New to camping with a dog your advice?

When I got my dogsI made a decision that they would always go with me where ever I went, if my dogs are not welcome I don not go. When I stop at a rest stop the dogs get a pee break and water first, then I get mine. If I am going to leave them in the car or truck more than 5 minutes I leave the car running with the A/C on and I do not trust their safety to a A/C malfunction. I check them frequently to make sure the A/C has not malfunctioned. I would never drive off off and leave them alone and risk an A/C malfunction. If I have to step out of the camper I put them in a crate to make sure they do not suffer from separation anxiety. When I first got them I left them in the house and one of the two dogs did some chewing while I was gone. Both dogs love to ride in the car they jump around and get all excited but settle down after 5 minutes. They are well behaved and sit on the seat. The little girl sits on the passenger seat and like to look out the window, the little guy likes to lay next to me with his head on my lap.

The two of them had no problem adjusting to the camper they are happy as long as they are next to me, They slept in my truck when I did not have my camper and needed a short nap, they have been to many different motels and were fine. They sleep in bed with me because that is how it has always been since the day I got them. They say new pups cry when you first bring them home but I wrapped them in a towel so they would not soil the bed and they slept quite all night. Some dogs get car sick on a long trip mine never have gotten sick.

Bring plenty of food, some dogs do not take well to having their brand of food changed and you may not be able to find their usual food in another area.

I may be going overboard but I give my dogs bottled or filtered water from home, if it keeps them from getting sick in the car the small price I pay for bottled water is worth it. If I do give the water from a rest stop drinking fountian I test it by drinking it first (I know most dogs will drink water from a mud puddle but things can get messy if they get sick.

Be careful if you leave them in the car with the A/C running, my dogs have opened the window and jumped out, I keep mine tied to the head rest.

My dogs tend to loose their appetite when we are moving, once we are stopped they get back to their normal routine.

My dogs are well trained but it can dangerous to have some dogs unrestrained. The worst thing that can happen is to have your little dog get on the floor and get between the brake and the floor. If you need to slam down on the pedal real hard you can squash the dog, or even worst you can be prevented from pushing all the way down and kill yourself or someone else.

A small dog like that can be killed if a tracked by a large dog, never leave it tied up unattended. When I get up in the morning and am still in my under ware I let the dog out the door on a long leash then I leave the door cracked open enough so I can watch them. It also works well if I don't want to go outside and walk them in the rain.

My dogs are trained to sit down at the entrance so that I can wipe their feet before I let them come in.