camping with your dog.

Between-grooms know-how from scruffyboy

A dog on a camping trip is a dog at his absolute happiest, and by the second morning he is also a dog wearing most of the campsite. There is no bath for three days and nobody minds, which is rather the point. The trick is managing the dirt enough that the tent, the sleeping bags and the car survive, and it comes down to what you pack and one non-negotiable evening habit.

the dog's packing list, kept honest

• Food, bowls and more water than seems sensible, plus his lead, a long line for camp, and something to tether to.
• His bed or blanket from home. Familiar-smelling bedding settles a dog in a strange place better than anything else you can pack, and it keeps him off your sleeping bag, in theory.
• Two towels. One for wet, one for dry duty. This is the single most useful item on the list.
• The cleanup kit: a brush, wipes or a waterless wash, poo bags. No taps in the wild; the no-water clean was practically invented for camping.
• The boring safety layer. Tick remover, his usual parasite prevention up to date, any meds, a copy of his ID, and the number of a vet near where you are headed, looked up before you leave signal behind.

campsite manners, briefly

Check dogs are allowed before you book, keep him on the lead or line around pitches (the friendliest dog in the world is still uninvited at someone else's breakfast), and pick up everything, in the wild included. Rules on dogs in nature reserves and around livestock vary by country and season; the leash-etiquette logic from hiking with your dog applies double when you are staying the night.

the evening routine that saves the tent

Before he comes into the tent each night, not after: knock the dry dirt off with the brush, wipe the paws and belly, and towel him if the day involved water. Five minutes at the tent door, every evening. A tent shared with an uncleaned dog acquires a climate. If the day went properly wrong (mud to the skin, a roll in something dead), deal with the worst before nightfall; everything is harder by head-torch.

daily checks that matter more out here

Run hands over him each evening while you brush: ticks (check ears, armpits, groin, between toes), grass seeds working into paws and ears, cuts from rocks or wire, and sore pads after big-mileage days. A grass seed found at camp is a tweezer job; found a week later it can be a surgical one. Dry him fully whenever he swims, ears especially, per the swimming guide.

the going-home protocol

Before the drive: the full boot-of-the-car routine. Brush out the dry dirt, paws properly, waterless wipe of the undercarriage, towel dry. His bedding travels in a bin bag, straight into the wash at home along with the bed itself. Then, if the trip earned it, the proper bath happens at home, once, instead of five panicked rinses along the way. He will be asleep before the motorway. That is the sign of a trip done right.

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scruffyboy makes the no-water cleanup kit that earns its place in a rucksack. Join the list for first dibs, or read the other guides.