Camping with a cocker spaniel!

[Geordietyke]

Thanks.  No soft crate, don't think we can even fit his bedtime crate in (not packed car yet as hubby not home from work) so that's why I'm worried.  He's only ever slept in a crate. 

This is a spur of the moment trip, hubby usually works 6/7 days a week but someone has offered to cover him so we can have some family time so we weren't really prepared! 

[Finvarra]

Make sure that you can fasten the zips to the tent. We were camped once at a racecourse, and were awoken by our jack Russell who had nosed up the zip and had a wander round the camp field in the rain before coming back to give us a soggy cuddle! Lucky he found the right tent LOL. But he could easily have wandered off. We blocked the zip closure after that!

Lesley and Dylan

[wendall]

I take my two and they are fine. We've just been away this weekend and are shatttered. Make sure you do the zip up to the top so it can't be muzzled open. Tied up on a long line to a stake during the day and on my bed at night!

[Ambler54]

Just back from Arisaig in a camper van.Campsite a stones throw from a dog friendly beach.No problem with midges or ticks there but once into countryside ticks a plenty.Rosie has Bravecto for when We are away and we had no ticks at all even when We staying in Glen Nevis but others on the sites were combing dogs  every evening and removing many , neighbours elderly dog had 26 after one walk their young dog who ran everywhere not one.If you are going through Fort William to Mallaig you will pass a sign for a pet and garden centre, looks like there is nothing there but follow the road around and there is a small industrial estate. We ran out of bits for Rosie and they were so helpful in there, might be worth asking if there is anything the locals use.Apparently mossie nets are not much use against midges as the little blighters are smaller but there was loads of sprays nets etc in the shops.Very jealous of your trip, we loved it and cant wait to go back even though it is two day trip each way from Cornwall.Enjoy

[Charliechoo]

We ran out of bits for Rosie and they were so helpful in there, might be worth asking if there is anything the locals use.Apparently mossie nets are not much use against midges as the little blighters are smaller but there was loads of sprays nets etc in the shops.Very jealous of your trip, we loved it and cant wait to go back even though it is two day trip each way from Cornwall.Enjoy

In terms of tic prevention when I lived on Skye, it was a product called Advantix now it did do its job, the tics don't attach at all, however I think it's very hard core product for dogs, I probably wouldn't use it again or if just visiting for short term, bit different when you are having to live there though, you do need the stuff, sadly!

In terms of midges, once you've lived there over a year they see you as old blood and don't bother you, the old Avon skin so soft spray used to deter them, but I hear the recipe has changed now so doesn't have the same effect.  I resorted to using Deet Jungle Formular at one point, as they really loved me at first and I had allergic reactions to the little pests!

[Geordietyke]

Sorry hoover for jumping on your thread    I hope your trip goes as well as ours did!  Monty was an absolute star!  Those 2 nights sleeping in our garden must have helped as he settled fine at night and didn't make a sound, despite being surrounded by lots of noisy kids.  He even didn't mind being staked out, just sat and watched the world go by.  Had his first visit to the beach and ran wild with lots of other dogs.  A success 

[ejp]

Monty is a honey, well done Monty, another gold star for you 

[hoover]

It's so lovely to hear everyone's experiences and tips!  Ambler54 our first night was spent just a couple of miles down the road from Arisaig in the spot in the photos.  We had travelled up to the Morar beaches which were stunning but full of campers already.  We wanted a quiet spot for Ollie who can be a difficult dog so we were completely alone at this wild camping spot.  You can see the set up we used - soft crate covered by midge net and then tarp to waterproof. The tarp/s can be secured with tent pegs and also zip ties through the eyelets to get a secure fastening around the crate.  It worked very well and Ollie slept soundly.

When we headed up through Skye it was midge nightmare due to rainfall and no breeze whatsoever, so we kept Ollie in the car at night which we think also kept him quiet and out of the way of others.  We camped at Sligachan.

Then we travelled through Applecross and Torridon and over to Aviemore where we stayed at a dog friendly hotel which we think we deserved after 3 nights in a tent.

Ollie mostly had a great time, was in water of some sort about 5 times every day, climbed Old man of Storr and corbetts in Aviemore.  He was on a running harness attached to my hips and pretty much pulled me up everything - got told on several occasions by other hill walkers that I was cheating.  We had a couple of difficult moments unfortunately...he has been fine greeting and meeting people for many months now and this was the case for most of the holiday but he did air snap when one couple said hello to him (so difficult because he strains towards everyone with loose, happy, wiggly body and wagging tail, desperate to say hello and enticing them in and then on very rare occasions now just switches and becomes snappy). So we just continually have to be careful and always try to position ourselves out of the way of people and other dogs. And he snapped  on the dreaded tick removal and caught my thumbnail which is bruising over so I'm hoping I won't lose it. 

So, yeah..a mixed bag...these things I guess could have happened at home anyway but I do wonder if he was a bit unsettled and perhaps this caused a lower threshold of response to stressors.

But I would still say all in all it was a good trip, we saw some beautiful places and did some amazing walks and activities. We would do it again perhaps for a shorter time and just have to be aware of all the managing of behaviours we have to do.

[Ambler54]

Sounds as if you had a lovely time...that is real wild camping...We cheat as we have a van which is so much easier, dont think I could camp like you.Rosie loves the van and insists on sitting in it when We are loading up for a trip.We were so lucky to have had no midges, had enough chemicals ready to have wiped out an army.She has been coming with us since a pup so its like a second home, She loves the fact that the days are busy and She is with us 24/7 but when We get home you can almost see Her go phew home at last.So yes the whole change to the daily routine without really understanding quite what is going on must also be quite stressful more so if you have a sensitive little soul.
We went over to the Knoydart Peninsula by ferry, Rosie not too impressed with the boat and sat on my lap the whole way.We presumed that beaches would be clear of ticks but a local ranger said that in the early morning the deer often come down to the beaches, they like the seaweed it seems which means there are lots of ticks in it.I am not keen on the Bravecto but as We were going to Scotland  felt it was worth the risk.The lady who had 26 ticks on Her dog was using a herbal collar with very little success . We are hoping to go again and will go early again like this year, midge free hopefully, and Skye is on the wish list.

[hoover]

Knoydart is definitely on our to do list!  Wow, yes, would not have thought about there being ticks on beaches.  We are still discovering ticks on Ollie as his hair is so dark and long and it's only when they swell up a bit that we can spot them - the o'tom twister has been a godsend, and no more snapping.I think we would def look into something like Advantix or Bravecto in the future  - rather that than the possibility of a tick borne disease.

We forgot the stake and cable in the end when we were camping but actually not sure if we could have made good use of it - we need to camp in pretty isolated spots when Ollie can have the run of the place (he always has an eye on us and would never go off) or if camping in sites I think we would have to be very careful and keep him in the car to sleep as I think otherwise he would guard and any restraint on him would heighten reactivity.

[JeffD]

We camp a lot during the summer, we have a large tent and as a pup Teal would spend the night in her crate, but now days she comes in with us The tent has room for a king-size inflatable bed so she gets in between us lays on her back and snores most of the night. We do draw the line at her getting in our sleeping bags.

[juju]

Izzy and I have just been on our first camping trip. I thought about doing it last year but needed to find the right tent. We went to a super site only half an hour from home. It was very dog friendly and was a really relaxing trip. I am certainly going again. I spent quite a lot of time deciding what to take and how everything would fit in (it's surprising how much kit you need to take!) The weather was very hot but we managed to keep reasonably shaded and cool. There were two lakes at the site and dogs were encouraged to go swimming.

[ips]

We are currently away in the caravan, eze loves the van she gets to explore new places AND gets to sleep on our bed all night  😁

[wendall]

There is a good Facebook page called Caravan and Camping UK with pets, there's always good advise on there......x

[rubyduby]

We have had Cockers for 40 yrs and done it all, tent camping, folding campers and caravans...and always in Scotland. We also lived on the West coast near Oban for 20 yrs, mideges tell me about it, even the house had to have midge gauze on the windows in summer. We had our dogs in the tent with us(we tried the kennel thing, it lasted 15mins) biggest problem is cooking if you have a dog wandering about, especially on a tether it can prove a night mare. Personally I would have gone for a bigger tent that would house a nice fabric kennel, that the dog could be contained in safely during cooking etc  . We had two Spaniels all of the time , making this more difficult, the other problem was dirty and wet dogs, we wild camped always and found if the weather was bad we ended up with wet towels everywhere and it became a nightmare, I would suggest a zip up towel bag that you can put the dog in till they dry out, overwise you will wet all the towels and end up with a miserable shivering dog....