As we are currently out bush caravanning with our three dogs. I started to wonder what has been working for us with the dogs and living in the caravan and what we could do better.
Some great tips and tricks to Caravan well with dogs.
Things to think about before hitting that open road.
Before you jump in the car ready to hit the road, you should put some energy into thinking about the following points so you can be prepared for any circumstances with your dog.
- Where are your dog’s designated places in the car and van?
- Our caravan / RV has spaces down the sides of the bed that fit two beds for the chihuahuas on one side and then larger bed for our rescue dog. We have built a level behind the seats in the boot for the two smaller dogs and our rescue likes to lie under the front seat of the car, under the car seat.
- Where will you store the dog food and accessories?
- We store the spare bags of dog food under the boy’s bunks in the centre of the caravan for weight. Then we have smaller containers that have pellets for everyday use.
- Where will they relax outside and how will you keep them safe from wandering away?
- We purchased dog fencing that fits around our outdoor mat. This way the dogs can come and go inside the caravan but can’t roam around the campsite. It also stops them from being on long leads and constantly getting wrapped around the table and chairs.
- How will you protect them from ticks, bait and other harmful situations?
- We make sure that whenever we go to a new place we are familiar with the area to see if it has bait around. We will also do a daily tick check when we are brushing them each day.
- Own space in the car
As we have three dogs and two kids in the car. We knew that before we started we needed to have designated places for everyone. We are fortunate that we have small dogs which make finding spots a lot easier.
Our medium dog (Zihna) had an unfortunate event once when driving and got scared by a bridge. Since then she has always needed to hide under the front seat of the car. This made it easy as our youngest is still small so his legs are nowhere near hitting her from his car seat. We then built a frame in the back of the boot behind the back seats. The two smaller dogs have their beds in there. This is raised as they like to be able to see out of the car but are not hassled but the kids.
- Storing dog food
As one of our dogs has a lot of health issues he has to have very specific dog food that can only be ordered at vets. So, we wanted to stock up on this so we were not stranded. Unfortunately, dog pellets are
1) The space under the bed isn’t the easiest to get to so we use it for things we don’t need regularly.
2) Bags are heavy and the best place for weight is right above the tyres in the middle of the caravan.
The other dogs pellet bags we can get anywhere so we don’t tend to stock up on this just buy one bag maybe two at most. The second bag would also be stored under the bunks if we had it. We then have the pellets in a Sistema cereal container for everyday use. We have been keeping the smaller containers in the cupboard with our cereals.
We then also have a designated dog’s basket in our cupboard that holds all the medication, leads, brush, poo bags and monthly worming tablets.
- Sleeping arrangements
We have gaps on the side of our bed. We have put the two smaller dogs on my side of the beds and then the bigger bed and dog next to the door on Rick’s side.
We did this because she is the best guard dog so closer to the door and also not so far to walk if she needs to go outside while the kids are still sleeping.
We make sure that each night a bowl of water goes down.
We chose to have them next to our beds because they like to be close to us and they are furthest away from the boys so they don’t wake them at night if they get up for water.
- Brushing each day
As any pet owner would know, dogs love losing hair!! We have made it a rule that the dogs need to be brushed once a day to try and keep on top of the hair lose. We have also brought along our Dyson animal vacuum that we use mainly for the car but also the caravan.
- Ticks/bait
In Australia, it is very common to be in an area that has both Ticks and Bait. We are fortunate that the Ticks are only very harmful in a few places. We make sure that during the daily brushing we check them over for ticks especially if we have been down in the river or long bush walks. (also, good to check humans and kids, our youngest had a tick on the back of his ear).
We will also be very conscious of the area before we let the dogs run loose, normally you will see signs that say this area has bait or has recently been sprayed.
- Outdoor during day
Once the indoor morning routine has been done we move the dogs’ beds outside so they can watch everyone going past and enjoy the outdoors. We tend to go for 2-3 walks a day so they can stretch their legs and have a sniff.
As our boys are still little and have naps during the day we will either bring the dogs in if it’s hot or let them siesta outside. We generally feel comfortable leaving them outside because they are secured in an area rather than on leads.
- Places to stay
In Australia, we have an app called Wiki Camps. We use this app along with some other camping books to find campsites that specifically say they allow dogs. We will also normally reconfirm with the owners a few days before we get there or when we book.
I have heard that some places have restrictions on how many dogs they allow and also the weight of the dog. So, we just make sure we are always prepared early.
- No dog outings what you do with dogs
A big downside to having the dogs travel with is that they are always with us and we can’t just leave them in the backyard and go out to dinner…
We also try and plan ahead for doggy sitters or places board the dogs for a night or two if we need. Generally, we have not needed this but always good to plan ahead.
Note that the dogs need to be up to date with vaccines if you want them in kennels.
We have come across some great websites that offer dog sitting. We also just ask at the reception of caravan parks and normally find someone willing to watch the dogs.
- Collars / council tags
This is so important that you have collars and tags on your dogs at all times. I personally am more willing to help catch and find a dog’s owner if I can see that they have a collar and tag on. Make sure you include two numbers on the tag. We actually include my number as well as my mothers who is not
- Travel sickness
We are unfortunate that one of our smaller dogs (Bailey) gets very anxious in the car. He isn’t too bad to the point where he vomits. However, he is very anxious and shakes the whole trip rather than sleeping like the other boys. This is fine for short trips, but not good for
We have found that he gets very heavy and obviously struggles to walk when we stop for the toilet. We also just have to make sure he keeps hydrated when he is on the tablets.
- Entertainment
We sometimes forget that like us the dogs get bored and then subsequently noisy or frustrated. We try to make sure that they are getting at least two big walks a day and then smaller walks around the camp every couple of hours. Our chihuahuas are a bit old to really “play” anymore so they are happy with the walks and then being on guard for the rest of the day.
To sum up, it is absolutely possible to go camping/ caravanning with
Thanks
Caravanning101
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