anywhere near your tent or hammock. The only times I have seen him overly nervous were during thunderstorms and one time at 10F below the popping trees sounded like gunshots and made him crazy.

[peanuts]

my boxer used to share my hammock. she weigh 90 pounds of muscle and she was almost my length when laying down... it is possible to hang w/dog:) if it does not work ou, maybe making a hammock for the dog and hang it below yours.

ps..... do not listen to tipi.......:rolleyes:

[neo]

Hey guys:

Maybe a newbie question but I am getting more serious about hammock camping and want to take my dog along for the first time on a hammock hanging trip...

Any tips on getting her used to the new setup? We usually sleep in a tent--nobody sleeps with the dog IN the hammock, do they? She's a little bit nervous--a herding dog, so she always wants to know where everybody is at ALL times. She's experienced the hammock on car camping trips and wants to jump in with me and seems worried about me hanging off the ground. This is the type of dog who will jump in the water after me, not because she likes to swim but because she wants to swim laps around me to make sure I'm alright.

I'm afraid she'll freak out if I'm hanging above her all night and I'll be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no tent and a freaked out dog!!

Also--do you take a groundcover or anything for your dog to sleep on / in? I am also thinking of making her some kind of pad if this works out well.

Thanks


check out hammock forums.its a great place to go:cool:neo

http://www.hammockforums.net/?

[ishmael86]

Hey guys thanks for the suggestions--knowing that other people have let their dogs in the hammock is a help--I was afraid she would be too heavy or tear it with her claws or something. Although I don't weigh so much, so whatever :o)

Tipi: my dog actually doesn't like being cooped up in a tent much either, since she can't watch what's going on outside--don't think she feels that safe in there, so who knows, maybe the freak-out-factor will be less if she's tied up under the hammock. She's definitely not spoiled--no worries there.

She usually sleeps on a dog bed by our bed, so maybe it will feel the same to her.

I really like the idea of a line between two trees with caribiner and short line attached--that way there's less chance of wrapping around and around some tree or underbrush.

[photomankc]

I really like the idea of a line between two trees with caribiner and short line attached--that way there's less chance of wrapping around and around some tree or underbrush.

Yep that's a keeper idea right there.

My new Aussie Sheppard mix, Smokey, was perfectly cool with laying under the tarp next to me in the grass. He wanted to be right at the edge to keep watch on the area. Unfortunately I used the smaller of my two tarps and when a storm rolled in it was blowing the tarp way inward and not leaving him much room so we packed up rather than let him get rained on and then the cold air come pouring in. Next time I'll setup with the 11x10' JRB tarp I have. It provides much more covered area.