The Reporter-Times out of Indiana posted a humor column by Gordon Grindstaff titled “Camping and Canines Don’t Mix” recounting a recent Florida camping trip with a barking dog. I’m guessing the experience wasn’t too humorous for the other campers staying at the campground that night and if your dog is a barker he or she may not be well suited to campground livin’.

A barking dog isn’t just annoying to other campers - it’s also annoying to the wildlife around you. Nature lovers may not appreciate your dog scaring off the birds they’re trying to watch and a dog chasing a squirrel through a field of tents is just an accident waiting to happen.

I’m sure I’ve shared this story on the blog before but for some reason I couldn’t find where (or if) I did. Anyway, we took our dog Jackson on a backpacking trip to the Appalachian Trail in Virginia a few years back and after finding a small, secluded campground along the trail we settled in for the night. At some point after we all fell asleep in the tent, Jackson woke us up with a low, guttural growl that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. What was out there? I didn’t hear anything but apparently he did.

My mind raced - what could it be? A bear? A person? Just a raccoon? If it was a bear I didn’t want Jackson attracting or provoking the animal somehow so I tried to quiet him. He continued to growl and crane his neck to look out the mesh tent window for a little while longer but eventually went back to sleep.

I, on the other hand, could not get back to sleep the rest of the night for fear of what could have been outside. I’ve been camping for decades and I’ve never been fearful outdoors - except this time - even though I’m sure it was nothing. Stupid dog.

Anyway, camping with your dog can be a fun experience but just remember that you will be forced to take the good with the bad. Read our tips for camping with your dog to make your next canine camping experience a good one.

Related posts:

1. Haunted Campground Event in Missouri
2. Tips for camping with your dog
3. Farm Camping
4. Camping in Sydney Harbor
5. Take your kids camping

Tags: appalachian trail, dogs, virginia

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 6:44 am and is filed under camping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.